Campagnolo Then and Now: Super Record Wireless, Nuovo Record, and Bora Ultra Wheels Compared

Introduction

Campagnolo is the world’s oldest groupset manufacturer and the company that invented the groupset itself, so comparing its vintage and modern ranges is really a comparison between two eras of bicycle design. This roundup covers three products sitting at opposite ends of that timeline: the modern Super Record Wireless groupset, the vintage Nuovo Record groupset, and the Bora Ultra wheels that sit at the fast end of Campagnolo’s current range. Each plays a different role, and each suits a different kind of rider.

A useful way to frame the comparison is to think about what each option asks of its owner. The vintage route asks for patience, mechanical sympathy, and tolerance for a narrow gear range. The modern route asks for a battery charging routine and gives back faster, easier shifting. Both still require the rider to turn the pedals.

Campagnolo Super Record Wireless: The Modern Groupset

Super Record Wireless arrived in 2023 and built on four previous generations of Campagnolo’s electronic EPS groupsets, but dropped the wiring entirely. The shifters communicate with the derailleurs over Bluetooth, and each derailleur carries its own battery. That removes cables from the frame and simplifies the build considerably.

Campagnolo clearly focused on gear range here. The cassette runs from 10 to 29 teeth and the chainrings come in a 48/32 combination, with a smaller 45/29 option also available. The result is gearing low enough to spin up genuinely steep climbs while keeping small jumps between the rear sprockets, so riders can hold a comfortable cadence rather than grind. Setup and personalization run through an app, the levers are shaped around improved ergonomics for the part of the ride you hold onto most, and braking is disc-based.

Campagnolo Nuovo Record: The Vintage Groupset

Nuovo Record comes from an era before Super Record existed. It was the groupset of choice for Eddy Merckx and is credited with redefining the derailleur market for a generation, dominating racing for around 16 years. In a period-correct build it pairs with down tube shifters, rim brakes, and a far narrower spread of gears.

Campagnolo’s founder, Tullio Campagnolo, is said to have insisted that the aluminium components be tumbled in drums of small bamboo balls to give them a silky lustre. That detail helps explain why these parts are still treated as objects of desire rather than simple hardware.

Riding a Nuovo Record build today means accepting a very different pace. Period racing gears were large, so riders pedalled slowly and leaned on muscular endurance, and steep climbs of the kind modern racing takes for granted were largely avoided. A smallest combination of 42/24 makes gradients that today’s riders barely notice into genuinely hard work.

Campagnolo Bora Ultra Wheels: Modern Rolling Stock

Bora Ultra wheels sit firmly on the modern side of the comparison, and they contribute to the speed difference in ways that are easy to feel from the saddle. They spin more freely than vintage Record hubs and they are noticeably more aerodynamic. Alongside frame weight, tyres, and reduced cable clutter, they are part of a package of changes that quietly add up.

For riders weighing an upgrade, wheels are often one of the most effective places to spend, because they affect both rolling resistance and how the bike responds under acceleration. The Bora Ultra is Campagnolo’s modern answer to exactly that need, and it is the most targeted upgrade of the three products here.

Old Versus New: What Actually Changed

The headline comparison is straightforward. A modern bike built around Super Record Wireless and Bora Ultra wheels covered a timed test course in 12 minutes and 1 second, while the vintage build was 41 seconds slower, roughly a 6 percent improvement. The course combined a fast rolling section with a 6 percent gradient climb.

That 6 percent figure understates the engineering gap. The rider is the same in both runs, and the rider still accounts for the large majority of the total resistance holding a bike back, so a 6 percent gain from the machine alone represents a substantial change.

The most visible change is gearing. The modern bike runs more than double the number of gears of the vintage build, and that is what allows riders to spin up steep gradients instead of forcing them. The modern bike is also around 2.5 kilograms lighter, has no exposed wires or hydraulics, and shifts far more rapidly. Interestingly, tyres and wheels are arguably doing more for outright speed than the groupset itself, but the groupset is what you notice most, because of the improved lever ergonomics and the frequency of gear changes.

Buying Advice

Which of these three makes sense depends entirely on what you want from a bike.

For riders who want the fastest and easiest setup to live with, Super Record Wireless is the clear modern choice. The wireless design removes cable maintenance, the gear range covers steep climbs and fast descents, and app-based customization adds a layer of adjustability that vintage equipment simply cannot offer. The trade-off is a charging routine for the derailleur batteries.

For riders drawn to classic steel and the history of the sport, Nuovo Record is a different proposition altogether. It rewards muscular endurance and mechanical sympathy, and its narrow gearing makes it a poor fit for sustained steep climbing. The upside is the hand-finished craftsmanship and the sense of occasion that only vintage Campagnolo provides.

Bora Ultra wheels suit riders who already own a modern bike and want a meaningful step up in rolling and aerodynamic performance. They are the most focused upgrade of the three, and the easiest to justify if the rest of the build is already sorted.

Conclusion

Decades of development produced a modern bike that is measurably faster, lighter, and easier to ride, with gearing that opens up climbs that vintage equipment made punishing. Whether that makes it better depends on your priorities: the modern setup wins on speed and convenience, while the vintage build wins on character and craft. Neither answer is wrong. A bike only becomes special through the rides you share with it, so the choice ultimately comes down to the kind of riding you actually want to do.