As long as they have sufficient production capacity, I think this is going to be a big hit for Campagnolo. While many gravel (and some road) riders have been not-so-patiently waiting for a mechanical 1x12 system from SRAM, or any 1x12 gravel/road system from Shimano, Campy swoops in with a 1x13. Touche, bitches! Yeah, Rotor did it first, but there were some serious compromises, none the least of which was a new freehub standard that required proprietary wheel dishing. While Ekar requires yet another proprietary freehub, it fits in the same space as the legacy road freehubs (i.e. same wheel dishing) and promises to be much more accessible as the Goliath hubmaker in the industry (DT Swiss) is already onboard. If there's a current Campy freehub option for your wheelset, there may eventually even be an Ekar compatible freehub you can retrofit.
The bikepackers and goat-trail-seekers will lament that the gear range doesn't go low enough, the hard-core gravel racers will wring their hands over the potential drivetrain losses of the 9T cog, and 1X-woke roadies will wish for tighter cluster options. But, between the 4 crank options and 3 cassette options, the vast middle of gravel riders will likely be able to find satisfactory gearing. One of the biggest complaints about SRAM’s 1x12 offerings, besides the lack of a mechanical option, has been the gap in the cassette range between the 10-36 and the Mullet 10-50. All three Campy casettes fit in that gap. It seems a very well aimed first shot for Campy's official entry into the gravel market.
If this takes off as I think it will, I can see Campy trying to capitalize by expanding the range; both price-wise and to address some of the off-center potential use cases. More cassette offerings, EPS (which is what could really make this a killer TT option), And maybe, down the road, a lower priced offering with more aluminum/steel and less carbon/titanium.
I have no doubt that the aftermarket will come with compatible crank/chainring options. It may be that the current offerings will already work. And if Microshift wanted to, they could have a compatible bar end shifter on the market in a matter of weeks. But they never jumped at what I thought was an obvious opportunity to make bar end shifters for Campy 12 speed, so who knows if they'll see this an opportunity. I’d image there might even be some demand from XC MTBers for a flat bar shifter, especially if the chain proves compatible with current 12-speed chainrings. As for aftermarket cassettes, almost everything 12-speed has been aimed at the +/-500% MTB crowd. I'm really surprised that neither Sunrace nor Miche has come to market yet with SRAM 12 speed compatible cassettes in road-specific ratios that fit HG freehubs. I'm not holding my breath for Ekar-compatible aftermarket cassettes anytime soon....if ever.
"They're made of latex, not nitroglycerin"
The bikepackers and goat-trail-seekers will lament that the gear range doesn't go low enough, the hard-core gravel racers will wring their hands over the potential drivetrain losses of the 9T cog, and 1X-woke roadies will wish for tighter cluster options. But, between the 4 crank options and 3 cassette options, the vast middle of gravel riders will likely be able to find satisfactory gearing. One of the biggest complaints about SRAM’s 1x12 offerings, besides the lack of a mechanical option, has been the gap in the cassette range between the 10-36 and the Mullet 10-50. All three Campy casettes fit in that gap. It seems a very well aimed first shot for Campy's official entry into the gravel market.
If this takes off as I think it will, I can see Campy trying to capitalize by expanding the range; both price-wise and to address some of the off-center potential use cases. More cassette offerings, EPS (which is what could really make this a killer TT option), And maybe, down the road, a lower priced offering with more aluminum/steel and less carbon/titanium.
I have no doubt that the aftermarket will come with compatible crank/chainring options. It may be that the current offerings will already work. And if Microshift wanted to, they could have a compatible bar end shifter on the market in a matter of weeks. But they never jumped at what I thought was an obvious opportunity to make bar end shifters for Campy 12 speed, so who knows if they'll see this an opportunity. I’d image there might even be some demand from XC MTBers for a flat bar shifter, especially if the chain proves compatible with current 12-speed chainrings. As for aftermarket cassettes, almost everything 12-speed has been aimed at the +/-500% MTB crowd. I'm really surprised that neither Sunrace nor Miche has come to market yet with SRAM 12 speed compatible cassettes in road-specific ratios that fit HG freehubs. I'm not holding my breath for Ekar-compatible aftermarket cassettes anytime soon....if ever.
"They're made of latex, not nitroglycerin"