What's wrong with Campag....?

Father Faff

I had a feel of Campag Chorus yesterday. I could probably get used to the feel but what I was disappointed with was the appearance and somewhat plasticky finishing. It also felt fragile but I'm sure it can't be. I think in reality, since my CR1 is Shimano I'll probably stick with it. I'm also pretty impressed with the new Ultegra 6800, especially the smooth shifting and powerful brakes.

cswitch

I went from shimano to campag for a couple of years. I did love it, especially the thumb shifters. However I recently went back to Dura ace 9000 after trying it out. Much much prefer the shifting, but again its all down to personal preference, some may find the shifting a little light. I also find the setting up of the Shimano indexing easier to dial in perfectly first time but that may well be down to my own shortcomings. I do miss the campag thumb shifters a little but only when sprinting in the drops.

hypster

Father Faff wrote:

I had a feel of Campag Chorus yesterday. I could probably get used to the feel but what I was disappointed with was the appearance and somewhat plasticky finishing. It also felt fragile but I'm sure it can't be. I think in reality, since my CR1 is Shimano I'll probably stick with it. I'm also pretty impressed with the new Ultegra 6800, especially the smooth shifting and powerful brakes.

Oooh! I wouldn't describe Campag gear as "plasticky" if I were you, you might get accused of trolling! Where's Rolf when you need him? He's the expert on this sort of thing.

Stevo_666

If you're a mountain biker as well as a roadie you might be naturally a bit wary of a company that doesn't produce transmissions / brakes for MTBs. IIRC Campag had a crack at it a while back and failed - can't remember why?

thegreatdivide

Father Faff wrote:

I had a feel of Campag Chorus yesterday. I could probably get used to the feel but what I was disappointed with was the appearance and somewhat plasticky finishing. It also felt fragile but I'm sure it can't be. I think in reality, since my CR1 is Shimano I'll probably stick with it. I'm also pretty impressed with the new Ultegra 6800, especially the smooth shifting and powerful brakes.

So you've not used Campagnolo, you've just touched a shifter?

buzzwold

Father Faff wrote:

madasahattersley wrote:

Father Faff wrote:

Is Campag as reliable and tough as Shimano? I've had 105 on my 2006 Scott CR1, had the odd crash, ride in poor weather conditions, and it keeps going just fine. Will Campag be as good?

Yes. Just like Shimano they make the same parts out of the same materials more or less. There's nothing in the design process that makes them inferior.

The only thing is the Campag bottom bracket design isn't as good as Shimanos.

That said Campag shifters are serviceable, so you won't have to buy a new pair of shifters for £300 when a tiny piece of plastic in the mechanism breaks.

Each has pros and cons

What is the issue with the Campag BB - obviously that's a fairly crucial and expensive part of the bike?

More myth. Take a look on line and you'll see that the threaded bottom bracket is basically identical between the two sets. I've yet to see an on line forum bemoaning the Campy BB apart from teething problems with ultratorque.

tonyscp

Surprised nobody has quoted the old saying,

"Campag wears in, Shimano wears out"

meesterbond

tonyscp wrote:

Surprised nobody has quoted the old saying,

"Campag wears in, Shimano wears out"

Only in the thread at the top of this page...

cq20

buzzwold wrote:

More myth. Take a look on line and you'll see that the threaded bottom bracket is basically identical between the two sets. I've yet to see an on line forum bemoaning the Campy BB apart from teething problems with ultratorque.

I have seen quite a few criticisms in on-line forums about Campagnolo BBs/chainsets, especially, the Power Torque system and the need for a puller to get the NDS crank off and the need for proprietary tools for the new Over Torque range (and I'm not counting the wavy washer, do you use loctite or not stuff that has been a longstanding debate wrt Ultra Torque). I'm a long term Campagnolo user (I just prefer the levers/hoods, especially the Ultra Shift shape) but I think the that Power Torque design isn't too clever (... and no doubt with a Athena Power Torque + BB30 combination, I am about to enjoy the experience of pulling it apart before too long).

cycleclinic

Every system has design flaws. Shimano have realised that the ST-9000 shifters have an issue and have brought out ST-9001 there are many user on the weight weenie forum that are not too happy after having cables break after 2000 miles or so. Also the user of DA 9000 cassettes are none to happy when the carbon spider breaks and it does. I am sticking to record 10 speed and dura ace 8 speed on my main bikes.

ddraver

As these threads constantly suggest, owning Campag appears to turn you into an insuffereable fanboi...

All 3 are as good as each other, pick the one you like

markwb79

I switched everything over to Campag a couple of years ago.

