gear question to you mechanical geniuses!

[DebW]

Okay. there are these different kinds of gear groups. campy veloce, campy record, shimano ultegra..

If i bought a bike with Campy Veloce, does that mean I would get the same gears as another campy veloce bike? the same granny gear and the same speeding gear? or is that a separate entity? I'm not talking custom bikes.
I'm talking more of off the shelf types of bikes.

Thanks

No. You can still pick your cassette range and chainring options within a group. Though you are limited to 39-53 double or a 34-50 compact double in chainrings. 10-speed cassette options are:

11-25, 12-23, 12-25, 13-26, 13-29, 14-23

And I don't see why you couldn't mix some Veloce components with another Campy group, or perhaps even some Shimano parts if you wanted to.

[mimitabby]

No. You can still pick your cassette range and chainring options within a group. Though you are limited to 39-53 double or a 34-50 compact double in chainrings. 10-speed cassette options are:

11-25, 12-23, 12-25, 13-26, 13-29, 14-23

And I don't see why you couldn't mix some Veloce components with another Campy group, or perhaps even some Shimano parts if you wanted to.

oh, no, Deb, you're going over to the dark side now!! lalalalalalala


but thank you kindly for answering the question. maybe next spring. hmmmmmmmmm

[DebW]

oh, no, Deb, you're going over to the dark side now!! lalalalalalala

Why, because I said the word Shimano?

That info is on the Campy web site. Just because something is available, though, doesn't tell you what some manufacturer will outfit their stock bikes with.

[mimitabby]

Why, because I said the word Shimano?

no, not at all~ ! because you said i could mix up different types with each other. !! That sounds so far beyond what I could conceive of or understand.
I also had heard that if you were mixing campy with shimano, you needed other special gadgets. If I buy a bike,they're probably not going to sell me half chorus and half veloce.. you just went beyond what i can handle in my brain (can you hear the synapses cracking?)

I just don't want to buy another bike and find out that it doesn't do hills because it has the wrong gears..

[DebW]

Mimi, you need to decide what gears you want before you buy the bike and then insist that the LBS swap parts until you get what you want. Using Shimano shifters on Campy freewheel, or vice versa, requires gadgets. But you could probably use any Campy freewheel with Veloce shifters. Or use Chorus shifters with a Veloce freewheel. But do any part swaps when you buy the bike because then you pay for the difference in price only and the LBS keeps a brand new part to sell.

Back in my day, bikes didn't come with "gruppos". You'd get a Suntour freewheel, a Regina chain, and Simplex shifters. Everything worked together.

[mimitabby]

Deb,
here's the crux of the matter: I havent a clue! what would I want a chorus part mixed in with the Daytona or the Veloce? Why would i want to mix and match?
I am so beginner in this respect. I just want a bike that works well. Someone with your knowledge and sophistication surely could mix and match and come up with something way better at the end. But for me it sounds like a rube goldberg contraption which would forever be seizing up. who am I to second guess
the experts? I am still working on learning the advice you gave me to keep me from knocking my chain off !

[SadieKate]

. . . But you could probably use any Campy freewheel with Veloce shifters. Or use Chorus shifters with a Veloce freewheel

Psst, Deb! I don't think Campy makes freewheels any longer!

[SadieKate]

Mimi, what kind of bike are you considering? What do you want it to do? What do you want it to do differently than your Bianchi?

Different gruppos have different things. Some have 10 speed now. Some are still, I think, 9 speed. Some have different cassette sizes available -- as in the largest cog is 29 speed. Triple or double? Are you gaga for all silver components or do you want carbon? Do you want this bike to have cantilevers?

When you have a bike frame custom built for you or if you have a production frame built up with handpicked components, you have the option of buying a gruppo or buying each part individually. But you really can't intelligently pick which parts until you decide what you want the bike to do (racing, centuries, loaded touring, etc., etc., etc.).