Campagnolo

Record Carbon Crankset

Campagnolo wisely stepped into the external bearing crankset market a bit late. The reason is they made sure that their Ultra-Torque design was truly ready and would provide a service life that we, the consumers, would expect from the company from Vincenza. You can find it not only at the Super Record level, but all the way down the line, including this Record 11 Ultra-Torque Carbon Crankset. It's a simple, practical design that is unique in the component world. It's lightweight, beautiful, and strong, signifying all that Campagnolo stands for. They've further refined the design, making it lighter and improving the shifting.

If the Super Record 11 Crankset is Campagnolo's cost-is-no-object option, the Record 11 Crankset is the cost-is-only-a-small-consideration choice. In every detail, the Super Record 11 and Record 11 cranksets are identical, save one. While the Super Record 11 is equipped with the same Ceramic Ultimate Level Technology (CULT) bearings used in the Bora Ultra Two and Hyperon Ultra Two wheelsets, the Record 11 takes a more cost effective approach. In place of the CULT bearings are Campagnolo's Ultra Smooth Bearings (USB). Like CULT, USB bearings are 5/32" ceramic balls housed in a low-drag technopolymer cage. But the bearing grade (as measured by their sphericity, i.e. their absolute roundness) isn't quite as extreme, and they lack the Cronitect races. Other than the bearing distinction, the Record 11 Crankset is the twin to the Super Record 11.

The 53/39 and 50/34 rings you see are still round, but take a look at the shift pins. This is where you'll find the first sign that the rings have been re-engineered for faster shifting. Campagnolo calls this their XPSS, eXtreme Performance Shifting System. There are now eight dedicated sectors for upshifting, with ramps and pins working in conjunction with a new tooth profile. But up is only half the story. They've also optimized two new down-shifting sectors, with the new tooth profile working with ramps on the way down as well.

In terms of simplifying, they've removed the chainring nut from the chainring fixing equation. The rings are held to the crankset by five hard anodized alloy bolts that go through the big ring and thread directly into the small chain ring -- easier and lighter.

Then they turned their attention to their Ultra-Torque bottom bracket spindle. They relieved some metal from low stress areas to lower the overall weight without sacrificing either stiffness or fatigue life.

All told, the smart redesign has yielded a weight savings of 16g compared to the previous generation Record with no other loss anywhere in the equation.

The Campagnolo Super Record 11 Ultra-Torque Carbon Crankset has unidirectional Carbon-Fiber crankarms with Dark Grey anodized chainrings and Black bolts. Campagnolo ceramic USB (Ultra Smooth Bearings) bearings are installed on both arms. The available chain ring options are a standard (135mm bolt circle diameter) with 53/39 rings or a compact (110mm bcd) with 50/34 rings. Crankarm lengths are 170, 172.5, and 175mm.