When discussing what are the best road bike groupsets, arguments can be as much about subjective passion as actual advantages one brand holds over another. There are three main cycling brands that make road bike groupsets – Shimano, SRAM, and Campagnolo.
Why riders prefer one of these three brands over the other can have several different reasons from overall experience, ergonomic preferences, appearance preference, and functionality, and even history and bling factor. In essence, it is difficult if not impossible to say which is the best, but one could perhaps say that certain brands do some things better than the others.
Then there are a few smaller brands that are trying to make inroads into the market like FSA and Rotor. In addition to those, there are several Chinese brands that are reportedly making great strides in their development of road cycling groupsets, but since most of those are pretty difficult to find, we’ll stick to the brands we actually have easy access to, and experience with.
Most common road bike groupsets
In reality, if you are buying a pre-built bike, it will be pretty hard to find anything that isn’t kitted out either with Shimano or SRAM. Both brands have been very successful at working the OEM market, which means that they have agreements with frame manufacturers to provide the parts for pre-built bikes.
The Japanese brand Shimano is currently the biggest bike component brand. They have been in business for over 100 years and have the reputation for making smooth shifting, reliable drivetrains. Their top-of-the-line road groupset Dura Ace introduces the latest developments such as electronic shifting and disc brake technology. And those advancements quickly trickle down to the less expensive Ultegra, 105, and Tiagra tiers, helping to democratize the company’s offerings.
Shimano turned heads in the late 1990s when they introduced STI or Shimano Total Integration gear shifting on the hoods rather than the frame’s down tube. That advancement was at least as important as the development of clipless pedals, even more important looking at it from a safety point of view. Now you could change gears without having to take your hands off the handlebars. If anyone remembers just how cumbersome it used to be to have to downshift before getting ready to sprint, or needing to make quick gear changes when racing up to a traffic light that changed too quickly, you’ll know what we mean.
The brand was also first to introduce electronic shifting in 2010. Its Di2 or Digital Integrated Intelligence drivetrain technology revolutionized gear shifting, making it smoother, more reliable, and easier to execute since all that was needed was a push of a button. It was the first brand since the poorly received Mavic Zap groupset in 1992 to go electric. Campangolo would follow the trend in 2011 with their EPS and SRAM would wait till 2015 to release their electric wireless groupset.
Now Shimano is a leader in producing everything from power meters to (semi) wireless shifting and disc brakes to make the bike as high performance as possible. Many teams in the WorldTour, men’s and women’s, run Shimano. Though the numbers keep fluctuating, the fact that Shimano is routinely being used by the most teams, and the fact that frequently those teams aren’t even sponsored by Shimano but rather choose to buy the components themselves, is testament to the brand’s popularity.
Shimano has built its success on technical advancements – like STI and Di2 drivetrains – as well as an availability and price/performance ratio, especially with the lower level groupsets like 105 that has made their products much more accessible.
SRAM a growing competitor in the road groupset market
Though a much younger brand than either Shimano or Campagnolo, American-based SRAM continues to take quite a large chunk of the road groupset market share. They have traditionally been stronger on the gravel and mountain bike side of things – something we’ll cover in future blogs – but their road offerings have continually been cutting edge to the point of changing the direction of the industry.
Would anyone have considered putting a single chainring on the front of their road bike if SRAM hadn’t promoted that idea not only for gravel but road applications as well? Similarly, it was the first brand to develop totally wireless shifting, which is something mechanics around the world sing praises for.
Like Shimano, SRAM has a top-of-the-line groupset called Red where they feature all their greatest developments. And then those advancements eventually trickle down to the lower level, more affordable Force, Rival and Apex. SRAM Red eTap AXS wireless electric shifting is available in 1x and 2x crankset options as well as 11 and 12 speed configurations, which makes it quite adaptable to your frame needs.
Uniquely too, you can swap SRAM road components with gravel and visa versa. That makes it much easier to get the ideal road, all-road, or gravel setup when you have specific needs – like two weeks of bikepacking in the Rocky Mountains where getting your gear ratios right will be essential.
