Mecanical or EPS??

Rudd

Dear all,

I have a problem, a nice problem but a problem none the less! so I'm appealing to the wide knowledge of this forum for assistance.

I'm in the process of buying my dream bike. Its been a long time coming and at least nine months in the planning to date. I've decided upon a titanium independnet fabrication with handbuilt wheels ( chris king hubs and archetype rims) but now I've hit a stumbling block.......Athena EPS or mecanical Record?

To give you some background the bike will be ridden in all weather conditions but not raced. Long distance solo rides (80-100m), sportives and trips to belgium and the alps. Comfort is a priority over stiffness and weight is important but not the end of the world. Also it needs to look amazing -mostly to make up for the rider!

I like EPS because I'm no mecanic so self trimming would be really useful but I'm not sure I can justify the record eps price. Trouble is Athena EPS looks a bit dull and might be a bit weighty.

I appreciate this is a nice problem to have but it still one that I would appreciate your thoughts!

Thanks

Rudd

Grill

Disclaimer: This is from a Shimano user.

The only time I would go for a lower spec electronic groupset over a higher end mechanical counterpart is for a TT build. For general riding I would much rather have the simplicity and weight savings of the higher end gruppo.

rafletcher

And from a Campag user - high end mechanical all the way (though I'm sticking at Chorus for my build - The extra costs of Record gains me a few (less) grammes, and that's about it, it seems). Yes, there are advantages to the EPS shifting - as was pointed out elsewhere on the forum the force the rear mech can apply is twice that of the mechanical set-up, so there is no delay in shifting from say 11 to 12. But why would that worry you if you're not racing. Trimming using the micro-shift on the front mech is, should you need to use it, a doddle. Don't run crossed chainlines and it'll never need doing once properly set up. For racing riders making split second decisions Di2/EPS makes sense. For recreational riding I don't see it myself. A personal opinion of course. And I like the toys normally!

giant_man

+1 for mechanical Record over Athena EPS any day, nice ...

sloppyschleckonds

Mechanical, and are there nicer rims for those Chris King hubs?

bernithebiker

+1 for the nicer mechanical.

You could always sell it on quite well in a few years time, when electronic has become a bit cheaper.

djhermer

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

Mechanical, and are there nicer rims for those Chris King hubs?

This, in a nutshell. All of it.

Rudd

Thanks for all your replies. They're really helpful, and for once everyone seems to be agreement! I think what I might do is get the frame drilled for EPS just to future proof it and go for the record.

I thought the archtype rims were some of the best.....any sugestions for anything better / different.....

Thanks again!

Grill

The Archetypes are pretty much the best rim for the money. You can spend twice as much to save a few grams and add a couple style points if you want. The Pacenti SL23 and Hed Belgium C2 come to mind for that.

yellowv2

I am having some Pacenti SL23's built onto White Ind. T11 hubs at the moment, to go on my Ti bike. I am not sure they are any better than Archetypes but they are slightly lighter and I prefer the look of them.

northpole

I recently thought through a similar decision which concluded with manual record. Haven't built the bike up yet but all components are now acquired.

I had long running problems with my manual super record set up on my current best bike which turned out to be an issue with the rear derailleur. Now that it's sorted, I can't imagine wanting anything better. I think I'd still harbour a suspicion of Italians and electronic reliability (showing my age!) electric shifting still being a relatively new technology which, if a problem materialises, very few bike mechanics will be able to do anything with. A pretty significant consideration if you are planning long trips.

Re wheels, I have sent you a PM.

Peter

sub4

I've had the benefit of the full EPS training. It's stunning in it's complexity and with the duration of testing (years & years & years, including a start from scratch about 5 years ago) seems pretty bombproof. It's probably over-engineered, certainly with regard to the level of waterproofing, which is rated at nautilus, or something like. There's also a few no-no's regarding installation, although once in, it's super secure. Mechanical Record (&S-R) is also outstanding. Very precise & dependable (and much more bling than Athena!). I'd go mechanical, until you can afford the Record EPS!

Velonutter

I've Got SR Mechanical on a Couple of Bikes and SR Record EPS on another and Record EPS on another, wish I had EPS on all my bikes including my masters.

cycleclinic

If a cable opperated campag drive train is properly set up it does not mishift. My basic veloce drivetrain has taken two winters of use to require it's first indexing tweek and that was half a turn of the barrel adjuster to help the down shift.

EPS does work very well but if it was my bike mechanical everytime. I have just fitted record 10 speed to one of my bikes. I love it EPS would not make the ride better, just more expensive. Then again I was riding a bike tonight with downtube shifters on friction with a 10 speed cassette and I remembered why I have not put STI's on it yet because it works very well and no trimming needed even on friction.

go for EPS if you like tech if you are like me you will want to keep things simple.