Campag or Shimano
I imagine this debate is age old but I have just bought a carbon frame and am looking to build it up over winter. Was considering either Ultegra or Centaur. Prices similar just wondered what peoples views were. I currently have 105 of my bike and am happy with that but wanted to have a real rocket with the new one.
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I run Veloce and 105.
I find Shimano to be smoother, and Campag to be more positive and solid with a slightly shorter lever throw.
I prefer the Campag. but that's just from a styling poiint of view.
Each has it's merits.
Campag. offer slightly wider range of stock ratios - I run a 29 Veloce rear cog, against 27 on the 105.
The tech. info. on cages/weights etc. seems better via the Campag. website.
I heard that Shimano components are more difficult to replace as single items - I remember someone quoting the example that levers can only be bought in pairs for Shimano.
Brake levers on Shimano seem to require less force/more ergonomic, however I also find them rather long.
I prefer the Campag. thumb shifts as I'm mostly on the hoods.
I've also tried Sram, but didn't like it - too clunky for me, and double-tab shifting didn't seem to work for me as well as single depressions of the thumb lever on Campag.0 -
I decry you as a troll and claim my £10!
Seriously, they are both excellent. Buy the one you prefer.0 -
The main advantage of Shimano is that if you get caught in the rain, you can dry your gear afterwards on the washing line handily placed in front of the bars.
Put a hump in your back
Shake your sacroiliac
And ride on0 -
Shimano- I prefer having a preset click when going fast, as it makes shifting 1 gear at a time (especially into a bigger gear) a lot easier, so for me thats an advantage of shimano. And if you want a wide range of gears then just get a compact, for me a 12-29 casette dpesn't really have enough cruising gears.
However for longer rides, not at race pace, I prefer campagnolo. They are easier to use when on the hoods and seem a bit more comfy for me.
In all honesty I would go for the Ultegra Black version.
A little bit extra but it looks awesome 8)
I think that's a bit better for racing on."I hold it true, what'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost;
Than never to have loved at all."
Alfred Tennyson0 -
[quote="Two sheds"]The main advantage of Shimano is that if you get caught in the rain, you can dry your gear afterwards on the washing line handily placed in front of the bars.[/quote] You're right there, there's always miles of the stuff! lol 0
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If you've got a few bikes lined up get 1 of each
"I hold it true, what'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost;
Than never to have loved at all."
Alfred Tennyson0 -
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Not tried the SRAM stuff but have bikes with 10 speed Chorus and Dura Ace.
The Shimano is definately slicker shifting, but not by much. Campag has a more positive feel to it. One of the things I like about Campag is when changing to smaller sprockets you can change more than one at a time. If you've got a short cage rear mech you can run a 28 on Campag, 27 on Shimano, handy if you're off to the Alps. Again for very hilly riding Campag shifters are triple ready, Shimano aren't unless you buy the triple specific ones.
Other than that it depends on your own preference for the shifter design. Try them all and see which you prefer.0 -
Pirahna wrote:If you've got a short cage rear mech you can run a 28 on Campag, 27 on Shimano, handy if you're off to the Alps.
Not true in my experience. I run a 34/50 and a 11-28 with a short cage 105 with no problems. Looking at the Parkers site I think you have a choice between short and medium cages with Campag to suit a bigger cassette.0 -
I've been lucky enough to have both Shimano and Campag. The bottom line is that they are both great systems.
Personally I prefer Campag and have now converted both my bikes over (in fact I've just swapped from Ultegra to Centaur). The hood shape and multi-shift (multi in both directions for Record, Chorus and pre-2007 Centaur, multi downshifts on Centaur and below) is also great. Cassettes are also available in more options than Shimano (including a useful 11-25 for compacts). There are some aesthetic reasons too. Single parts for repairs are available.
