Haven't used Campy for 20 years....what's it like?

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Haven't used Campy for 20 years....what's it like?

Postby fat and old » Sat Sep 06, 2014 8:35 am

Looking at a Bianchi Infinito for my "I'm old and deserve this" bike. Tossing between Di2 and Campag gear (not EPS....I'm not that old). What's your average Chorus/Record/Super Record like with wear, reliability etc? Last I had long way back used to chew chains and gears depressingly quickly

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Tim
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Re: Haven't used Campy for 20 years....what's it like?

Postby Tim » Sat Sep 06, 2014 9:27 am

Twenty years ago we called it CAMPAG.
Campy is so gay. :D

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Haven't used Campy for 20 years....what's it like?

Postby RonK » Sat Sep 06, 2014 9:39 am

You are letting your prejudices show, so seems likely you have already decided. :wink:

For mine, you just don't mix rice with spaghetti.
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Re: Haven't used Campy for 20 years....what's it like?

Postby newy101 » Sat Sep 06, 2014 5:54 pm

Campy/ag = most awesome. Also re-buildable unlike Schramo. Chorus is the value/performance hot spot. I'm sticking to 10speed, so you should go to 11. Have ridden veloce, centaur, chorus & record on alu and carbon steeds and love it. Record apparently wears in (not out) quicker than chorus. Rebuilding a steely with 10speed record/chorus too. Bit biased I am.


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Re: Haven't used Campy for 20 years....what's it like?

Postby biker jk » Sat Sep 06, 2014 8:14 pm

RonK wrote:You are letting your prejudices show, so seems likely you have already decided. :wink:

For mine, you just don't mix rice with spaghetti.
Bianchi bikes are made in Taiwan so there will be no mixing of rice and spaghetti unless it has a Campagnolo groupset. :lol:

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Haven't used Campy for 20 years....what's it like?

Postby singlespeedscott » Sat Sep 06, 2014 8:38 pm

You'll find your modern Campagnolo bike will shift a lot better then your old Super/Record/ C-Record equipped bike from 20-30 years ago. The brakes are in another realm as well.

However the tradition of durability, rebuild ability and beauty still remain (except for the 2015 iterations of Chorus, Record and Super Record. They look absolutely shocking)
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Re: Haven't used Campy for 20 years....what's it like?

Postby rkelsen » Sat Sep 06, 2014 9:21 pm

Could you clarify the reason you're considering Di2, but will not give EPS a second look? In comparing an electronic system with a cable system, you're not doing either one justice. They each have their pros and cons. EIther will be a lot better than you previously had.
RonK wrote:For mine, you just don't mix rice with spaghetti.
Try telling that to the cyclocross crowd: http://www.cxmagazine.com/shimano-campa ... patibility

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Re: Haven't used Campy for 20 years....what's it like?

Postby fat and old » Sun Sep 07, 2014 8:08 am

Cost of EPS is the only factor. When I buy the heart may take over from the brain and negate that tho :lol:
Really need to see 2015 versions of the bike first.
Fwiw I'd prefer Campag (better? :lol: ), and electric would be better to commute with it seems

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Re: Haven't used Campy for 20 years....what's it like?

Postby singlespeedscott » Sun Sep 07, 2014 8:35 am

IMO electric would be worse for commuting. Commuters are the work horse of the cycling world. Ridden rain or shine you want a reliable bike and not a show pony that's going to leave you stuck in the wrong gear on a dark, wet winters morning on the way to work.
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Re: Haven't used Campy for 20 years....what's it like?

Postby biker jk » Sun Sep 07, 2014 8:43 am

singlespeedscott wrote:IMO electric would be worse for commuting. Commuters are the work horse of the cycling world. Ridden rain or shine you want a reliable bike and not a show pony that's going to leave you stuck in the wrong gear on a dark, wet winters morning on the way to work.
Apart from that practical advice you better make sure you have leave the bike next to you through the day because it will likely be stolen. Moreover, I would imagine that a commuting bike would require mudguards and possibly a rack mount and disc brakes.

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Re: Haven't used Campy for 20 years....what's it like?

Postby mikesbytes » Sun Sep 07, 2014 9:18 am

You sited wear as your concern of the past. If this is a concern, then why not price the replacement parts. One compromise that some do is buy a good group set then replace the wearable parts with ones from a cheaper group set.

Personally for me I wouldn't go electronic, however a guy I know brought Di2 and he loves it. In his case his hand has been giving him trouble as he gets older and loves not having to deal with a mechanical. He also did a test of how long it goes before the battery runs out and it was something along the lines of frigging ages.

One thing some overlook in a C vs S debate is the shape of the leavers and the hoods, for which there will be preferences
If the R-1 rule is broken, what happens to N+1?

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Re: Haven't used Campy for 20 years....what's it like?

