SRAM and CAMPY users give me your feedback

[smilingcat]

Personal preference I think...

people have already pointed out:

1. Shimano isn't really set up to be repaired. It's meant to be replaced when worn out. Campy on the other hand are meant to be repaired.

2. Shimano shifts smoothly so you don't get that positive action you can feel as you would with campy.

If you are not racing I think you can't go wrong with Centaur, Chrous for campy and 105, and Ultegra for Shimano. You pay lot more money for Record, and Dura Ace, you really wont notice the difference from the Centaur/Chrous/105/Ultegra. And that extra 1/2 lb saving isn't worth the cost.

Sram is pretty nice but I too have heard of premature breakdown.

Personally, I'm not fond of Centaur. tad slow in shifting and I prefer a quiet yet positive shift. For a recreational and serious weekend rider, I think its still a really nice group. I like Dura Ace, Record, chrous, and ultegra. 105 is tad slow in shifting for me.

Ultegra rear deraillure will hold up for about 5,000 - 10,000 miles. STI brakeset/shifter also about the same distance. Then its time for a new one. Over the years, I have managed to mangle two ultegra rear deraillure, one ultegra front, one shimano-600 (precursor to ultegra), STI brakeset... Most had a minimum of 5,000 miles. They all went well beyond "time to replace".

Centaur is on my "new" used bike and haven't logged that kind of miles yet so can't say. Record and Dura Ace will hold up a little longer than Ultegra. Again haven't had the luxury to ride them into the ground. Its just my observation from others.

Braking issues. really none that I can think of. They all do the job well. Dura ace has a strong braking action ultegra little less. Centaur brake set is real positive. Maybe tad too sensitive on the rear wheel. It has a tendency to grab and lock up the rear. (maybe its my setup don't know). Chrous and record also work really well. All these brakes work well even when the wheels get wet.

The whole thing comes down to personal choice and how well you can reach the control from the hood or from the drop.

The best advice from me is to see how easily you can reach the control and then decide.

[indysteel]

FreshNewbie, I, too, wanted a road steel bike and was really frustrated at how few options there were, especially since I ideally needed a women-specific bike. When I bought my Bianchi last year, I only had the Eros Donna, a couple of WSD Shimano speced LeMonds and two bikes by Burley, from which to choose (I admittedly didn't look at Jamis or Colnago). Neither LeMond nor Burley make those particular bikes anymore, so there are even fewer options now.

I wasn't thrilled to buy a bike with a lower-end groupset, which is one of the reasons that, from an emotional perspective, I decided to do some modest upgrades. The most important factors in my decisionmaking, however, were still the frame and fit. While I have very little to compare it to, I like my ED and feel like the components have been adequate for the type of riding I do.

Unfortunately, short of getting a frameset only or going custom you likely won't find a lot of stock steel bikes from which to choose and even fewer (if any) speced with D/A, Chorus or Record. You might want to look at Gunnar's steel frames in that regard. They're reasonably priced and you could build them up to your own specifications. As happy as I am w/ my Bianchi, I wish I would have investigated that option a bit more.

If and when I get another bike, I'd like to go the custom route and have it built up primarily with Chorus. Sigh.....

Good luck!

[aleia23]

I bought a Bianchi Eros (not the Donna) last August with mostly Campy Mirage components (I replaced the crankset with Mirage 2 months ago) and love Campy. I had the Shimano 105 groupset on my Trek bike and have noticed that the shifting is so much smoother with the Campy especially at higher speeds. My husband has the Veloce on his 8 yr old steel Bianchi (with many miles) and swears by it too (never has had to replace anything except for the chain). It is all a matter of personal preference, but I would choose Campy any day.

[FreshNewbie]

Thank you everyone for your comments and suggestions!
Indy, I know what you mean. I spent a lot of time yesterday just lurking websites and I must say I am pretty dissapointed with options. Unless I find a bike shop that would swap the parts (with me paying the difference) looks like there are very limited options out there. Don't take me wrong my bike is still pretty new, its 2005 Specialized Vita multisport with all 105 shimano but I think somewhere in the end of 2008 I will want a new bike ( I would already get one ). Looks like going custom is a best option but it's pretty expensive. Well, I guess for now I should hope that in 2008 someone will come out with a bike I want Thanks,

FN

[indysteel]

Here's an interesting thread from today on roadbikereview.com's forums about why some pro teams use Chorus and Ultegra intstead of D/A and Record.

