Campag Athena v Ultegra 11 speed

coach22

About to pull the trigger on a new bike.

Have the option of Campag 11 speed or Ultegra 11 speed

The Campag is 180 cheaper.

Is there much difference? I haven't tried either. Old bike was SRAM Rival

not sane

Ok just a couple of points, look at the cost of replacing a Campag 11 speed Cassette (massive money). Don't get me wrong I've been a Campag user for years but in the process of changing over to Shimano Ultegra. Second point is I've had a pair of campag shifters and rear mech gone bust after little over 3 years use. OK another one is, its much easier to get Shimano parts. Do check in the bigger scheme of things the cost of replacing individual items i.e. replacing rear mechs etc (God forbid after a crash). To me Shimano wins out. Don't get me wrong my winter bike still is using 15 year old campag, but I think Shimano has caught up in quality terms but Campag has gone back.

Daroxtar

not sane wrote: »

Ok just a couple of points, look at the cost of replacing a Campag 11 speed Cassette (massive money). Don't get me wrong I've been a Campag user for years but in the process of changing over to Shimano Ultegra. Second point is I've had a pair of campag shifters and rear mech gone bust after little over 3 years use. OK another one is, its much easier to get Shimano parts. Do check in the bigger scheme of things the cost of replacing individual items i.e. replacing rear mechs etc (God forbid after a crash). To me Shimano wins out. Don't get me wrong my winter bike still is using 15 year old campag, but I think Shimano has caught up in quality terms but Campag has gone back.

Is it true that you can buy the individual components for campag eg, if a pin in your shifter breaks you can get the pin instead of having to buy a whole new shifter?

not sane

Nope you now have to buy the whole shifter

TiBoy

In my household we have a bike with athena and a bike with 11 speed ultegra.

Both bikes were bought at the same time last year so up to date versions of both groupsets.

The consensus amongst us is the ultegra is smoother and less finicky, we always seem to be tinkering with the indexing on the athena to keep it right.

The ultegra has less cross chaining rattle also.

I prefer the front derailleur trim on the Ultegra over the Athena.

Ultegra shifters can be adjusted for small hand reach which is important for me. (Possibly the athena shifters can be adjusted similarly and I just dont know how!!:D)

But I do like the thumb shifters on the athena.

That said both are very nice setups.

letape

Daroxtar wrote: »

Is it true that you can buy the individual components for campag eg, if a pin in your shifter breaks you can get the pin instead of having to buy a whole new shifter?

Yes this is true. Campag ergopower levers (higher level ones anyway) can be rebuilt and individual parts within them can be replaced and are readily available. The parts have a 4 year warranty - but regardless most of the components can be repaired / rebuilt.

The last Shimano groupset I had was a 9 speed dura ace groupset. I had a problem with the left ergopower and ended up binning the set. In 2005 I snapped the inner lever on a right hand record ergopower level. I bought the part on line, took the lever fully apart and replaced the level.

For me personally I prefer campagnolo parts and wheels. I prefer the way they feel and look and are more unique than Shimano. In saying that I am very tempted by the new SRAM etap system!

For those concerned about the cost of campagnolo 11 speed cassettes, there is always the option now if using lower level Shimano 11 speed ones, which are bow compatible with 11 speed campagnolo groupsets.

letape

not sane wrote: »

Nope you now have to buy the whole shifter

That's not true. Individual parts are available and levers can be rebuilt.

not sane

As a Campag lover that was, you can't, you have to buy the lever body, tell me where you get your parts from? Bet your house you can't

onthefringe

not sane wrote: »

As a Campag lover that was, you can't, you have to buy the lever body, tell me where you get your parts from? Bet your house you can't

As Le tape said .... Campag ultra shift levers are FULLY re build able
Campag powershift are not.... Powershift is the cheaper lever and in my view..... Disposable t it's cost point which is far less than ultegra for replacement .
That said... Shimano 11 groupos are smoother than ALL 11 speed campags groups... There I've said it!
Super record 11 on 1 bike
Dura ace 11 on another .....
DA far superior .
Still a campag head though ;-)

letape

not sane wrote: »

