Campag Or Shimano??

madandybell

I'm back again!!

Trying to get an idea what the equivalent campag components are compared to shimano components. For example is Veloce the equivalent to shimano tiagra??

Also any opinions on the more reliable out of the two would be a help.

Thanks.

redddraggon

Veloce is roughly 105 level. and IME Campag is more reliable.

I've had Shimano bikes and they've need tweaking of able tensions than the Campag set ups.

father_jack

Campagnolo Xenon is roughly equal in quality to Dura Ace

STEFANOS4784

Oh yes and don't forget that shimano is much better than campag regardless.................. :arrow:

madandybell

STEFANOS4784

Anyhoo the ranges go........................

XENON, MIRAGE, VELOCE, CENTAUR, CHORUS, RECORD (CAMPAG)

SORA, TIAGRA, 105, ULTEGRA, ULTEGRA SL, DURA-ACE(SHIMANO)


Make of this what you will but i've not used campag so can't really make an informed choice, also i'm not sure if there's any difference between ultegra and ultegra sl other than colour, any-one care to enlighten me

Al_38

It can be hard to quantify the differences between the two manufacturers. I have record on my nice bike and 105 on the 2nd.

If you rank the groupsets in terms of weight it is roughly:

super record =
record = dura ace (7900)
chorus = dura-ace (7800)
centaur = ultegra / ultegra sl
veloce = 105

I don't know about the lower groups. Personally I put campag on the bike I just built (and will change the other one over at some point) because I find the hoods considerably more comfortable. Campag has a much more direct, fast feel to shifts than shimano, but is less smooth because of it. Having said that the 105 on my 2nd bike doesn't run anything like as well as the record and almost always seems to be slightly out of tune.

I also believe that pretty much any campag unit can be serviced, so if you had any problems with anything it can all be rebuilt.

AFAIK the difference between ultegra and ultegra sl is just the finish, however the finish over the entire group equate to a saving of ~ 100g

spanielsson

I've had two bikes with 9spd Shimano Ultega. I have two bikes with SRAM, Red & Rival.
I have one bike with Campagnolo Veloce. The Veloce feels and works better than the Ultegra did from new.

The feel of the Shimano shifters is very poor in comparison the the other brands available, in my opinion of course.

I'm now considering selling the SRAM and fitting Campag to my other bikes, I really like Campagnolo, it works really well, shifts smoothly and has not needed adjusting since it was fitted.

Whoever says the Italian stuff is industrial and noisey has never used it!!!!!! I've made sure that my bikes are all Shimano free, I even switched to Look SPD's.

Super Record here I come...............

redddraggon

spanielsson wrote:

Whoever says the Italian stuff is industrial and noisey has never used it!!!!!!

The Veloce levers you have, have the escape mechanism, and the shifting compared to the higher level Campag groups is rather "soft".

There is a massive difference between my Chorus and Centaur levers in the feel of shifting. The Chorus shifters are most definitely stiff, loud and you could even call them "industrial", but I love the feeling of Chorus shifters over the slightly vague and softer Centaur ergos.

Mister W

My experience with 105, on my bikes, and Veloce, on the GF's bike, is that 105 is much better than Veloce. However, my view may be coloured by the fact that the GF's bike needed almost constant maintenance on the drive chain until I rebuilt most of it. I suspect it was originally built by a monkey :?

I think they all work fine if they're set up correctly and can all be a pain the neck if not. None of the modern stuff is unreliable, not even at the bottom end of the ranges.

mhuk

I thought it was Shimano is industrial and Campag is agricultural?

I'm in the same boat and am "chosing" (can't make my mind up) between Veloce (about £250 for a complete groupset) or Ultegra bits via Fleabay.

STEFANOS4784

Mister W wrote:

My experience with 105, on my bikes, and Veloce, on the GF's bike, is that 105 is much better than Veloce. However, my view may be coloured by the fact that the GF's bike needed almost constant maintenance on the drive chain until I rebuilt most of it. I suspect it was originally built by a monkey :?

I think they all work fine if they're set up correctly and can all be a pain the neck if not. None of the modern stuff is unreliable, not even at the bottom end of the ranges.

+1, peoples opinions are just that, opinions, they are probably based on experiences which come down to luck basically, anyhoo shimano IS better

cee

[standardcampagshimanoresponse]
boo
[/standardcampagshimanoresponse]

stephenballantyne

Does anyone have any preference between the two in terms of shifter design? Seems that with Shimano you can get a good grip on the shifter when braking, whereas with Campag you can only rest your hands just behind that little raised pimple :?:

Al_38

stephenballantyne wrote:

Does anyone have any preference between the two in terms of shifter design? Seems that with Shimano you can get a good grip on the shifter when braking, whereas with Campag you can only rest your hands just behind that little raised pimple :?:

IMO the Sram design is possibly the best in terms of how the shifting works, I like the one lever for shifting. Campag is just a bit different to shimano - some people say campag shifters are like sora ones... personally I am not a big fan of the massive amount of swing on the shimano levers (mine are 9spd 105) to shift. Comparatively i think my record ones feel so nice to use.

