Switching from Campag to Shimano

LostHorizon
LostHorizon Posts: 27
edited June 2011 in Workshop
Hi,

my bike has a Campag Xenon groupset and its time for an upgrade on the components, which is something i promised myself for buying the cheaper model. In the process of upgrading i want to switch over to Shimano, maybe 105 or something like that. This might be a bit niave but are Campag and Shimano fundamentally incompatible?
Can up upgrade a bit a a time or should i go out and just buy the entire groupset in one go?

cheers..

Comments

  • Pokerface
    Pokerface Posts: 7,960
    Shifters, rear mech and cassettes are incompatible I believe. Brakes, front mech (not 100% on this one) and chainset are compatible.
  • sturmey
    sturmey Posts: 964
    Just to fan the flames of controversy I will say you have made a wise choice in switching from Italian to Japanese engineering.
    Just to convince those doubters, I have had an 18yr old Nissan sat on my driveway for 18 months and engine not been started in all that time. Chanced my arm and bought new baterry for it today and guess what? it started first time- was shocked tbh.
    Now, I dont believe for one minute you would get the same result with an 18 year old Fiat Punto!
    Forgive the simplistic comparison - I would love to try some top of the range Campag stuff- but down with the lower end groupsets I am firmly a Shimano follower.
  • yea its not really about the engineering, its more about the price...but its a good point..

    i also forgot to mention that i have campag kamsin wheels and it has a miche cassette on it. Will a shimano cassette fit that? These wheels are quite new and wouldnt like to shell out for new ones.

    i would like to be a campag type of person, infact when i chose the bike it came with either xenon or sora (which was a baw hair cheaper)...i thought i would be brave and take the itialian option since it is a Bianchi bike...

    but coming from an mtb background my shimano stuff has taken a sh*t load of abuse over many years and just seems to be indestructable and works smoothly, even after youve just fished the bike from the bottom of a bog in the ayrshire hills. For me thats pedigree enough..
  • Smokin Joe
    Smokin Joe Posts: 2,706
    This thread is immoral and obscene.

    Can we have it locked and deleted please, with the above posters banned?
  • lostboysaint
    lostboysaint Posts: 4,250
    First things first, what's the country of origin of the bike (and I don't mean Taiwan or China!). If it's Italian then God will smite you endlessly for even considering such a henous crime. If it isn't then carry on :)
    Trail fun - Transition Bandit
    Road - Wilier Izoard Centaur/Cube Agree C62 Disc
    Allround - Cotic Solaris
  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    This is like 'upgrading' from a Mac to Microsoft! Says he who is typing this on a nasty HP Netbook cos my wife won't let me near the Macbook and the ipad is being used to play music.

    Seriously, if you want to upgrade stick with Campagnolo or you'll need to look at a whole new transmission (shifters, f+r mechs, chain, cassette, rear hub, cables)
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • yea i was tactfully trying not to say i was upgrading my switiching from campag to shimano, the upgrade is from xenon/sora class to 105 or something like that..

    but hey, i have never been one for image over function....so shimano it is..

    personally i dont like microsoft/pc much, but you wouldnt catch me dead using a mac as thats all about the image as well...

    for me engineering is about functionality and reliability....and lets face it, when it comes to that the italians score a zero...but still at least you'll like sharp when your alfa romeo is being toed home...they do look good on the back of a truck, no doubt about that..
  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    for me engineering is about functionality and reliability....and lets face it, when it comes to that the italians score a zero

    My Centaur groupsets are fine - once set up, they just seem to work without adjustment. I think that warrants more than a zero for functionality and reliability - can we compromise and agree on a 10?! 105 seems OK though. Hired a bike last week in the US with 105. If you can live with the looks (boy is it ugly!) it seems pretty good. I just personally prefer the engineering solution of keeping the brake levers focussed on braking.
    Faster than a tent.......
  • tarbot18
    tarbot18 Posts: 531
    Im a bit lost as to how comparing cars shows that everything japanese is better than italian ?

    surely a ferrari is better looking faster etc than any jap sports car as is lamborghini etc. When comparing shimano and campag they are not directly comparable with compag starting further up the shimano range than sora . I do think campag look miles better than shimano and worked flawlessly on my previous bike for many years , yes ive got shimano now but ill be ensuring my next bike has campag as i like things to work well and look good.
    The family that rides together stays together !

    Boardman Comp 29er 2013

    Whyte T129s 2014 viewtopic.php?f=10017&t=12965414&p=18823801&hilit=whyte+t129s#p18823801

    Road Scott speedster s50 2011
  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    So you think Xenon is better than Sora?
  • Here's my two pence worth. Many years ago I used to review bikes for a magazine and in my experience the Shimano shifters always started off nice and crisp but then started to feel loose and a touch sloppy, on the other hand Campag shifters always felt nice and firm.

    Granted things may have changed over the years but that's just my experience.

    Oh, one more thing what about the layout of the shifter levers, which do you prefer?
  • Keith1983
    Keith1983 Posts: 575
    I say replace the lot with shimano and give me the inferior campag Xenon stuff as spares for mine! 8)
  • If you want to defect to the dark side in little steps, how about this.
    http://jtekengineering.com/shiftmate.htm
  • Bozman
    Bozman Posts: 2,518
    As a generalisation ,If it's Italian it LOOKS good, Ferrari, Ducati, clothes, bikes, and the women (until they get older put on weight and start wearing black) but that's where it ends.



    Shimano though have gone tits up with the style of the new shifters, dura ace 7800 looked good but 7900.. dodgy! That poor that i'll swap to the other one next upgrade, not Sram because they don't count.