Campagnolo Athena

rustychisel

Can someone explain the position of Campagnolo Athena in the general scheme of things. Briefly.

Good quality? Mid quality? Still up to the task? Upgradeability, or limited usage these days?

Thanks in Advance.

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Cyclo2000

At the time of it's introduction(late 80s? This catalogue shows it as 1991, with Xenon below it but I coulda sworn I bought a bike in 1989 with Athena) http://www.campyonly.com/images/catalog ... athena.jpg
it was the base (or just above the base) groupset, as far as Campag was concerned. That said, at that time all Campag equipment was very expensive and very expensively finished. I had an Athena Gruppo on my Raleigh 653 and never really had to even adjust it. Just a bit of oil every now and again. The gears were crisp and the brakes superb. The whole thing was Athena, hubs pedals seatpost etc., light too and the shape of the bits was very streamlined and sculptural. I do remember trying to buy chainrings and being told that the spider was a funny size (OLN), making spare rings difficult to get but I'm not sure that was true. It might just have been our sh*te LBS trying to get out of doing any work.
A superb gruppo then, if not top of the range. I gave the Raleigh to me dad as a run about. Wish I'd kept it now! As far as upgrades, mine it was friction shift only so there won't be much you can do with the drivetrain other than replace it. The brakes were sidepulls but very strong - modern dual pivots would still be better though. In short, if there's a complete gruppo on the bike, keep it. In a few more years (perhaps already) you'll be the envy of every collector.

Usquequaque in Ventus
Just once I would like to be called "Sir", without someone adding "You're making a scene".

monty_dogcp

Athena was replaced/relaunched as Daytona and subsequently renamed Centaur - it was the third in-line groupset behind Record and Chorus and was made from the early 90's for about 10 years. It would be equivalent to todays 105/Ultegra - but closer to old Ultegra / 6000 series with vastly superior finish in comparison to contemporary 105. It really depends on what model year of groupset you have, in particular the shape of the Ergo levers as to its upgradeability & spares availability. Similarly, do you have the dual-pivot brakes or the earlier mono-planar design? A complete contemporary groupset - although not quite having the appeal of Record, Croce d'Aune or Chorus would still work well on a suitable contempory frame

rustychisel

Thanks, appreciate this. Pretty much what I wanted to know, as the step daughter is lloking at a bike with Athena Ergos and Mirage other bits. Brakes are dual pivot, I believe.

Sorry to press the point, but are Athena Ergos 9 speed or 10 speed?

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pbiggs

There were no 10-speed Athena Ergos. They'll be 9 or 8-speed.

Older Ergos with pointed hoods are less comfortable for most people than newer models, and less suitable for those with small hands. The 1999 Athena Ergos had the new shape, though.

Most of the rest of the kit is quite likely to be OK.

<i>~Pete</i>

Rob Sallnow

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Cyclo2000</i>
The gears were crisp and the brakes superb. The whole thing was Athena, hubs pedals seatpost etc., light too and the shape of the bits was very streamlined and sculptural. I do remember trying to buy chainrings and being told that the spider was a funny size (OLN), making spare rings difficult to get but I'm not sure that was true. It might just have been our sh*te LBS trying to get out of doing any work.
A superb gruppo then, if not top of the range. <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

OLN refers to hubs rather than cranks...the BCD of Athena was the same as all the other groups of the time although admitedly it was a rather new standard of 135mm as opposed to Victory which had been 144mm.

Athena was introduced in 1988. Around 92-93 when Croce D'Aune was discontinued Athena inherited several parts that had previously been Chorus..ie brakes and cranks.

Athena cartridge bottom brackets seem to be the dogs bollocks in my experience...my winter bike has one that is over ten years old and still going strong.

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I'd rather walk than use Shimano.

The older I get, the better my power to weight ratio was.

rustychisel

thanks all.

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I'm only escaping to here because the office is having a conniption