A Campag Thread

fat bloke · 05-09-2021 6:44pm #1

A very broad thread title, I'll give ye that, but I did a couple of searches and it's ... lightly broached shall we say in the history of the forum. My reasoning behind starting it at all is to learn a bit myself about what is largely a mystery to me. I've never ridden a bike with campag on it, I rarely even see bikes with campag on them and I only have a cursory knowledge of what groupset is what and roughly how they equate to Shimano and SRAM. However, being a rim braked fan and a mechanical gear change fan, my SRAM and Shimano loyalty is being severely tested and indeed it seems my custom is being actively shunned with disc'd electronics being the way of the future.

I did come across a review lately that suggested that old school cable brakers and gear changers should really point their wallets at Campagnolo going forward, to keep such componentry relevant and available.

What's the proportion of Boards bikes running campag at all? What's the craic with availability of groupsets and bits of / parts for groupsets? They were first in with the 12 speed, how are those early groupsets performed or held up, are there many people on here using them? Where's a good place to purchase them, anywhere in particular or the usual suspect stores?

Weepsie · 05-09-2021 11:04pm

I've an 11 speed campagnolo centaur groupset in my spares box looking for a suitable frame.

wersal gummage · 05-09-2021 11:25pm

I am mostly shimano, but have one campag bike.

Won't get into one v the other, but if you do your own work at home and have a few shimano tools already, think carefully before going camoag. Just look up what's involved in removing the cranks (and whether it's power or ultra torque) and the tools required.

05-09-2021 11:57pm

Never owned a campagnolo equipped bike but have rode one. Maybe it's something you learn to love and get used to but the shifting/shifters seem bonkers compared to shimano/sram??? Honestly they could be half the price of shimano and I still wouldn't go for them because of the shifters.

magicbastarder · 06-09-2021 9:05am

have never ridden anything with campag, but the shifters on whatever the ultegra equivalent is just felt really plasticky and flimsy to me on any bikes i've seen in shops.

hesker · 06-09-2021 9:06am

I have both Campag and Shimano. No problem with either of them. I actually like the thumb shifters on Campag. To me there is better differentiation between upshift and downshift.

Traditionally Campag shifters have been easier to maintain as you could completely disassemble them.

Shimano has greater market share so you will find more love for them. They both seem to have their own particular issues in different models. Check out the issues some people are having with Shimano cranks for instance.

Chips Lovell · 06-09-2021 9:18am

Have four bikes with Campag groupsets, three with various flavours of 11-speed and one with a 9-speed triple. I've nearly always ridden Campag, so I guess that's why I use it for the first pace.

Things I like:

Better shifter design. I like being able to dump down a few cogs in one sweep cresting the top of a hill.
Availability of spare parts. Pretty much everything can be disassembled and fixed and, once you have the part number, you can usually find what you need no problem.
Ultra-torque bottom bracket design. One bolt, no fuss, great bearings.

ARX · 06-09-2021 9:42am

Love the image they chose for this!

Plastik · 06-09-2021 10:03am

I've 2015 Athena11 on one (~37,000km), 2011-2014 gen Chorus11 on another (~49,000km), and 2011-2014 gen Record11 on a third (~5,000km, plus unknown - bought s/hand). I've never used EPS or any of the 12s groups. Amazing the sort of emotive issues that the great groupset debate can bring out in people.

Prefer the shifting. IMO, a more mechanical tactile rifle-bolt style shift to, for instance, Shimano who seem to have gone the way of trying to make the shift as light in action as possible. Arguably, the shifting was a little better from an outright performance perspective with the DA9000 group that I had on one of the bikes, but the ergonomics weren't as nice to me, and far prefer the Record11 that replaced it. Haven't used SRAM for a long time.
The thumb levers - a lot of people seem to recoil in horror at these based on their experiences of Shimano's version of same on the lower end groups a while back. They're non comparable. When using Shimano bikes now I miss being able to shift up a gear from the tops with my baby finger.
Parts - almost everything can be replaced/rebuilt.
Tools - there is some proprietary stuff but not a massive amount. You need a proprietary tool to remove Powertorque cranks and to change their bearings or Ultratorque bearings. Ultratorque cranks just come off with a 10mm allen key.

Pinch Flat · 06-09-2021 10:15am

I have a Campag bike (winter bike, Athena). Main disadvantage for Campag for me is DIY work can be limited - some of the bearings need specialist tools that are expensive and Campag don't even manufacture (Athena crank bearings). Shimano for me is much easier to maintain as a DIY'er. Have Ultegra on my "good bike" and no issues whatsoever keeping it running smooth.

07Lapierre · 06-09-2021 11:09am

I've Campag Chorus on one bike, Campag EPS on another. I also have a bike with Ultegra 11speed and another bike with 105.

I think people don't like the thumb shifters because they take a bit of getting used to while holding the hoods. The Campag thumb shifters work best when your Racing and on the drops. You soon get used to them though.

Once you have the tools, servicing Campag is pretty straight forward and i personally prefer working on Campag.

ARX · 06-09-2021 1:12pm

Great idea for a thread btw. I have nothing useful to add other than that one day I was riding along and I stopped to check my map. When I got off the bike, there was the Campagnolo factory right beside me.

fat bloke · 06-09-2021 1:18pm

I never work on my own bikes really, I've never removed or installed a crank so tooling wouldn't be an issue for me. As long as the LBS can do it, that's good enough for me.