Campagnolo and the politics of desirability
The Italian brand Campagnolo was founded in 1933 by Tullio Campagnolo in his Vincenza workshop. As is often the case, necessity proved to be the mother of invention since while he was racing in the 1920s and 30s, he saw the need for everything from quick release mechanisms for the wheels, which previously would have been bolted on, as well as derailleurs that allow the rider to shift gears while in motion (again, before that, bikes had two gears, one on either side of the rear wheel and to change gears the rider had to take the wheel out and flip it around).
Though there were other groupset options, Campagnolo dominated road cycling for many decades, both in terms of advancements and also popularity. That would begin to change in the 1980s when Shimano began to make inroads into the Italian manufacturer’s popularity. Quick on the heels of Shimano’s introduction of STI shifting, Campagnolo released if Ergo Power hoods, which similarly combined shifting and breaking in the hoods.
The Campagnolo solution of having one lever for one purpose is perhaps what sets it most apart from any of its competitors. That’s because instead of having the brake lever move when shifting, there is one shift lever behind the brake lever and then a second shift lever on the inside of the hood where the thumb can easily reach it. It is an ergonomic decision that you either love or hate (personally we love it).
In fact, one of the most controversial decisions that the company made on the development of the recently released Super Record Wireless groupset was to remove the thumb shifter and opt for a two-button shifter on the lever behind the brake lever. Though Campagnolo has not always been in the forefront of groupset developments, they have been able frequently to improve upon all previous designs. Their disc brakes are a good example. They were very late to the disc brake party, but once they released the Super Record Disc Brake groupset, it quickly earned the reputation for having the best disc brakes on the market. They could feather like rim brakes and seldom squealed or rubbed.
But where Campagnolo has always had the lead in comparison with other brands is the bling factor. They have been proponents of using carbon widely and titanium in the premium groupsets, which makes their offerings typically the lightest and objectively the most beautiful on the market.
That the brand currently seems to be in a popularity slump is sad to see. For the first time ever, there is no WorldTour team riding Campagnolo. And though it can be hard to find a pre-built bike with Campy, it is possible, and much more fun, to customize your bike with Wrench Science. You can spec it exactly as you’d like, and maybe be the only one on your Saturday group ride with a Campy-equipped bike.
FSA and Rotor fighting the tide
FSA as a brand has been around since the early 1970s. Based in Taiwan, they traditionally have made components like handlebars and stems while their sister band Vision made wheels and aero handlebars. Around 2018, they released the 11-speed wireless K-Force WE groupset which has subsequently been updated to have 12-speeds. It claims to be the lightest wireless groupset on the market.
Though it has the advantage of having cable joins are small enough to fit Shimano-compatible frames, it seldom comes pre-spec’d on bikes. As with Campagnolo, you need to be pretty committed to FSA in order to build it on your bike. The first version of the K-Force WE groupset had a less than stellar reputation, however this latest iteration has been receiving much more positive attention.
Similarly for Rotor, in 2019 they unveiled the world’s first road bike 1x13 groupset, the year before Campagnolo released the gravel Ekar groupset. But what is even more noteworthy is that the 1x13 uses hydraulic actuated shifting rather than mechanical or electric. The developers claim that this makes the groupset comparatively maintenance-free and offers smooth shifting without having to worry about keeping batteries charged as you would with an electric groupset.
Using the unique hydraulic design also freed them from having to worry about the patent minefield cycling groupsets development has become, in particular with the big three brands owning many of the critical patents for electric and mechanical features. But that stab at uniqueness might be the best selling point for the Rotor groupset, which could be one of the main reasons you’ll seldom see one in the wild.
Conclusion – How to choose the best road bike groupset
As with so many things when shopping for a bike, there is no right or wrong answer. When looking for the best road bike groupset, the first thing you will want to address are your priorities. What type of cycling will you plan on doing? What budget will you have to work with? What requirements will you have to follow for frame compatibility? All these things will play into the decision making process.
Other distinctions you will want to look for are things like the ergonomics of the hoods and levers as well as the ease of maintenance and small parts availability. The best groupsets for road bikes all have their own special aspects that can sway your decision one way or the other. And our experts at Wrench Science are always available to talk you through the process so that you can find the best groupset for your road bike.
You might also read our article on what is the best crank length for cycling.
