Campagnolo Super Record S Wireless Review: Beautiful Shifting, Demanding Ownership

Introduction

The Campagnolo Super Record S Wireless is a special edition groupset that sits one rung below Super Record WRL, the Italian brand’s flagship road groupset. Campagnolo positions it as carrying the same technologies and performance as that top-tier groupset, with a new matte black finish, a wider range of gear options, and a solid carbon crankset in place of the hollow version. Both derailleurs and both shifters are wireless, and the package is built around hydraulic disc braking.

In the UK the groupset is priced at £3,526. That is less than the previous Super Record, but it still places the Super Record S firmly in halo territory, and it arrives without a power meter. This review covers where it genuinely shines, where it asks for patience, and what to confirm before committing.

Who This Groupset Is For

The Super Record S is a performance-first groupset, so racers and riders chasing personal bests are the most obvious audience. The shifting is quick and crisp, and when you press a button the gear changes in the direction you expect. For anyone whose priority is speed and precision rather than value, that behaviour is the core appeal.

It also makes the most sense for riders who are already invested in the Campagnolo ecosystem. If you have been riding Campagnolo for years, want the same freehub standard across all of your wheels, and already own the bottom bracket tools that are specific to the brand, the practical friction of switching disappears. There is also a long tradition of Italian componentry on Italian bike frames, and this groupset fits neatly into that tradition.

Beyond that, it suits riders who value the finer things in life. It is an undeniably beautiful looking product, and the matte black finish gives it a modern, understated presence on a race bike.

Main Strengths

The headline strength is the shift quality. Shifts land quickly and cleanly, and the wireless derailleurs behave exactly as a performance groupset should. The lever body shape is also deliberately race-oriented, allowing a position where you rest your wrist on the hoods and grip the top for a low, aerodynamic posture.

Wireless Shifting and Button Layout

Control from the drops is excellent. Both buttons on the lever are easy to reach and can be clicked without much effort while you are down in the drops. The bottom button on the hoods is a longer reach, which is worth noting if you have smaller hands, because that paddle sits quite far from a natural grip position.

Campagnolo has addressed a lot of that with an unusually deep layer of customisation. There are small thumb buttons on the inside of the levers that are programmable, and the outer shifters can be reconfigured to work in a SRAM-style layout, with the right hand dedicated to shifting down the cassette and the left hand dedicated to shifting up, while the front derailleur is controlled by either thumb button. That mapping effectively removes the problem of an awkward reach to the lower paddle. You can also adjust how many gears a multi-shift covers, the speed of the shift, and even the delay between pressing and holding a button and the multi-shift engaging.

Once those settings are dialled in, the groupset adapts to your hands rather than the other way around, which is a meaningful advantage for riders who find stock lever layouts uncomfortable.

Braking Performance and Rotors

The hydraulic disc brakes are very powerful and progressive. Lever feel is soft rather than abrupt, which some riders describe as spongy and others as excellent modulation. Either way, the brakes ease you into stopping power instead of grabbing on and off, and that makes them easy to trust on fast descents.

The rotors deserve their own mention. They are without question among the most striking brake rotors on the market, and they are one of the details that makes the whole groupset look as expensive as it is.

Things to Consider Before Buying

The Super Record S is not a plug-and-play upgrade. Several of the considerations below are about ownership experience rather than performance, but they matter just as much when you are spending this kind of money.

Setup Complexity and Compatibility

Brake caliper mounting is built into the caliper itself, supporting either a 160mm or a 140mm rotor. Unlike other systems, you cannot simply flip a small adapter to change between the two. That means certain frames and forks, specifically those designed around a 140mm caliper running a 160mm rotor, will not accept this groupset at all. It is not a universal limitation, but it is a hard stop on the wrong frame, so verify the mount before you buy.

Setup is also more involved than most riders expect. Pairing the components involves long button-hold combinations and colour-coded feedback, and there are software updates to work through. Bleeding the brakes requires specific Campagnolo bleed kits, and relatively few shops are currently equipped to service the groupset. If you plan to run it long term, having a competent Campagnolo-aware workshop nearby is genuinely useful.

There is one more fit consideration worth flagging. The front derailleur body is large, and on some riders it can rub against the calf through the pedal stroke. That depends on leg length and calf shape, so it will not affect everyone, but it is a physical fit issue that cannot be tuned away with software.

Weight, Price, and Positioning

The complete groupset weighs 2,428g as measured. The crankset accounts for 748g with the bearings already fitted, and moving from a hollow crank to a solid carbon crank adds weight rather than removing it. The cassette comes in at 229g. For a groupset at this level, the numbers are competitive rather than class-leading.

Price is the harder question. At £3,526 the Super Record S undercuts the previous Super Record, but it is still a very large outlay for components alone, and a power meter is not included even though other groupsets in this bracket sometimes offer one. Not every rider wants or needs a power meter, but it is worth factoring into the comparison.

On price, the Super Record S ends up competing with SRAM Red and Shimano Dura-Ace rather than the tier below, so those are the alternatives to weigh against it.

Buying Advice

Before ordering, be certain the groupset is fully compatible with your bike. Check the brake caliper and rotor mount standard, confirm the frame and fork will accept it, and make sure the freehub and bottom bracket tooling you need are either already in your workshop or available. Then confirm that the specific parts you need are actually in stock, because availability has been inconsistent.

If you are comfortable doing your own hydraulic work and enjoy fine-tuning shift behaviour, the Super Record S rewards the effort. If you would rather hand the bike to a shop, budget for that and check that a local workshop has the bleed kit and the experience first. Riders already running Campagnolo wheels, freehubs and tools will find the ownership case considerably stronger than riders starting from scratch.

Conclusion

The Campagnolo Super Record S Wireless gets the fundamentals right. Shifting is quick and crisp, the customisation is deeper than almost anything else in the category, the brakes are powerful with genuine modulation, and the rotors are genuinely beautiful. It is a lovely thing to own.

The caveats are just as real. Setup is complicated, brake caliper compatibility rules out some frames entirely, servicing support is thin in many areas, the front derailleur can rub certain riders’ calves, and the price is astronomical for what is ultimately a groupset without a power meter. Campagnolo’s wheels and rotors remain outstanding, and that reputation is well earned. The groupset is a more complicated proposition, so the right decision comes down to whether your frame is compatible, your workshop is capable, and the price feels proportionate to how much you value the finer details.