Buying whole groupset (campag) vs. buying bits and pieces.

graham_g

I'm planning on building up a bike towards the end of this year and am starting to spec it out now (probably buy a few pieces now to spread the cost). I'm certain on using campag purely as the levers will suit my small hands plus the trim on the front mech and the hidden gear cables are enough to justify it. Will go for a triple as I am 99% certain that I'll prefer it to my current compact set up plus it allows that little extra range for any light touring.

I've done some research and found that, for the same cost as the full comp triple groupset (centaur equivalent from what i can gather), I could get a few upgrades on some older equipment via sales - is this worth it?

Upgrades/changes would be:

2006 Record triple chainset
Chorus BB
2006 Chorus ergo levers (non QS, not sure what difference this makes!)

Also, would there be a noticeable difference between 08 centaur skeleton brakes and the old non-skeleton (06) versions? I think I prefer the 2006 version appearance-wise and they're half the price.


Thanks in advance for the advice, I've not looked at anything but Shimano in the past purely for cost reasons.

heavymental

I have quite small hands but found no difference compared to my old 105 levers when I changed to Centaur on my new bike. Infact I think the small hands thing is a bit of a myth to be honest.

redddraggon

If you get a mixture of years, you'll probably save yourself over buying in a package. Personally I bought in a packaged groupset but I was lucky that what I supplied was what I wanted (couldn't change it anyway) at a killer price.

Smokin Joe

The sensible way to kit out a bike is to mix your componants. Campag Ergos will work with Shimano mechs and cassettes with the addition of a Shiftmate and will be far cheaper than buying from one manufacturer. STIs cost the earth compared to Ergos whereas a Dura Ace mech can be had for less than the price of a Centaur. Shimano compatable wheels and cassettes are cheaper and more widely available than their Campag counterparts.

The groupset mentality is expensive and unnescesary, a bit of ingenuity and planning can save you a fortune with the added bonus that your bike looks like it has been built by someone who knows what he is doing.

robbarker

If you have small hands, these are the only purpose-designed option.

http://cycle.shimano-eu.com/publish/con ... ntrol.html

Match with Ultegra bits and maybe an R700 compact chainset.

Try the Wooly Hat Shop on Ebay or Parker International for good deals, or buy from your LBS if you're not confident at fitting and maintenance, as they will be more likely to do a good price for installation and service if you buy from them.

graham_g

Smokin Joe wrote:

The sensible way to kit out a bike is to mix your componants. Campag Ergos will work with Shimano mechs and cassettes with the addition of a Shiftmate and will be far cheaper than buying from one manufacturer. STIs cost the earth compared to Ergos whereas a Dura Ace mech can be had for less than the price of a Centaur. Shimano compatable wheels and cassettes are cheaper and more widely available than their Campag counterparts.

The groupset mentality is expensive and unnescesary, a bit of ingenuity and planning can save you a fortune with the added bonus that your bike looks like it has been built by someone who knows what he is doing.

Now that seems about the most sensible idea - I save on the initial outlay, and on cassettes etc. in the future.

Thanks everyone for the input. Fortunately there are quite a few bikes in the work car park and I decided to be nosey before I went home last night and found one with ergo levers to have a feel of (ooh er!), and they give the impression that they should be pretty comfortable. Like I mentioned earlier, the advantages of having the concealed cables for bar bags and full trimming of the front mech is enough to sway me.

Ken Night

Smokin Joe wrote:

The groupset mentality is expensive and unnescesary, a bit of ingenuity and planning can save you a fortune with the added bonus that your bike looks like it has been built by someone who knows what he is doing.

This is how bikes used to be built until the g/s mentality was introduced by the marketing men and accountants, to push more "product" on a willing public

acorn_user

Well, the nice thing about groupsets is that you can save some money by buying the whole lot in one fell swoop.

I have small hands. I really like Ergo levers, finding that I could not brake well with STI. If you can live without integrated shifters, there are some good brake levers for small hands like those from Tektro. The old Shimano models are nice too. Then run whatever parts you like with downtube shifters in friction mode, just like the old days Than race the bike!

tenor

The Record triple and Chorus is a great combination and Smokin Joes suggestion is spot on. I have a similar set up with a Shimano rear end simply to use the bits I already had. The 12 - 27 cassette ratio is also a useful spin off from this strategy.

graham_g

One thing I just wanted to check is the newer ergo levers with the QS 'quick shift' system, are they less adjustable than previous versions? I gather there's a change to how it shifts up but I've looked at a few descriptions and the marketing blurb but nothing in plain english to say what the difference is! Presumably there hasn't exactly been a massive change to the Chorus levers in two years other than this.

Monty Dog

Chorus shifters still retain the micro-ratchet of old, so worth having for the trim-ability of the front mech. Save costs on things like the brake calipers, front and rear mechs and even cassettes - it's the shifter that dictates the quality and feel of gear changes.

aracer

acorn_user wrote:

Well, the nice thing about groupsets is that you can save some money by buying the whole lot in one fell swoop.

You can - but if you shop around for best prices you can do almost as well if not better buying the parts separately from different sources. Certainly when I got my bits last year there was at least one site where the complete group was more than the bits bought separately. In the end I got all Record apart from a Chorus chainset and a KMC chain, and it was about £100 cheaper than I could have got a Record group for and only ~30g heavier - with the bonus that I get a chain I can join and break without a special tool.

graham_g

Smokin' Joe, Monty, tenor et al, thanks for the advice and comments.

I've been hoovering up clearance 2006 campy stuff including chorus ergo levers, chorus triple crankset and centaur brakes. I've also picked up shimano 105 rear mech and cassette,h a JTek shiftmate and a KMC chain.

Spent £285 so far with just a front mech and bottom bracket left to get (I'll keep my eye on ebay for these), verses £399 for the full Comp (Centaur triple) groupset. So virtual beers for all

heavymental

Worth asking Veloaddict for a price on your remaining items. Cheapest place I found when doing my build. Worth emailing them for a price.

allaction

In response to your question about the 06 Brakes, I know you've bought them now, I have them and they work perfectly. I have them on my winter bike, the brakes were Giant own brands and had rusted. The pads had worn down, which were probably gona cost about £15 to replace. Got the Centaur ones off ebay for about £26 new old stock. Can't be done. I was in a similar position when I built my last bike up and got a good deal on an Ultegra groupset so didn't have to shop around, I don't think theres a right or wrong way to do it. Just shop around and get the best deal you can, and more importantly enjoy the end product!

redddraggon

allaction wrote:

Got the Centaur ones off ebay for about £26 new old stock.

Same here. Got them last November, but later realised that you can't get wheels out without using them with Ergos. But they are about to get used on my new winter bike I'm building. Hopefully they'll work as well as the Centaur Skeletons on my summer bike.

Smokin Joe

redddraggon wrote:

allaction wrote:

Got the Centaur ones off ebay for about £26 new old stock.

Same here. Got them last November, but later realised that you can't get wheels out without using them with Ergos. But they are about to get used on my new winter bike I'm building. Hopefully they'll work as well as the Centaur Skeletons on my summer bike.

If you are running Campag calipers with STI shifters set the barrel adjuster on the caliper so that it is in the half way position when the block clearence is how you want it. To remove a wheel then you just need to screw the adjuster down to get enough clearence. A bit more fiddly than a quick release, but easier than having to deflate the tyre.