Who uses a Campagnolo groupset? What is it you like about it over Shimano and SRAM other than that it isn’t Shimano or SRAM?

I’ve just been looking at a Record 11 group which has got a very different ‘classic’ look from the other options. Anyone use something like this on a very modern frame/wheelset combo?

I have xenon on my cheapo roadbike.

It came with the bike. It functions well.

Beyond that it appeals to my inner traditionalist and recycled 70’s and 80’s campag kit was on many of my youthful bikes.

I cannot imagine you would be disappointed by Record but having not ridden it I cant be sure.

I use campag, because i do, IMO looks nicer than shimano or sram, that the levers fit my hands better is the biggy though.

I have 10 speed record from 2002 it looks classic and cables from the shifters are much neater. Quality is good too in my experience.

I’m thinking of going to Campag when my Ultegra needs replacing as I find the levers fit my small hands better.

It looks a lot nicer, the hoods are more comfortable, it has great ‘feel’ (though some folk prefer the very minimal Shimano style), and (when I bought it) it shifted faster than the equivalent Shimano groupset. I’ve been very very happy with it (Athena 11) for the past 4 years.

Lack of indexing (or micro-indexing if you prefer) on the front makes it easier to trim the mech. But I haven’t bought a road groupset for 10 years (and my Record and Chorus sets are both good for at least another 10) so things may have changed now.

It’s fine. Great if you prefer it. It’s not better or worse and I’d suggest you ignore people who claim it is, either way.

I’ve got bikes with 9speed, 10speed and 11speed record. Take it as read that i love it! You dont see so much as SRAM / Shimano since there are many fewer off the peg bikes fitted with it. The 11speed needs to be carefully set up but work very well once set up. The only area where I think that Campag is definitely ahead is the chainsets/BB. Just watch out for the cost of replacement Record cassettes, they can be pricey.

I’ve used Campag for 20-odd years, since I got my first road bike. The 10 year old Chorus and Record kit I have still works perfectly, with no noticeable bagginess developing over the years.

However I got a new CX bike last year with a SRAM group set and I love it. If I were to build up a new road frame I’d struggle to choose between Campag and SRAM.

The only area where I think that Campag is definitely ahead is the chainsets/BB

I’d really have to disagree with that, but this is perhaps not the ideal thread.

Prefer the shifting on my CX bike and it seems to cope better getting caked in s@it

clunker, you have a CX bike with SR on it? my word, thats going to be a bling CX bike!

I have Chorus 11 on my road bike. Love it, love the shifting especially. But I have had Ultegra on a road bike, equally good, but definitely a different shift.

The ultra torque chainset a with the hirth joint work very well IMO

hmmm Dugast’s and Campy SR, nice! Complete bike picture please clunker.

Moots?

Think I recognise that one! How’s it going?

In answer to the original post, this is probably one of the oldest yet never-to-be-bottomed-out questions in cycling. I have used Campagnolo since I started riding. You are either one or the other.

Some of the traditional views that still hold true:

Campagnolo wears in, Shimano wears out

Campagnolo is analogue, whereas Shimano is digital

Campagnolo favour carbon, whereas Shimano favour alloys

Campagnolo is rebuildable, Shimano is disposable

Campagnolo is just plain better than Shimano – ooops, that’s just my view!

Shimano is perhaps better engineered, but Campagnolo has more soul (think Ford vs Alpha Romeo)

Campagnolo has a bit of exclusivity about it as it isn’t OEM equipment on many bikes, but Shimano spares are more readily available

I have used pretty much every incarnation of Chorus, Record and Super Record including electronic. In fairness, it probably works no better than Shimano, but just different. Shifting is a bit more firm, lever shape suits my hands better and generally I feel that Campagnolo bearings are smoother than Shimano.

It really is a matter of trying it for yourself and making a decision based on feel. Both are well made, functional and beautiful in their own way.

I like it. Avoid the Power Torque cranks though, Ultra Torque are much better

I have the bottom range mirage on my second hand super cheap road bike. It changes silently and effortlessly every time. Compared to cheap shImano, it is far better quality. looks ace too. The only sticking point is that none of my tools fit.

Looks nicer, especially if you get silver stuff. You can generally mend it whereas Mr shimano hasn’t heard of fixing things or mending older bits with new bits.

Some people like the more positive feel – I am one of those – but it is subjective, you may not be one.

I do think trim able front mechs and ultra torque bbs and latest style hoods are advantages over shimano.

The more expensive chainsets look awesome

Shimano front mechs are trimmable and have been for ages, and the newest Campag chainsets are not exactly user serviceable…

http://velonews.competitor.com/2013/04/bikes-and-tech/how-to-remove-campagnolo-power-torque-cranks_280400

I’m really trying hard not to get into a Shimano vs Campag debate, and trying equally hard not to drag the thread that way, but there are some things that are held up as positives which are not always so.

I’ll go away now, because I’ve done what I didn’t want to do. 🙁

Thanks all. As ever I’m being tempted by what seems to be a bit of a bargain, and having tried Shimano and SRAM thought it might be worth a try. I haven’t really got the bike for it though, so it could all turn out a bit expensive. I can’t see it on my Tarmac or my Kinesis really. They’re both a bit too new school looking – and loving the SRAM on the Specialized. Mmn.

Power torque is right pain but ultra torque is so much better and much simpler to work on

Power torque maybe less easy to work on but it works very well. Even Veloce is a very good groupset and light too. Centaur Carbon cranks are very light weight without getting the price tag of Record.

Record 10 speed is still available for the ltimate 10 speed campag groupset.

For top end though Chors 11 speed is about as high as anyone normal needs to go. For me all I can afford is Veloce 10 speed and that is good enough.

