Campagnolo Potenza Disc

Since Campagnolo launched Potenza back in 2016, it may not have come close to dethroning Shimano's Ultegra as the most popular groupset for competitive cyclists without an unlimited budget – but after thoroughly enjoying my time with it I would definitely consider Potenza an Ultegra competitor, despite it being fourth in Campagnolo's groupset hierarchy. It's durable, the ergonomics are great and in its disc version you get impressively powerful braking with no discernible difference to the feel or looks of the levers. It also looks cool, and I love the snappy, definitive action of the thumb levers.

• Pros: Precise shifting, looks cool, wide cassette options, great braking
• Cons: More expensive than the competition, slightly delicate downshift lever can cause a mis-shift

Potenza was brought in to provide a sensibly priced option for serious cyclists who can't quite stretch to Campag's more luxurious Chorus, Record and Super Record groupset offerings. It's made mostly out of aluminium and comes in at 2,609g in total. That's only 156g more than Campag's Record 12-speed gruppo, and although that has the extra sprocket and carbon luxury throughout, you pay almost an extra £1,000 for the privilege.

> Find your nearest dealer here

My test bike was a Tifosi SS26, and as you can read in my review of that here, Potenza was probably the number one highlight of the bike for me.

Here's a breakdown of my verdict on each of the main components.

Brake levers and shifters

Claimed weight: 504g pair
RRP: £162.99 each

Campagnolo's Ergopower shifters for disc brakes are just slightly taller than the rim brake versions, and look almost the same. I've always got on really well with the hood and brake lever shape of Campag's groupsets, and in its Potenza guise you get plenty of plush comfort.

The thumb buttons are angled downwards slightly and are bigger than previous lower-tiered Campag paddles. They're much easier to find without looking and really comfortable in use. In fact, I can't really notice the difference between the Potenza and Record/Super Record thumb shifting. In action there is slightly less of a snap and it's marginally less definite than the top-end stuff, but you still get a good old 'click' when moving down the cassette.

The shift levers that take you towards the back of the cassette on the right and back up to the big ring on the left are the only slight criticism for me, as I find them a little flimsy in use. By this, I mean when you make a shift on the cassette it can be a bit slippery and requires quite a throw to get it to move, but it just takes a bit of getting used to. If you're a fan of Campag's multi-shift on its Chorus, Record and Super Record gruppos then I'm afraid you can't do that with the thumb button, it's just one at a time; but you can shift three sprockets back with a throw of the lever.

In terms of adjustability, you can change between two positions for the bite point on the brake lever, depending on how sharp you want your stopping to feel.

Front derailleur

Claimed weight: 94g
RRP: £60.99

The front mech moves quickly and sharply, and even under considerable load on very changeable Somerset terrain I never managed to throw off the chain when moving down to the small ring and back again. The one-piece design with a steel cage looks pretty much the same as high-end Campag front mechs, the differences are just in the weight and materials used.

Rear derailleur

Claimed weight: 211g
RRP: £135.99

My test bike came with an 11-32 cassette, so it was the 72.5mm longer cage rear mech I sampled (the shorter cage deals with the 11-29 cassette and smaller, as used by Stu in his review of the rim brake version of Potenza). Again, it looks the same in shape and design as the higher end Campag 11-speed kit, but has a technopolymer/carbon mix construction instead of full carbon. It served me very well over a long test period, staying perfectly aligned the whole time at the top and bottom limits.

Campag's Embrace technology means the chain covers more teeth on the sprockets when you're pedalling, which is supposed to reduce wear to your drivetrain and make the shifting smoother. I haven't used a previous lower end Campag groupset such as Athena to compare, but I can vouch for the shifting being smooth and the components staying in perfect working order after over 1,000 miles of riding.

Chainset

Claimed weight: 801g
RRP: £204.99

The aluminium crankset with a steel axle is available in the now standard 53/39, 52/36 and 50/34 chainring options, and I had the mid-compact on my test bike. As Stu mentioned in his review of rim brake Potenza, removing it is far easier nowadays as there is now an internal crankset extractor to reduce the need to buy super-expensive tools and/or hammer the crap out of your bike to get the thing out (see our round-up of Shimano and Campagnolo's greatest design blunders).

It felt stiff and smooth at all times, and more than capable of being used in furious sprints, with no concerns about flex. Most importantly of all, I think it looks great and maintains the classic Campagnolo aesthetics that its new 12-speed cranksets are moving away from (not something I mind, but we have noticed grumblings in our comments section) so you might even prefer Potenza in the looks department.

Cassette

Claimed weight: 251g (11-32)
RRP: £146.99 (11-32)

Your cassette options are 11-25, 11-27, 11-29, 12-27 and 11-32, and I had the latter on my bike. Shifting felt great, and while things can get a bit gappy towards the back (25 to 28, and 28 to 32) which would leave me wanting a closer ratio for racing, the 32 provides a great bailout option for hilly rides with no discernible compromises for most. It's built using one triplet and eight single sprockets with aluminium spacers, and weighs in at 251g.

Chain

Claimed weight: 256g
RRP: £42.99

You get the same chain as on Camapg Chorus here, which is 5.5mm wide with steel links and a nickel/PTFE anti-friction treatment. It's 36g heavier than the Record and Super Record 12-speed chain and obviously a bit wider. In use I had no issues with it at all, still finding it worked liked new after over 1,000 miles and a weekly blast through a chain cleaning tool.

Brakes and rotors

Claimed weight: Calliper 115g; Rotor 99g
RRP: Rotors £35.99 each; Callipers £199.99 each

Potenza went disc brake in 2017, and you're getting the same rotors and callipers as you get on the higher-end Campag groupsets. That means, as I've already mentioned in my review of Record Disc, fantastically sharp braking that doesn't squeal or get way too hot under a lot of load. I had a 140mm rotor at the rear and 160mm at the front on my test bike, which provided plenty of stopping power. They have rounded edges just in case you're still worried they will cut you to bits, and don't add a great deal of weight (99g for a 140mm) to your bike.

The brake callipers have the classic Campagnolo logo on them and for what it's worth, look pretty cool. They use the bang-up-to-date flat mount standard, and have a clear wear indicator so you know when to change the pads. The pads themselves are rounded to make for quicker disc insertion and wheel changes, which I can vouch for as I found wheel removal and mounting was pretty faff-free. The braking is as powerful and confidence-inspiring as any other road discs on the market, in my opinion, and easily tuneable to get the perfect amount of modulation via screws on the inside of the levers.

Value

In terms of value, as a standalone groupset its RRP might seem a little expensive considering it's in the middle of Campag's groupset hierarchy; although it's safe to say most customers will probably be buying it on a bike, and you're probably looking at around the £2-2.5k mark for a carbon frame with full Potenza groupset and middling alloy wheels. Examples include my Tifosi SS26 test bike at £2,499 and down to £2k online nowadays, and the Cinelli Veltrix Disc at £2,499. That's about in line with what you'd pay for a bike with a mechanical Ultegra disc groupset and similar build, so although your options are limited you can get Potenza on off-the-peg bikes without a significant levy.

> Your complete guide to Campagnolo groupsets

All in all, I was hugely impressed with Potenza Disc, and would have it on my race bike in a heartbeat. Shifting is precise and accurate, the components are built to last and the disc braking is a good as you'd get on Campag's top-tier groupsets. There's little not to like in my opinion, and if you're a fan of classic Campagnolo looks then you might even prefer it to its latest top-end 12-speed offerings.

Verdict

Crisp shifting, excellent ergonomics and superb braking courtesy of Campagnolo's powerful disc brakes