Groupsets?

waqas_1994
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Groupsets?

Postby waqas_1994 » Sat Apr 27, 2013 4:43 pm

So i was reading the new 'BIKE' magazine at work today. Its a pretty good read. In the current issue they interview Eddy Merckx. What a legend! Anyways back to the main topic. They had a poll asking which groupset people preferred the most (road bikes). Campagnolo came up on top followed by Sram and then Shimano (i forgot the percentages). I was fairly surprised as i was expecting Shimano to be on top. That might just be because i use Shimano and most people i know also use Shimano andddd all my fishing rods have shimano reels. What do most people here use/prefer and why?

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RonK
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Re: Groupsets?

Postby RonK » Sat Apr 27, 2013 4:51 pm

No question about it - Campagnolo.
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toolonglegs
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Re: Groupsets?

Postby toolonglegs » Sat Apr 27, 2013 5:43 pm

Only have campag on my 80's bikes... I am a shimano user. Not a big fan of SRAM and hate working on it. But really as long as things work as they should I don't really care.

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singlespeedscott
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Re: Groupsets?

Postby singlespeedscott » Sat Apr 27, 2013 6:02 pm

I think because Shimano is so big in the OEM market people tend to dream of Campagnolo when it comes to a custom build.

it probably stems from its history and tradition. Also because its bloody awesome stuff and so easy to work with and repair. But I am biased.
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adamr
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Re: Groupsets?

Postby adamr » Sun Apr 28, 2013 3:55 pm

I have never ridden a bike with Campagnolo, but it looks to me like you would need to dislocate your thumbs to use the mouse-ear gear shifter from the drops. Is it easier than it looks?

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Re: Groupsets?

Postby gabrielle260 » Sun Apr 28, 2013 5:16 pm

adamr wrote:I have never ridden a bike with Campagnolo, but it looks to me like you would need to dislocate your thumbs to use the mouse-ear gear shifter from the drops. Is it easier than it looks?
In a word; Yes!

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singlespeedscott
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Re: Groupsets?

Postby singlespeedscott » Sun Apr 28, 2013 10:01 pm

adamr wrote:I have never ridden a bike with Campagnolo, but it looks to me like you would need to dislocate your thumbs to use the mouse-ear gear shifter from the drops. Is it easier than it looks?
Never had a problem. Usually in the right gear when i move to the drops
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simonn
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Re: Groupsets?

Postby simonn » Sun Apr 28, 2013 10:20 pm

gabrielle260 wrote:
adamr wrote:I have never ridden a bike with Campagnolo, but it looks to me like you would need to dislocate your thumbs to use the mouse-ear gear shifter from the drops. Is it easier than it looks?
In a word; Yes!
Unless you have tendonitis effecting the tendon which the tendonitis I have effects :(. Shimano is easier in this case.

Saying that, under normal conditions, I concur.

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Dan
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Re: Groupsets?

Postby Dan » Mon Apr 29, 2013 5:38 am

singlespeedscott wrote: Never had a problem. Usually in the right gear when i move to the drops

You're always in the right gear Scott ;)

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Re: Groupsets?

Postby jcjordan » Mon Apr 29, 2013 10:52 am

gabrielle260 wrote:
adamr wrote:I have never ridden a bike with Campagnolo, but it looks to me like you would need to dislocate your thumbs to use the mouse-ear gear shifter from the drops. Is it easier than it looks?
In a word; Yes!
Not for me

One thumb that cant reach the lever without almost takung my hand off the bar and the other still need to move my grip
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Marty Moose
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Re: Groupsets?

Postby Marty Moose » Mon Apr 29, 2013 1:53 pm

To the op, most campag riders always talk about how much better it is amongst themselves and to anyone who will listen.This is because they are a minority and band together to justify their choice. Most Shimano riders would not respond or care. What was the other brand included in the poll again ;)

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Re: Groupsets?

Postby Dan » Mon Apr 29, 2013 2:29 pm

Try them all and buy the one you like best.

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Re: Groupsets?

Postby __PG__ » Mon Apr 29, 2013 2:33 pm

I have bought SRAM for my new bike (after 19 years of Shimano) and I'm fairly impressed with it so far. I much prefer SRAM shifters to the current generation of Shimano shifters that I have test-ridden, although the new 9000 shifter seemed quite nice in the store.

I don't know why people get so hung up on groupsets. I met a guy yesterday who rides with SRAM Red brifters and rear derailleur, Shimano Dura Ace 7800 brakes and front derailleur, Shimano Ultegra Cassette and chain and a Campagnolo Record crankset.

I'd give Campag a go if they ever got rid of that silly thumb lever.
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gpz1100
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Re: Groupsets?

Postby gpz1100 » Fri May 10, 2013 10:28 pm

I like all groupsecs,i like to use 1 of those fancy wax lubes on my groupsecs.

Uncle Just
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Re: Groupsets?

Postby Uncle Just » Sat May 11, 2013 5:37 pm

I lusted after Campag as a poor teenager in the 60s but couldn't afford it. I then used Shimano, Gippiemme, Sun Tour and Mavic. In '94 I finally bought a Chorus gruppo which was mostly '93 Record. I liked the lever shape, cables under the bars and the design of the alloy spider. When in the big ring the left lever sometimes jammed and I couldn't get into the little ring without stopping and freeing it. This after 10-15 thousand kms. The 8 speed shifting was quite agricultural. The design of the rear hub was such you had to be very careful not to lose the springs and pawls during a service. All this has changed of course with modern hubs. One thing however with Campag is that you could rebuild anything and if you pitted a hub you could get a replacement cup unlike Shimano where it becomes trash.

