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My Super Record mechanical shifting, hydraulic-disc brake bike was this De Rosa Protos (Image credit: Robin Wilmott/Immediate Media)
New Super Record mechanical shifting with hydraulic disc levers (Image credit: Robin Wilmott/Immediate Media)
The rotor size-specific calipers have pad return springs, which are magnetic and extremely effective(Image credit: Robin Wilmott/Immediate Media)
Campagnolo's disc brakes carry on from 2017's launch, with their rounded disc rotor edges(Image credit: Robin Wilmott/Immediate Media)
The new chain is narrower than an 11-speed chain but is said to be just as durable(Image credit: Robin Wilmott/Immediate Media)
A rear view of the cassette shows some of its intricate support structures, and lip that could help keep a chain from getting jammed(Image credit: Robin Wilmott/Immediate Media)
The cassettes have steel sprockets, built in two triplets, plus six individual smaller sprockets(Image credit: Robin Wilmott/Immediate Media)
The current options are 11-29 and 11-32 (Image credit: Robin Wilmott/Immediate Media)
There are just two cassettes to choose from that are shared across both groupsets(Image credit: Robin Wilmott/Immediate Media)
All-new 12-speed chainrings are anodised black(Image credit: Robin Wilmott/Immediate Media)
Super Record's new crankset is hollow carbon fibre and features two integrated outer braces to counteract the positions of greatest torque(Image credit: Robin Wilmott/Immediate Media)
The new cranksets are fixed only from the left (non-drive) side, allowing the crank side to be fully enclosed(Image credit: Robin Wilmott/Immediate Media)
The Super Record mechanical rear mech has a part carbon cage and ceramic bearings in the jockey wheels (Image credit: Robin Wilmott/Immediate Media)
The new mechs have the option to fit the cable clamping bolt behind the arm (as here) or in front of it to maximise tyre clearance (Image credit: Robin Wilmott/Immediate Media)
The new mech's action is very snappy, but only compatible with the new 12-speed levers (Image credit: Robin Wilmott/Immediate Media)
A reprofiled cage, but Campy has maintained its shift trim settings for the perfect chain line (Image credit: Robin Wilmott/Immediate Media)
The new Super Record front mech includes some carbon fibre on the outer plate (Image credit: Robin Wilmott/Immediate Media)
The inboard shift button is identical, although the hydraulics make the 'horn' a little more bulbous (Image credit: Robin Wilmott/Immediate Media)
The Super Record levers maintain their distinctive cutouts, and both hydraulic levers are only 8mm taller than their rim brake counterparts(Image credit: Robin Wilmott/Immediate Media)
It's not hard to see why Campagnolo prefers Gran Canaria to Italy for guaranteed early season sun and great roads (Image credit: Courtesy Campagnolo)
A steep ascent on my Super Record mechanical hydraulic disc-equipped De Rosa Protos (Image credit: Courtesy Campagnolo)
A steep ascent on my Super Record mechanical hydraulic disc-equipped De Rosa Protos (Image credit: Courtesy Campagnolo)
The De Rosa Protos was my test vehicle for Campagnolo's new Super Record 12-speed hydraulic disc brakes, and although the Protos is not a bike I've previously ridden, the disc brakes were a reassuring continuation from 2017's release.
Campagnolo Super Record 12-speed hydraulic highlights
Brake lever adjusts for long or short disc brake bite points
Reach adjustable brake and shift levers
Hollow carbon fibre crankset
CULT ceramic bearings
Campagnolo Super Record 12-speed hydraulic ride impressions
Hydraulic brakes mean taller levers than the mechanical version, but the 8mm extra height is hardly noticeable and certainly not in functional terms.
In some ways, it makes for a better grip when holding the hoods and riding with your arms horizontal. Otherwise, the controls sit in the same place and feel identical — the upshift paddle is solid and not skeleton-like.
Thru-axles improve the alignment and efficiency of disc brakes and may also assist shifting performance to a small degree. Whether or not that had any bearing on my perception of Super Record's gear shifting is impossible to say, but it did seem to be a little smoother in operation.
The Super Record levers maintain their distinctive cutouts, and both hydraulic levers are only 8mm taller than their rim brake counterparts
In my opinion the shifting precision was virtually the same, which is excellent, but there was a silkiness of operation that made me visualise the system whirring away silently in an oil bath.
Snappy upshifts and multiple upshifts with no sprocket selection uncertainty are matched with rifle bolt-fast downshifts. As I climbed higher, the next dozen or so corners saw me yo-yo-ing on and off of the back as the wind gusted.
The new Super Record front mech includes some carbon fibre on the outer plate
That externally braced hollow carbon crank looks stunning and I don't doubt that it prevents any trace of chain-ring flex at the top of the power stroke.
Can I say that it helped me? Of course not. Although there will have been a benefit at some level and that will only increase for more powerful riders.
The new cranksets are fixed only from the left (non-drive) side, allowing the crank side to be fully enclosed
A junction took me up a road that, in parts, was more off-road than tarmac, with countless rock falls and devastated sections.
Incessantly winding hairpins and gradients of 17 percent plus were a solid test for me and the drivetrain, especially at nearly 3,500 feet.
A steep ascent on my Super Record mechanical hydraulic disc-equipped De Rosa Protos
Once over the top, the descent was welcome and a perfect reminder of how good Campy's disc brakes are.
It was completely dry, but after the sound of rim brakes on carbon around me it was instantly noticeable how little sound the disc brakes make. The fact that the rotors have rounded edges is a comfort for anyone worried about rotor edges.
There are just two cassettes to choose from that are shared across both groupsets
Personally, I've never had cause to worry, but it's welcome and one less potential hazard.
Repeated heavy braking from up to 45mph into sharp hairpins felt equally consistent every time, with no fade, no squeals and no lack of power. My greatest challenge was remembering my brakes were on the opposite side to usual.
Otherwise, the consistency of Campy's discs meant I could relax between corners and accurately pick out a braking point for each one.
Campagnolo's disc brakes carry on from 2017's launch, with their rounded disc rotor edges