I’d agree that the Power Torque is a pain to get off – the rubber mallet worked a treat though last week. Ultra torque is a joy to use, easy to install, easy to change bearings 🙂

11 speed is a bit of a gimmick vs 10 speed and the electronic Campag stuff if seriously expensive even for a Campag fan like myself. I’m sure it works well but I’ll wait for the tech to evolve a little before I jump in.

BTW a friend who is a bike shop owner tells me that he’s seeing alot of problems with Ui2.

The Swedish Chef – Member
hmmm Dugast’s and Campy SR, nice! Complete bike picture please clunker.

Moots?

solarider – Member
Think I recognise that one! How’s it going?

😉 nice not to be caked in mud

i absolutely **** loved the 2012 chorus groupset on my cinelli.

i’ve now had shimano, sram and campag… they all have their good bits and their bad bits… shimano is simple and easy… sram has great shifters, but campag… campag is just ‘right’.

and unlike every italian sportscar i’ve ever owned, campag WORKS!

unfortunately, it’s a bit like buy apple… if you go down that route, you need to jump in with both feet as it doesn’t like to play with other groupsets and needs certain specific tools.

I’ve have Campagnolo Record on my Colnago and Chorus on my winter bike this past 3 years.

Prior to this I spent 10 years on Dura Ace and Ultegra.

I just fancied a change after 10 years on Shimano, but oh wow what a change! I’m glad I did. For me, Campy has much better ergo hood feel for my hands, I prefer the positive clicking shifters, and the UT BB crankset is a dream not just to look at but beats Shimanos external BB performance by a significant margin in terms of engineering, ease of set up, longevity and quality. And those carbon Record cranks, well… just look at them. Yum!

Finally, as many have mentioned, my Campy stuff still works sweetly after many, many hard thousands of miles, whereas my previous Shimano stuff was wearing out in lots of places by this time.

Being a high-end roadie gruppo junkie I also bought SRAM Red last year but got rid after 6 months – I loved the feel of the SRAM shifters but hated the shifting performance. I know this goes counter to current hype but lets face it, SRAM shifting is just not on a par with Campy or Shimano and come on.. theyve never been able to make a front derailleur that works properly whether MTB or road. In my opinion, another example of an excess of SRAM’s carpet-bombing marketing rather than actually making a product that works well.

Intersting Digger – I’ve just got a new Wilier with Ultegra on it and I’m still not getting on with the shifting. I thought it was just the 105 shifters on the previous bike but the Shimano action just feels to light for me and the clicks just aren’t positive enough – I’m more often than not under or over the mark when changing down a gear. I guess that 20 odd years of Sram gripshift use has me conditioned to a “bang and you’ve changed gear” kind of action. I’m toying with the idea of a change to Chorus and it sounds like it would work given what you have said (would love an EPS system but that’ll have to wait until teh days of no mortgage or somesuchthing)

Campagnolo wears in, Shimano wears out

myth no. 1 – and complete guff, ask any mechanic.

It works fine, I mix and match to use bar bags, use mtb front mechs and get the lightest weight for my £. The old C+C hub design was IMO poor as it heavily loaded the DS bearings, which were smaller, this may have changed.

Carbon Centaur for me , much prefer the assertive clunk when shifting and it looks much prettier than Shimano especially the chainsets imho ..had a 10 year old Athena Groupo on a winter bike and it was bombproof and needed minmial looking after and worked as good as when it was new !

myths and personal biases aside, I use Campagnolo because after spending my adult life as a vegan it would by silly to use parts made by a company which also makes fishing equipment 🙂

An interesting take on it bob, I think you may have hit upon a new marketing slant for Campagnolo there!

Talking to a man in the know, apparently you soon won’t be able to buy a bike with Campag fitted OE. Campag sell it quicker than they can make it anyway, so it’s going to be proper ’boutique’ soon…that should get the Rapha boys sweating…

vegan cycling is a massive untapped market 😉

Yep, Veloce on my Bianchi road bike. The campagnolo stuff just seemed right for my Bianchi but I’m sure SRAM or Shimano would have worked just as well.

Campagnolo is rebuildable, Shimano is disposable

I’m not sure this is quite as true as it used to be. I broke an internal spring in a Chorus 11 shifter and while, in the past, you could have sourced the individual part and simply rebuilt, I ended up having to buy a complete set of internal gubbins for about 40 quid, I think.

That said, a friend just had a six-month-old 105 shifter go bad on her and complete replacement seems to be the only viable option, plus apparently the shop can’t source individual shifters, which I find hard to believe, so she’s had to buy a pair for around £180 and, probably, eBay the spare one. At which point the other shifter will probably break.

I like the lever shape, hoods – I have small-ish hands – and aesthetics, the clean cable routing from the bars and the positive, slightly clunky, shift feel. Not so keen on the price of cassettes and the hassle of changing BB bearings. I’d spec it again though.

I think Campag looks nicer. Had it for some years now and upgraded the cranks a while ago. Just Centaur groupset with Record cranks. When I initially bought it the brake cables were buried under the bartape and looked so much cleaner than Shimano with cables all over the place. Shimano have sorted this one out since.

Get what you fancy, what looks nice and is a decent price. They all work but don’t be put off Campag.

I’m not sure this is quite as true as it used to be. I broke an internal spring in a Chorus 11 shifter and while, in the past, you could have sourced the individual part and simply rebuilt, I ended up having to buy a complete set of internal gubbins for about 40 quid, I think.

If that’s the same spring I broke (it’s a ten bob spring to hold the shift lever against the brake lever, rather than flopping around), I had to replace the entire shifter apart from the brake lever and hood. Cost 90€ as Chorus internals are the same as Super Record, when snapping the same spring on my Record 10 lever cost a couple of quid to fix. Campag are bastards for that, and I almost went over to SRAM over it!