Campag Athena

Westerberg
Westerberg Posts: 652
edited February 2010 in Road buying advice
...anyone have this groupset? how far off Chorus is is in terms of quality? Where would it fit in terms of parity with Sram / Shimano ( Ultegra level?)

Cheers

Comments

  • ColinJ
    ColinJ Posts: 2,218
    Westerberg wrote:
    ...anyone have this groupset? how far off Chorus is is in terms of quality? Where would it fit in terms of parity with Sram / Shimano ( Ultegra level?)

    Cheers
    I have 9-speed Athena on my Basso. It was taken off my dead Bianchi on which it had been used for several years before that. It has given me years of reliable service.

    It was the groupset below Chorus. Now the thing is, Athena became Daytona in the year 2000 and shortly after that Centaur so what you are thinking of buying is at least 10 years old!

    In terms of practicality, I don't have any problem with my old Athena compared to the newer 10-speed Chorus on my Cannondale. Okay, the Chorus is slightly lighter and has some nice carbon-fibre bling but the all-alloy Athena is perfectly okay. I would say it was approximately the equivalent of Ultegra.

    I'd say the biggest shortcoming is that it is only 9-speed, and that is only a problem if you need a wide spread of gears and don't like big steps between them. The 10-speed and now 11-speed Chorus are obviously better in that respect.
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,665
    ColinJ wrote:
    Westerberg wrote:
    ...anyone have this groupset? how far off Chorus is is in terms of quality? Where would it fit in terms of parity with Sram / Shimano ( Ultegra level?)

    Cheers
    I have 9-speed Athena on my Basso. It was taken off my dead Bianchi on which it had been used for several years before that. It has given me years of reliable service.

    It was the groupset below Chorus. Now the thing is, Athena became Daytona in the year 2000 and shortly after that Centaur so what you are thinking of buying is at least 10 years old!

    In terms of practicality, I don't have any problem with my old Athena compared to the newer 10-speed Chorus on my Cannondale. Okay, the Chorus is slightly lighter and has some nice carbon-fibre bling but the all-alloy Athena is perfectly okay. I would say it was approximately the equivalent of Ultegra.

    I'd say the biggest shortcoming is that it is only 9-speed, and that is only a problem if you need a wide spread of gears and don't like big steps between them. The 10-speed and now 11-speed Chorus are obviously better in that respect.

    WTF?...

    Get with the times man!

    http://www.shinybikes.com/product.php?productid=18003
  • Westerberg
    Westerberg Posts: 652
    thanks Guys - yes indeed it is the 11 speed Athena that I'm looking at - alloyed to a spanking new 'Celeste' (i.e. Green to you and I) Bianchi Infinito!
  • hugo15
    hugo15 Posts: 1,101
    Saw a Bianchi Infinito in when I popped into my LBS a few weeks ago. Looks absolutely fantastic with the Athena groupset. Was chatting to one of the guys I ride with at the weekend about it and we both had the same comment, "great looking bike but surprised to see Fulcrum 7 wheels on a bike costing £2.5k".
  • Westerberg
    Westerberg Posts: 652
    Hugo - you can get it with Fulcrum 3's for the same price if you shop around.
  • Chip \'oyler
    Chip \'oyler Posts: 2,323
    Go with whatever Russ Conway uses
    Expertly coached by http://www.vitessecyclecoaching.co.uk/

    http://vineristi.wordpress.com - the blog for Viner owners and lovers!
  • hugo15
    hugo15 Posts: 1,101
    Westerberg wrote:
    Hugo - you can get it with Fulcrum 3's for the same price if you shop around.

    That's a much better deal.
  • ajb72
    ajb72 Posts: 1,178
    Going back to the OP, Athena 11 is a cracking groupset - the alloy chainset is great looking but the carbon levers look a little odd in an otherwise alloy groupset. You can of course spec the carbon chainset instead.

    If you can possibly afford it though, I would definitely opt for Chorus. You get a stack more carbon, (the rear mech looks awesome) and carbon levers, rather than alloy levers with a carbon wrap. I cannot compare the two direclty in terms of performance but I have noticed how crisp and fast the gear change is with the new Chorus compared to the old 10 speed. I have read one review saying the gear change on Athena is a bit vague, but I have no personal experience if this is correct or not. I think after a bit of browsing and haggling you will be able to but Chorus for around £100 more, and for me it is worth every penny more.

    Asking how they compare with other brands usually starts a war of words on here. For me, Athena is somewhere near Sram Force and Shimano Ultegra, wheras Chorus is closer to Dura Ace and Sram Red. Others will no doubt disagree!
  • ColinJ
    ColinJ Posts: 2,218
    NapoleonD wrote:
    WTF?...

    Get with the times man!

    http://www.shinybikes.com/product.php?productid=18003
    Oops - so I see that Campagnolo have played the old go-back-to-name-of-groupset-abandoned-10-years-ago trick! :oops:

    That one slipped under my radar. Mind you - some of us don't buy 2 or 3 new bikes or groupsets a year so we don't have our faces glued to the latest issue of Bike Bling Monthly! :wink:

    Okay, to update the comments on my original post...

    My 11 year old 9-speed Athena groupset has been a really good investment. I've had many thousands of miles of hard use out of it. I imagine that the new Athena groupset is even better than my old 10-speed Chorus - go for it!

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