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=93606

BTW, you might have to register for roadbikereview.com to read it.

[alexis_the_tiny]

Digging up this thread again. My groupset is beginning to sound rather omnious and I want to change it before it fulfills one of those horrible hallucinations I wrote about back in college of a vehicle on a road exploding into rivets and metals bits. I run a 105 groupset on it right now. What would be a rough equivalent for the Campys? Veloce? Athena? Chrous?? I'm totally confused. I vaguely remembered someone had a comparison of Shimano groupsets and cards, wish there was something like that for Campys and SRAM as well.

[ridebikeme]

I would AGREE with all of the Campy supporters here. I have been using Campy strictly since 1994, and would not change over to a Shimano bike. AS Kathy mentioned" shifters can be repaired" I actually repaired mine last year for around $15! I've also noticed over the years, that the cassettes tend to last longer as well . I realize Campy may be a bit expensive, but with all of the benefits listed in this forum ... well?

I have four bikes with Campy, and absolutely love the fact that jumping from one bike to another feels pretty much the same.(shifting wise) Chorus is definitely the workhorse of the group, and although a few grams heavier... quite a bit less expensive than Record.( although that's very nice

[indysteel]

Alexis,

I'm not sure I would look at in terms of what within Campy is similar to 105, although I'd say anything Veloce on up is as good as or better than 105. But in saying that, I know that 105 has gotten a lot better over the last few years, so perhaps Centaur is a closer match. Really, though, it may just come down to how much you really want to spend.

I do think you get a fair amount of bang for your buck with Centaur, but I haven't looked closely at Campy's offerings for the last couple years--since I built my last bike with Centaur--to appreciate how it differs from Chorus or Record. I chose Centaur in part because of price and also because it offered an alloy crank, which is what I wanted. In truth, I preferred the hoods of my 2006 Veloce, so while the my 2009 Centaur group is better, I liked the functionality of my older groupset.

For that reason, I would suggest going to your local shops and actually trying the various groups and manufacturers. You may find that your hands simply prefer one or the other. Also, have you factored in changing your wheels/hubs if you switch from Shimano to Campy? If I understand correctly, your Shimano-compatible wheels will generally not work with a Campy drivetrain.

I will say this: a lot of shops just don't like working on Campy anymore. Thankfully, that's not an issue for me because I have my own mechanic, otherwise known as my husband, but when I was relying on shops, I found some degree of resistance. Campy often requires Campy-specific tools, that just aren't cheap. Parts themselves, e.g., cassettes and chains, aren't cheap either, so it can cost a little extra money over the years to run Campy.

[warneral]

I went from tiagra/sora to Campy Chorus. BIG difference! LOVE my campy components!

[emily_in_nc]

I had Campy Chorus on my go-fast bike I sold a few years ago, and it is absolutely the best gruppo I have ever used. Would use it again in a minute if given half a chance. Easy shifting, fit my hands well, a huge improvement for me over Shimano Ultegra, which I had before.

I have bar-end shifters now due to the V-brakes on my Bike Friday (which is set up as a touring bike), and I like them fine, but I do miss my Campy. It was like "butta".

[melonyogloo]

Have been using Campagnolo components since 1992. I have to say that I have not use any other brand in regular basis and my opinions may be biased.

1) Campagnolo currently produce 11 speed group and 10 speed group:
Super Record, Record, Chours, Athena = 11 speed
Centaur, Veloce, Mirage = 10 speed

2) People say Campagnolo Veloce = Shimano 105 = Sram Rival , Centaur = Ultegra = Force, Chorus = Dura Ace = Red, and Record is in the league of his own.

You can buy Veloce group from England for about US$522 + $25 shipping from:
http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/groups..._GS&type=RIBMO

But you still need a new rear wheel or hub body though.

For more information on Campagnolo, you can go to www.campyonly.com