new 2015 Chorus groupset

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Miller
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by Miller

corky wrote:Campagnolo ain't rocket science for gawd's sake....


Indeed. As long as you don't make a mess of installing the housing what is there to mess up? Wire it up and off you go. It'll just work.

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AJS914
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by AJS914

There are a few tricks with Campy. I've had a few trip me up. 1) When changing cables it's hard to make the bend through the white piece of plastic. Bend the cable at the end which will be cut off. If you put a little bend in it near the lever you'll create drag in the system and end up with inconsistent shifting.

Image

2) When you poke those cables through make note of not losing the little washer inside of the ergo lever. The cable can push it out. They are tiny and easy to lose. A new set of Campy levers will come with the cables pre-installed. You'll have none of these issues unless you take the cable out.

Image

I think the housing is much harder to mess up. You need a proper cutter and make nice straight cuts - maybe even grind the edges flat with a bench grinder or file. A bench grinder will melt the teflon inner liner so you have to poke a cable through it right after grinding otherwise it can be impossible requiring you to cut again.

This bikeradar guide covers it pretty well. Read a couple of other guides and FAQs and maybe watch a few videos and you can install Campy without an issue.

http://www.bikeradar.com/us/gear/articl ... ers-24781/

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eurperg
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by eurperg

AJS914 wrote: ...it's hard to make the bend through the white piece of plastic. Bend the cable at the end which will be cut off. If you put a little bend in it near the lever you'll create drag in the system and end up with inconsistent shifting.


Bad advice, don't make a sharp bend to the cable because you have to take it throught the liners! :smartass:

Push the end of the cable down with a tiny torx screwdriver from above, so you can route it through the white plastic.

thp
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Joined: Tue May 28, 2013 10:50 pm

by thp

My friend has both 2014 and 2015 Chorus, the 2015 really have a good snap/feel, like the 10sp stuff. The current 2015 Shimano feel a lot more effortless shifting. So just choose what you like for feel and ergonomics. I still prefer brake levers that don't move around.

AJS914
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by AJS914

I tried that method and it didn't work for me. I had no problem pushing the cable through after.

Ebruner
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Location: Glasgow, Ky

by Ebruner

I have used Campagnolo groups exclusively on the road in the mid 80's. I have many friends who use Shimano and love it. For me the levers on the Shimano product make ANY bike look awful. They just are the most awkward looking things ever made. SRAM I could possibly live with, but never the current look of Shimano.

XCProMD
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by XCProMD

Well, looks are not even debatable as each has his tastes...

Hawkwood
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Joined: Tue Apr 07, 2009 4:27 pm

by Hawkwood

I'm using a Rotor 3D crankset on a mix and match Campag set-up, but am having problems with bearing wear on the bb. I am thinking of moving to a Chorus chainset and would appreciate any feedback as to bearing longevity etc

AJS914
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by AJS914

I've been a campy user for decades and have never had a sealed bearing wear out or go bad. But can't you upgrade your rotor crank to higher quality bearings?

On the other hand, Campy cranks look awesome compared to Rotor cranks so I'd switch to Chorus just on that point alone. Plus you'd get rid of your mix and match setup.

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Calnago
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by Calnago

I've replaced quite a few chorus bearings on Ultratorque cranks. On the other hand, I've yet to see a Cult bearing and race that needed anything more than a cleaning and blowout with compressed air. What is key with any Ultratorque system is that everything is aligned (this goes for any crank/BB). It's easy to ensure that a threaded BSA system is properly faced etc, ensuring a perfect interface between the cups and the frame which in turn ensures the bearings will fit square in the cups when installed. Sometimes not so easy with pressfit systems or where it is difficult to ensure that a good facing of the frame surfaces has been achieved.
So as to longevity of the bearings, particularly Chorus bearings, if you ride a lot in really wet weather, they may need replacing after a season. But again it depends on a whole lot of factors. The bearings themselves for Chorus systems are not that expensive but you do need proper tools to remove them and probably more importantly, to press them smoothly and evenly back on. I don't have any experience with the Rotor cranks so can't compare directly.
Last edited by Calnago on Fri Dec 11, 2015 9:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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AJS914
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by AJS914

I don't ride in rain except for the occasional time I get caught out my accident which probably explains my bearing longevity. (It also helps to live in California where it hasn't rained in 5 years.)

Campy also specifies a maintenance interval for grease/lube of ultra torque bearings of 5000km/3000miles. I'd bet most people ignore that. The nice thing is that one can take apart an ultra torque crankset in just a few minutes to access the bearings.

Hawkwood
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by Hawkwood

AJS914 wrote:I've been a campy user for decades and have never had a sealed bearing wear out or go bad. But can't you upgrade your rotor crank to higher quality bearings?

On the other hand, Campy cranks look awesome compared to Rotor cranks so I'd switch to Chorus just on that point alone. Plus you'd get rid of your mix and match setup.


I'm trying a Hope bb at the moment, but am hearing an ominous grinding noise. I agree 100% on the looks point.

Hawkwood
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Joined: Tue Apr 07, 2009 4:27 pm

by Hawkwood

Calnago wrote:...It's easy to ensure that a threaded BSA system is properly faced etc, ensuring a perfect interface between the cups and the frame which in turn ensures the bearings will fit square in the cups when installed. Sometimes not so easy with pressfit systems or where it is difficult to ensure that a good facing of the frame surfaces has been achieved.
So as to longevity of the bearings, particularly Chorus bearings, if you ride a lot in really wet weather, they may need replacing after a season. But again it depends on a whole lot of factors. The bearings themselves for Chorus systems are not that expensive but you do need proper tools to remove them and probably moat importantly, to press them smoothly and evenly back on. I don't have any experience with the Rotor cranks so can't compare directly.


Thank you for the advice. I'm on BSA and I think it's time to check it's been faced properly, but it's not going to take much to persuade me to change to a Chorus chainset.

mook0576
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Joined: Mon Jan 25, 2016 2:41 pm

by mook0576

I'm using chorus, I think it's between ultegra and dura ace

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