The compatibility of wheels and cassettes across 11 speed from all three of the main players is handy for sure. I don't know if that carries over for 12 speed, probably not I'm guessing.

Paddigol · 06-09-2021 2:46pm

Campag man here. Also have Sram on my cross bike. Have to say I prefer the differentiation provided by thumb shifters. Can't say I have any complaints really with Capag, but not having ridden Shimano can't compare.

Plus, they're Italian.

ednwireland · 06-09-2021 2:51pm

campag xenon back in the day - junk, really soured my love of campag (before you ask couldnt afford anything else back in the day)

it was fine but moved to cheap shimano and it was such a step up.

Mefistofelino · 06-09-2021 5:13pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117853867#Comment_117853867

Italian. Apart from their two large factories in Romania which have the majority of Campag employees and do all the assembly.

Plus the Fulcrum ranges are generally manufactured in Taiwan.

Plastik · 06-09-2021 9:27pm

Some stuff on weightweenies would lead you to think there is some cross-compatibility with the 12 speed SRAM/Campag cassettes alright. Obviously no one has a 12s Shimano cassette yet.

Weepsie · 06-09-2021 10:44pm

However with wheels it's different. You can't put a 12speed sram cassette on any normal hub.

You can out a 12 speed campag cassette on your old 9-11 speed campag hub I believe

Plastik · 06-09-2021 11:00pm

Yeah that's true, but was essentially always the case i.e. if you were running a SRAM/Shimano11 cassette with your Campag group you always needed the appropriate freehub also. Campag12 will fit on a standard Campag freehub but SRAM needs the XDR.

smacl · 07-09-2021 8:15am

Have a 10x3 Veloce triple on my old road bike which was my first road bike, currently on Ultegra disc setup for my main bike. While happy with both, I prefer the Campag approach to shifting. I find on the Shimano if the braking is setup to be quite sensitive, e.g. after recently replacing pads and getting them worn in, it is easy to inadvertently brake slightly when shifting. I'll probably stick with Shimano going forward as there are more variety of wheels and parts available at reasonable prices.

wersal gummage · 07-09-2021 10:11am

One of the things that has surprised me with campagnolo is the lack of EPS groups.

I am still on rim Brakes but recently made the move, on one bike, to Di2. I'd have been happy to go with Chorus EPS if there was such a thing but there isn't.... Seems like there was in the past but no longer?

I know they have super record eps but how much of the market does that get?

Chips Lovell · 07-09-2021 10:36am

There was a Chorus and Athena EPS alright. I assume they were discontinued because not enough people were buying it.

fat bloke · 07-09-2021 11:58am

Potenza looked like a nice group, seems like it was only launched recently but then quietly discontinued shortly after, I wonder why?

Feckin' raging I didn't buy it when they were virtually giving it away in Merlin cycles. Mind you I could say the same for Sram red22 they were selling off for 900 quid and even Dura ace 9100 for a grand. :(

Plastik · 07-09-2021 2:48pm

I've some vague recollection that for some unknown reason the Potenza groupset had a different pull-ratio to everything else in the Campag range and was compatible (shifters/derailleurs) with nothing else. The silver version looked great for retro builds though.

fat bloke · 07-09-2021 6:43pm

After a good hour of scrubbing, readying my ten year old, ten speed R5 baby for another attic hibernation I felt I had to post this.

Dunno if or when I'll be a campag man but it'll do well to come close to the awesomeness of 2nd gen 10 speed Red. Ten years old next year and still featherlight, lightning quick and pin sharp! :)

Weepsie · 07-09-2021 7:08pm

My sram red rear derailleur slid across a road (with me on it), got scuffed up, sheared the high limit bolt so it could no longer be adjusted, and still worked as it should for about a year afterwards.

C3PO · 07-09-2021 8:16pm

I have 11 speed Record and Campag wheels on a Pinerello FP5. Have a couple of more expensive SRAM and Shimano kitted bikes but still love the Pinerello and regard it as my “Sunny Sunday” favourite! I have no issues with the shifters and find the SRAM system more difficult to adjust to when I have ridden it for a while.

TheBlaaMan · 07-09-2021 8:48pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117859739#Comment_117859739

Try a well set-up Record 10s group. Sweeter than a sweet thing and never bettered by Campag IMO, (4 bikes with Campag, 2 with Shimano)

hesker · 08-09-2021 12:28am

Nice look at the Chorus 12 speed mechanical in this vid

https://youtu.be/tmuYbhESJ18

fat bloke · 08-09-2021 12:29pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117861471#Comment_117861471

Nice one. Looks like a nice, more exotic and interesting option to Ultegra for sure, for a similar price.

Yer man does some good vids, a frightful number of ads though and I do find him a bit hard to understand.

Paddigol · 08-09-2021 3:18pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117854634#Comment_117854634

I don't see how that makes Campagnolo any less Italian designers tbh. People throw this around all the time, as though the revelation will come as a shock to Campy fans who believed their beloved groupsets were made by espresso-sipping bella donna in retro frocks in a 1950s Neapolitan factory, and kind of misses the whole point of design v. manufacture.

The Fiat 500 is made in Poland and Mexico. That's not going to convince me that the car I drive is anything but Italian.

A Campag Thread

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