As a Campag lover that was, you can't, you have to buy the lever body, tell me where you get your parts from? Bet your house you can't

I don't know what you are taking about! I have rebuilt three sets of ergopowers - as have many people on here. In saying that I have never run parts lower than chorus. Guaranteed at that level and above every single bolt, washer, spring and lever can be bought and replaced by hand with an average level of competence. Happy to send you exploded parts diagrams with individual component numbers if that helps. Just google the part numbers and you'll find them.

coach22

thanks for the advice folks. I'l try and check out the two group sets in a shop tomorrow and see how they compare. I'll let ye know what I decide in the end. i like the idea of shifting multiple gears with the campy but the shimano looks more familiar coming from sram

wheelo01

As a complete eejit newbie, I started out two years ago with a mix of Sora/tiagra, I then actually caught the bug and upgraded to a Canyon AF that has all campagnola parts.
I knew nothing of this argument, and now am worried in case anything goes wrong with my bike at all. I was as happy as a pig in sh1t until I read this thread, s from now on, it is only reading that can make me behave more cautiously(and I am the most cautious of sautious) Grr -
time to give up, I think, get out while I can still get my money back:):cool:

onthefringe

wheelo01 wrote: »

As a complete eejit newbie, I started out two years ago with a mix of Sora/tiagra, I then actually caught the bug and upgraded to a Canyon AF that has all campagnola parts.
I knew nothing of this argument, and now am worried in case anything goes wrong with my bike at all. I was as happy as a pig in sh1t until I read this thread, s from now on, it is only reading that can make me behave more cautiously(and I am the most cautious of sautious) Grr -
time to give up, I think, get out while I can still get my money back:):cool:

youve no need to be worrying about campag components..
if its chorus of record/super record it'll serve you well for many a year with minor maintenance like cables and jockey wheels.
athena , veloce, centaur or even xenon are a match for their shimano counterparts for longevity too.
the key is to comapre apples with apples..

onthefringe

coach22 wrote: »

thanks for the advice folks. I'l try and check out the two group sets in a shop tomorrow and see how they compare. I'll let ye know what I decide in the end. i like the idea of shifting multiple gears with the campy but the shimano looks more familiar coming from sram

if your going athena it needs to be "ultra shift " shifters to be able to make multiple downshifts...dont think this are available new now. " power shift" means one gear at a time
chorus, record and super record have that feature

coach22

onthefringe wrote: »

if your going athena it needs to be "ultra shift " shifters to be able to make multiple downshifts...dont think this are available new now. " power shift" means one gear at a time
chorus, record and super record have that feature

thanks. just read the description again and it says it can upshift by 3 gears but downshift by 1

anyway I've ordered the athena. the bike is the canyon ultimate cf. I was going to go for ultegra but it was gone this morning when I went to place the order.

smacl

Moved from Veloce on the old bike to Ultegra on the new one, and find the shifting and trimming on the Ultegra superb. Reason I went for Ultegra was gear range and option for hydraulic disc brakes. I went for a compact setup with 11/32 cassette which allows an out of shape lad like myself, carrying a few pounds on the midriff, plenty of gears to cycle around the hills all day. AFAIK Campag 11 speed is limited to 12/29 or 12/30 for 10 speed, which is going to be great for fit types and racers, but less so for long distance leisure cyclists. I ended up with disc brakes on the new bike, but FWIW far prefer the Campag rim brakes. Campag cassettes are expensive, but they seem to last well. You can get BBB campag splined cassettes, but I didn't find them as good.

guym

coach22 wrote: »

thanks. just read the description again and it says it can upshift by 3 gears but downshift by 1

anyway I've ordered the athena. the bike is the canyon ultimate cf. I was going to go for ultegra but it was gone this morning when I went to place the order.

Good luck with the canyon and any other bikes you may be considering ;);):D

coach22

guym wrote: »

Good luck with the canyon and any other bikes you may be considering ;);):D

Similar spec to yours. Glws