Campag then lost me when they went to 11 speed and carbon parts which I dislike on aesthetic grounds and unnecessary complexity. $160 for a chain breaker, I don't think so! I happily now use DA7800 and various other Shimano groupset parts on my roadie. (Shimano have now rendered my wheels obsolete going to 11.) But as a good mechanic I know says, you can just throw Shimano at a bike and it builds itself. I've been around cycling enough to know that Campag remains the ne plus ultra gruppo for the bike snob. But these days they all work very well, even the low end groupsets, if you know how to tune your bike.

Edit: correct adjective
Last edited by Uncle Just on Sat May 11, 2013 8:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.

AndrewBurns
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Re: Groupsets?

Postby AndrewBurns » Sat May 11, 2013 5:49 pm

You need to differentiate a bit too, I run Campy veloce on the road bike and it's the bottom of the range, similar price to 105 (at least online). Sure it's Campy but nobody lusts after veloce :P

I much prefer the shifting of SRAM Force to the veloce levers.
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Re: Groupsets?

Postby warthog1 » Sat May 11, 2013 8:49 pm

As far as indexed shifting goes only ever used shimano. Once you have spent money on wheels you are locked in one way or the other IMO.
It works fine for me and has been super reliable. I don't see the campag thumb gizmo working with my less than flexible motorcycle damaged R thumb.
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RonK
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Re: Groupsets?

Postby RonK » Sat May 11, 2013 9:17 pm

Well, there is one certainty - almost all Campy users are former Shimano users, and almost all of them will never go back.

I started using Campy because I was offered a massive discount on an old stock bike that just happened to be fitted with Chorus.

Despite smashing my thumb in a training crash requiring surgery to pin it together and loosing significant mobility as a result, using the thumb shifter was second nature from the very first ride.
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Re: Groupsets?

Postby macca33 » Sat May 11, 2013 9:27 pm

I've only ever ridden Shimano on my road bikes and (as with my road bikes) it performs well above my riding capacity, so I see no need to change. I spanner my own bikes and find Shimano fairly easy to work with - Campy may very well be just as easy, it's just that I've never tried it. I reckon if I bought a Bianchi, or other Euro brand one day I may try Campy...who knows?

As others have said, I would imagine that groupset brands are all probably within very close proximity to one another all things considered, so it simply comes down to personal choice in the end.

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Jesmol
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Re: Groupsets?

Postby Jesmol » Sat May 11, 2013 9:43 pm

Try having a foot in each camp, running campy shifters and brakes, shimano fd & rd, cassette and chain, I was running a SRAM chain set, but now running a FSA

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Re: Groupsets?

Postby warthog1 » Sun May 12, 2013 8:57 am

I wonder do Shimano offer groupsets cheaply to manufacturers to ensure more people start on their equipment?
Are the new 11 speed casstettes compatible with campag ones? I suspect not with di2 and eps.
With the cost of high end wheelsets which many people do as their first upgrade, it seems a clever way of "acquiring" new customers. The existence of Sram with its cassette spacing compatability is a flaw in that argument, but it does serve to isolate Campag a bit I reckon.
Shimano have also pinched back a few campag riders I know of by getting di2 out earlier than eps.
I'd like to try campag but I am happy with the functionality and ergonomics of shimano enough to not bother. More likely to try sram as it is compatible with my wheelsets, I already run their cassettes.
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clackers
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Re: Groupsets?

Postby clackers » Sun May 12, 2013 4:03 pm

warthog1 wrote:I wonder do Shimano offer groupsets cheaply to manufacturers to ensure more people start on their equipment?.
It's how they killed Suntour.

They didn't see any threat from SRAM, who began as a twist shift manufacturer for mountain bikes.

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Re: Groupsets?

Postby zero » Sun May 12, 2013 4:29 pm

clackers wrote:
warthog1 wrote:I wonder do Shimano offer groupsets cheaply to manufacturers to ensure more people start on their equipment?.
It's how they killed Suntour.

They didn't see any threat from SRAM, who began as a twist shift manufacturer for mountain bikes.
They do see significant threats from SRAM, and their anti competitive practices was the subject of a lawsuit. Deore is an example of feature trickledown forced by SRAM. Ie the bits that are compared most are upgraded - hence my replacement rd being straight-pull shadow config, and my replacement crankset being HT2 etc.

optiumcarbon
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Re: Groupsets?

Postby optiumcarbon » Fri May 17, 2013 5:18 pm

i used to run Shimano and now run Sram, i love it and find the double tap really good to use. my main problem with campag is the thumb shifters which i find annoying.

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Re: Groupsets?

Postby ValleyForge » Mon May 20, 2013 5:04 pm

Love other riders with SRAM - you can hear them coming for miles: "sounds like SRAM' when they change down. Love Campy and love the spare parts availability, but do get a bit annoyed by the surcharge.

I guess the best distillation is "Shimano - first to market, Campagnolo - best to market".

Try the shifters and see. I find the Shimano brifters just not right, and the Campy 11S are so much more ergonomic.
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