I wasn't a fan of the Sram braking though - I felt like the brake levers were slightly twisted all the time - although I am sure you would soon get used to it.
In terms of gripping campag v shimano, i find i get more grip on the campag. Possibly due to the hoods being slimmer or the reach to the levers being smaller somehow, I normally have my ring and little fingers wrapped round the hoods and then brake with index and middle fingers on the lever. On my shimano levers I normally find to get the same level of force I have all my fingers on the brake lever meaning I've only got thumbs holding onto the hoods.

Rich-Ti

IMO Dura-Ace levels out with Chorus - Record and Super Record are head & shoulders above :twisted:

Seriously though I don't think you can't really compare as such - some prefer Shimano (and I can see the benefits of the bigger brake hoods, even if I do think they're fugly!) and it is good and reliable and (generally) a little cheaper... BUT, Campag is much more refined, all parts fully servicable (on the higher end stuff at least), you can trim the front mech to elimiate any chain rub in any gear and so on. Oh yeah, and Campag is now 11spd - like it or lump it, they'll all go that way soon and Campag are way ahead of the game here already 8)

FWIW, I'll probably be going for SRAM Red on my next build, although 7900 Dura-Ace has a certain attraction... Anything lower than 7900 is a no-go for me though - I can't stand that bloody cable coming out of the top of the lever! :roll:

And who was that up there ^^ comparing 7900 to Record and 7800 to Chorus?! 7800 is just old Dura-Ace - it's a dead group now!

Chip \'oyler

STEFANOS4784 wrote:

Anyhoo the ranges go........................

XENON, MIRAGE, VELOCE, CENTAUR, CHORUS, RECORD (CAMPAG)

SORA, TIAGRA, 105, ULTEGRA, ULTEGRA SL, DURA-ACE(SHIMANO)


Make of this what you will but i've not used campag so can't really make an informed choice, also i'm not sure if there's any difference between ultegra and ultegra sl other than colour, any-one care to enlighten me

Not any more. From 2009 Veloce is the lowest Campag group. Xenon and Mirage will no longer be made.

My opinion - i've always ridden Campag (since the 80s) and haven't felt the need to change because I've always been happy with their equipment. I also think that their groupsets look better, (especially the latest Dura Ace) and the new Lever shape is fantastic.

Al_38

Rich-Ti wrote:

And who was that up there ^^ comparing 7900 to Record and 7800 to Chorus?! 7800 is just old Dura-Ace - it's a dead group now!

I did say comparing weights... If I was going to spend the best part of £1300 on a groupset in the near future it would be on campag as I personally think it is nicer to use. But you can still buy 7800 if you can cope with being a season out of date

Rich-Ti

Al_38 wrote:

I did say comparing weights...

Ah ok, I take it back :oops:

ianfranklin

"Campag is much more refined, ...................you can trim the front mech to elimiate any chain rub"
You can on Shimano as well. Certainly 105 up

zanes

ianfranklin wrote:

"Campag is much more refined, ...................you can trim the front mech to elimiate any chain rub"
You can on Shimano as well. Certainly 105 up

And on 2006 Sora

giant_man

spanielsson wrote:

I've had two bikes with 9spd Shimano Ultega. I have two bikes with SRAM, Red & Rival.
I have one bike with Campagnolo Veloce. The Veloce feels and works better than the Ultegra did from new.

The feel of the Shimano shifters is very poor in comparison the the other brands available, in my opinion of course.

I'm now considering selling the SRAM and fitting Campag to my other bikes, I really like Campagnolo, it works really well, shifts smoothly and has not needed adjusting since it was fitted.

Whoever says the Italian stuff is industrial and noisey has never used it!!!!!! I've made sure that my bikes are all Shimano free, I even switched to Look SPD's.

Super Record here I come...............

Why did you buy SRAM in the first place? Had you tried it before you bought or were you taken in by the hype and marketing? Just wondered ... at least you've seen the light and now gone for Campag.

I shall be going for both DA 7900 and Super Record next year on two new bikes, as I love Campag anyway but I do also like the 7900 chainwheel and DA hoods (remind me of holding joysticks lol

stronginthesun

shimano wear out , campag wear in .

STEFANOS4784

Campagnogo

Climber_Andy

Campagnolo - passion, beauty and history. Bellissimo.

kingrollo

Campag is more serviceable - so I hear - this is ok - if your going to do it yourself. but most LBS shops are experienced in shimano, there are numerous wheels which are shimano only.

I have ridden ultegra and Centuar, and much preferred shimano - that said my centuar has been going 7 years without a tweak !

When I choose my next bike, I will go for which ever is cheaper. I read somewhere that they all work as well, what you pay for is the weight reduction and style\looks as you move to the higher end groupsets.

STEFANOS4784

kingrollo wrote:

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My 105/ rx100 mix on my cannondale r500 has been going 10 years without a hitch, as i said before must be luck, that said i'm now getting a new bike so might go for campag as a change :?