Downsides are that not so many bike shops stock Campag parts, so unless you have a good 'un nearby you'll have to like mail ordering bits.0 -
Shimano don't do matching corkscrews.....0
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I am thinking of going with Ultegra. The local shop that does all my work says parts are harder to source for Campag and I am happy with the 105 in any case on my other bike. £375 for a 2007 group set doesn't sound too bad does it?0
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bryanm wrote:Shimano don't do matching corkscrews.....
That is a damn good point bryanm. £100 for a cork screw is a veritable bargain and no mistake. Shame its not carbon, although if it was it would take years for Shimano to bring out a comparable carbon cork screw...0 -
(Can't believe I've been sucked in!)
I have 2007 Campag Veloce and old Shimano RSX (7 speed). I like them both but if anything I'd have the thumb button from the Campag for smaller rings and the moving break lever from Shimano.
And the Campag corkscrew is excellent.Never order anti-pasta to arrive at the same time as pasta.0 -
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My Shimano is a smoother change, Campag is more comfortable on the hoods, so I run Shimano on my evening summer thrash bike and a Campag/Shimano mix on my distance bike.0
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allaction wrote:I am thinking of going with Ultegra. The local shop that does all my work says parts are harder to source for Campag and I am happy with the 105 in any case on my other bike. £375 for a 2007 group set doesn't sound too bad does it?
Your shop may not stock the parts but that doesn't mean that campag stuff is hard to source. All the big online suppliers stock Campag.
I have both Shimano and Campag, by the way: 105 on my Cross bike and Veloce on my road bike. I like them both. As others have said, Shimano tends to have a smoother shift but Campag is more positive (i.e. you know when you've shifted on Campag, it has a nice audible 'click'). I find Campag hoods more comfortable and really like the thumb shifter on Ergos. I also prefer Campag brakes.I'm only concerned with looking concerned0 -
I am thinking about swapping my 105 for some Campag Chorus.
I love the carbon everywhere, and the concealed cables.
But Dura-Ace is cheaper.0 -
I like both. What? Shoot me :P0
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acorn_user wrote:
Didn't know that, honest.....
I want to add that today at one point I had to hit the small level THREE times to go up a gear on the Shimano, but yesterday had no trouble going up and down gears on the club hill climb using Campag (had big problems with the hill itself but that's another issue).
So today I'm most definitely in a Campag placeNever order anti-pasta to arrive at the same time as pasta.0 -
"Positron ®
This was Shimano's first attempt at indexed shifting. The indexing "clicks" were built into the derailer, not the lever. The positron system didn't have a return spring; some models used a double cable to pull the derailer back and forth; other models used a single, semi-rigid push-pull cable.
Positron was a valuable learning experience for Shimano. Their original theory was that experienced cyclists already knew how to shift, but that beginners could benefit from a system that didn't require fine-tuning of the shift lever position. For this reason, Positron was offered on entry-level bikes, often department-store models. This marketing theory turned out to be unworkable. The parts had to be made very cheaply to meet the price points required. This caused less-than-impressive performance. In addition, the fact that Positron was only supplied on bottom-end bikes caused it to acquire a poor connontation, as something to be outgrown, and not to be considered by a "serious cyclists."
Shimano went back to the drawing board, and the next time they tried indexed shifting, in 1984, they started at the top of the line, with Dura-Ace S.I.S. Cyclists were initially dubious about this feature, but it worked so well that most resistance was overcome. Once the pros started using it, this now-glamorous feature rapidly trickled down to the hoi polloi. The result was Shimano's complete domination of the bicycle parts market, much as Microsoft dominates the computer software market. By 1986 it had become almost impossible to sell a bike that didn't have indexed shifting.
See the 1982 Shimano Catalogue on this site.
Many Positron-equipped bikes also featured the Front Freewheel System, but this was not a specific linkage...either of these systems could and did function without the other. "
From Sheldon Brown. Front freewheeling is weird. If you could find one of those hubs, you could have a 5 speed fixie!0
