Why I lament the death of Campagnolo’s thumb shifter 

I never thought I’d see the day when Campagnolo removed its defining feature

This competition is now closed

By Oscar Huckle

Published: May 30, 2023 at 1:00 pm

Campagnolo's Super Record Wireless groupset sees many updates versus the outgoing 12-speed Super Record EPS. However, the most significant, and controversial, is the loss of the iconic thumb shifter.

Prior to Super Record Wireless, Campagnolo had stuck steadfastly to the same shifting arrangement since the end of the down-tube shifting era.

The shifter paddle, located behind the brake lever, shifted into a larger cassette cog or the big chainring. The thumb shifter on the inside of the lever body shifted into a smaller cassette cog or small chainring.

Because the two buttons were distinct, it was impossible to confuse their function.

The thumb shifter was also a glorious thing to use, its satisfying ‘ker-clunk’ sound unmistakable, even on Campagnolo's electronic groupsets.

Super Record Wireless changes things completely.

The shift logic is similar to Shimano Di2, with two buttons on the paddle separated vertically, rather than overlaying one another.

The upper button on the right shifter shifts the rear derailleur into an easier gear and the low button into a harder gear. The left shifter works in the opposite manner, so the upper button shifts you into the big chainring and the lower button a smaller chainring.

Campagnolo says its decision to remove the thumb shifter was market-oriented – there was an equal split between those who appreciated it and those who didn't.

The chief complaint that thumb shifter detractors had was it was difficult to reach from the drops.

I’ve never really understood this – it's easy to pivot your thumb slightly to give the shifter a thwack to change into a harder gear. Also, I rarely change chainrings when I’m in the drops anyway.

Regardless, Campagnolo's previous product cycle experimented with the thumb-shifter design to try to address some of these complaints.

On Super Record 12 EPS, the brand introduced more of a downward sweep on the thumb shifter to allow better access from the drops.

The thumb shifter was also radically changed on the brand's Ekar gravel groupset, where it introduced a new C-shaped lever.

With this design, not only could you change gear from the tops, but also from the drops because Campagnolo had introduced a textured grip on the inside of the lever.

Campagnolo occupies an increasingly niche position, with Shimano and SRAM dominating the groupset arms race.

If it wants a bigger market share, it has to think with its head rather than its heart in terms of finance and appeal to a larger demographic. That may explain why the brand has decided to ditch the thumb shifter.

However, to discard it is to lose one of Campagnolo's distinguishing differences and the move may alienate a lot of the brand's devotees.

Campagnolo has always said its electronic groupsets represented an ‘electro-mechanisation’ of its mechanical counterparts – a concerted effort to keep electronic shifting as close as possible in feel to mechanical.

Super Record Wireless represents an outright rejection of that principle.

Though it's not perfect, Shimano has continued to improve the shifter ergonomics over its four generations of Di2. In later generations, the brand added more of a defined click into the paddle, to improve lever feel.

It also introduced golfball texturing to differentiate the two buttons, which can be a problem when wearing winter cycling gloves.

And, while I’m not a fan of SRAM's smaller Rival shifter ergonomics (which it has also ported over to Force), most testers feel they are an improvement over the bulbous previous generation.

On the previous shifter layout, with the lever paddle and thumb shifter, Campagnolo's EPS levers struck a chord with those who had ridden its mechanical groupsets.

While changes are always made with the intention of improving a product – and Campagnolo has made positive tweaks to the shifter and hood ergonomics elsewhere – getting rid of a feature so critical to the brand's success represents a stark change.

As a point of comparison, I rode my Pinarello GAN K, equipped with mechanical Record 12, the day after taking Super Record Wireless for a first ride at Campagnolo's media launch. The thumb shifter felt immediately like being reunited with an old, wisened friend.

Few people actively enjoy change, least of all when it concerns tradition – and long-term testing will, of course, reveal if the loss of the thumb shifter represents an improvement.

However, little now separates Campagnolo's lever ergonomics from Shimano and SRAM's, and I think that's a great shame.

Technical writer

Oscar Huckle is a technical writer at BikeRadar. He has been an avid cyclist since his teenage years, initially catching the road cycling bug and riding for a local club. He's since been indoctrinated into gravel riding and more recently has taken to the dark art of mountain biking. His favourite rides are epic road or gravel routes, and he has also caught the bikepacking bug hard after completing the King Alfred's Way and West Kernow Way. Oscar has a BA degree in English Literature and Film Studies and has close to a decade of cycling industry experience, initially working in a variety of roles at Evans Cycles before joining Carbon Bike Repair. He is particularly fond of workshop tool exotica and is a proponent of Campagnolo groupsets. Oscar prefers lightweight road and gravel frames with simple tube shapes, rather than the latest trend for aerodynamics and full integration. He is obsessed with keeping up to date with all the latest tech, is fixated with the smallest details and is known for his unique opinions.

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