Postby pacra » Sun Sep 07, 2014 9:40 pm

Whatever reliability/wear issues you last had I can't say I have had any particular issues like that. I have been commuting on a 2005 10sp full Centaur group (hubs and all) for nearly 10 years now without any unusual problems. Prior to that on a 9sp Veloce group for over 11 years before the bike was stolen. My only complaint is sourcing Campag spare parts, prohibitively expensive locally and hit and miss on the net.
For bling I would look around for something like an older Villier with the 10sp Record Titanium gruppo and either salvage the parts or restore it.

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Re: Haven't used Campy for 20 years....what's it like?

Postby singlespeedscott » Mon Sep 08, 2014 6:21 am

What parts do you find expensive?
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Re: Haven't used Campy for 20 years....what's it like?

Postby su-pista » Mon Sep 08, 2014 9:44 am

The last good group set Campag released was 10sp record. Eps pales in comparison to Di2 in both function and reliability. Also if you buy one of the lower end groups, Athena down, make sure you find one with an ultra torque crank as the power torque models are a nightmare to work on.

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Re: Haven't used Campy for 20 years....what's it like?

Postby Comedian » Mon Sep 08, 2014 10:10 am

As a record/ super record user I think it's really awesome. Durable, sweet shifting with great ergonomics.

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Re: Haven't used Campy for 20 years....what's it like?

Postby fat and old » Mon Sep 08, 2014 12:59 pm

singlespeedscott wrote:What parts do you find expensive?
The bike? :lol:

I'll be buying a new bike, not building. Tbh not sure if the newer infinitos even have EPS, but every bike I've seen with it seems to be 5 figures in price

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Re: Haven't used Campy for 20 years....what's it like?

Postby singlespeedscott » Mon Sep 08, 2014 7:40 pm

If I'm spending 5 figures on a bike it better be built be Ducati, BMW or Honda :lol:
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Re: Haven't used Campy for 20 years....what's it like?

Postby fat and old » Tue Sep 09, 2014 7:38 am

singlespeedscott wrote:If I'm spending 5 figures on a bike it better be built be Ducati, BMW or Honda :lol:
Hence why I'm not looking at EPS :wink: :lol:

Seems that only the 6800 Ultegra and Athena versions are commonly bought into Aus. And the disc version is only 6870. They make a S/R and Chorus version though.....will have to go see LBS when the '15 versions start up. Swapping out cheaper wearing parts is a good idea too.

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Re: Haven't used Campy for 20 years....what's it like?

Postby rustychisel » Tue Sep 09, 2014 6:10 pm

Campagnolo is so much better than you are. After another 20 years that'll still be the case. Go Chorus level as it's commonly reckoned as the best bang for buck. Buy it, ride it, forget it. If that's not you and you need new shiny things every so often go for SRAM.

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Re: Haven't used Campy for 20 years....what's it like?

Postby Xplora » Tue Sep 09, 2014 8:02 pm

Di2 DA is comparable to EPS Chorus or Record perhaps, and DA Di2 is NOT cheap at all. You will find that bikes come with Campag stock are a different breed of bike, typically more premium. Colnago is not a beat up brand! That explains most of the price difference :idea: nothing wrong with having a good shop build up an EPS bike, might only be 6000-7000 that way.

I am hesitant to recommend Di2 for commuting, a mate has been having a lot of trouble with his 6770 and just dumped it for mechanical DA. Cables are a problem, sure, but you can fake a fix on cables, electronic isn't that forgiving.

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Re: Haven't used Campy for 20 years....what's it like?

Postby TDC » Wed Sep 10, 2014 5:52 pm

Do you still have to pedal a Campag equipped bike?

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Re: Haven't used Campy for 20 years....what's it like?

Postby RonK » Wed Sep 10, 2014 6:10 pm

TDC wrote:Do you still have to pedal a Campag equipped bike?
Yes, but it's quite effortless.
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Re: Haven't used Campy for 20 years....what's it like?

Postby bella26 » Thu Sep 11, 2014 4:38 pm

I have just ordered myself the infinito cv frameset and am having it built up to campag chorus. Current bike runs athena and I love the way campag shifting works and the feel of the hoods. Yes it costs more but I doubt I will regret the extra spend.
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Re: Haven't used Campy for 20 years....what's it like?

Postby RonK » Thu Sep 11, 2014 5:46 pm

bella26 wrote:I have just ordered myself the infinito cv frameset and am having it built up to campag chorus. Current bike runs athena and I love the way campag shifting works and the feel of the hoods. Yes it costs more but I doubt I will regret the extra spend.
Chorus is a very good groupset and a nicely balanced choice for an Infinito CV
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Re: Haven't used Campy for 20 years....what's it like?

Postby mikesbytes » Thu Sep 11, 2014 9:15 pm

Those who are enthusiasts, which is most of us in this thread will get so much use out of a selected group set that the purchase price will not be that important in the scheme of things
If the R-1 rule is broken, what happens to N+1?

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