I find SR really nice. But the shifting my Chorus is equally as good in my opinion. I find the tolorences a little tighter on SR, so needs to be kept gunk free. Chorus on the other hand is on my winter bike and done 20k km's without any issues. For me Chorus is the best value for money groupset there is.

Campag BB - Ultra torque is actually my favorite of all the brands. Simple, serviceable, bearings are cheap. Power Toque I find a nightmare though.

markwb79

thecycleclinic wrote:

Every system has design flaws. Shimano have realised that the ST-9000 shifters have an issue and have brought out ST-9001 there are many user on the weight weenie forum that are not too happy after having cables break after 2000 miles or so. Also the user of DA 9000 cassettes are none to happy when the carbon spider breaks and it does. I am sticking to record 10 speed and dura ace 8 speed on my main bikes.

Style wise, nothing beats Record 10speed shifters!

StillGoing

ddraver wrote:

As these threads constantly suggest, owning Campag appears to turn you into an insuffereable fanboi...

All 3 are as good as each other, pick the one you like

No, can't have that. You know a post with common sense is not allowed on these type of threads and you must highlight how superior Campag is to anything else even though it isn't.

markwb79

madasahattersley wrote:

buzzwold wrote:

More myth. Take a look on line and you'll see that the threaded bottom bracket is basically identical between the two sets. I've yet to see an on line forum bemoaning the Campy BB apart from teething problems with ultratorque.

It's not myth, almost anyone with experience with a wide variety of bottom bracket systems will tell you that the Campag ones are definitely not the best design. The bearings sit on the crank arms rather than inside sealed cups and are almost impossible to remove without expensive specific tools, and the bearings also wear out quicker than the likes of Shimano and GXP just because the design is more 'open'.

Hmm, I am not sure about that. I have two systems, FSA and Campag. I need to take my bike to my LBS to get the bottom bracket removed so I can put the new bearings in.

Cant find it at the moment, but I didnt think the tool was that expensive?

Whereas to remove a FSA BB86, I struggled to find?

g00se

The removeal instructions are here for PT:

http://velonews.competitor.com/2013/04/ ... nks_280400

£50 for the Park ultratorque bearing puller plus another £50 for the powertorque add-ons for it.

And the various cup tools too depending on what you have installed.

I love my Campag stuff, but PT is a pain!

The new Overtorque on the other hand, looks a great bit of design....

mm1

Ultratorque bb bearing are easy and cheap to replace and if I can do it, anyone can. Bearing life seems comperable with XT on my mountain bike. IMO bearings in square taper bbs had a much better lifespan than any external system, but hey ho.

The idea that chorus, for example, is in anyway fragile is wrong. I have just transfered 4 year old 11 speed Chorus to a new frame and it functions and looks like new. The 10 year old chorus that's hanging on my other bike is also in great condition, only had to replace chainrings, chains, and cassette.

There were several issues Campag's brief foray in mountain bike kit (Euclid) , it was over engineered, heavy and expensive and Campag failed to capture any share of the OEM market. As well as now having only a small share of the road OEM, the Campag range is much shorter than Shimano's so that whilst they do flat bar controls and brake levers, I doubt that you would see any of this stuff on "city bikes" outside Italy, as for hub gears etc - forget it.

I love Campag, but am happy to run XT off road and to acknowledge that Shimano road kit is pretty cool too. Don't have a view on Sram because I've not seen much of it and never used it. I like the fact that most Campag is still made in Italy (they have a factory in Romania too), in a city- Vicenza, where until recently 25% of the working population were classed as artisans (there is a long tradition of silver smithing). Sort of makes me think that we should be making more bike kit in Birmingham!

jamie4759

I have used Campag for years. Veloce, Centaur Carbon, Athena Carbon, Chorus 10 and 11 speed. The only trouble I have had is with the Veloce and then the Athena shifters. Both were replaced due to faulty parts inside, however, in the case of the Athena shifters, Campag recently replaced one shifter and put new parts inside the other shifter. I have Chorus and those shifters are brilliant. The 10 speed Chorus on the winter bike is brilliant, better (IMO) than the 11 speed version. I don't have any issues with power torque - any problems taking it out is for the mechanic at my LBS to worry about, not me. I was once told by a very experienced and highly regarded mechanic that power torque is potentially stronger than ultra torque and technically it should be easier to use as it has less moving parts (I can't comment on that). I did use Shimano LX on a touring bike years ago and that worked very well, however, after about a year the rear mech was flaking and it looked very worn, where as an old Veloce rear mech after 5 years still looked like new. Shimano does seem smoother than Campag and Shimano possibly isn't as finicky. But, Campag for me!!!