Campy Potenza - experience and guidance

[TxMoots7]

I'm looking to upgrade to a 11sp. Currently have a well used Force group. I'm debating Ultegra or Potenza. Any real world experience to share?

[BRM]

Set aside the differences and possibilities and decide yourself.
Do your own homework.

Both wil work well, its in the details and these are personal.

When I like the shape of the Campa shifters and the way they work but you prefer the Shimano shifters. You can do nothing with that info. Potenza is very similar to the former Athena btw. Sprockets now go up to 32T.

When you go often abroad and want the less as possible difficulties with repairs in times of need, choose Shimano.

Have in mind that some bargains are only come with particular cranklenghts.

[stormur]

Main difference between DA9000/Ultegra 6800 and everything else is trimming. Narrower than ever cage of FD force need to trim when in other groupsets you don't have to ( incl 10spd Shimano ) . For me extremely annoying. Potenza has trimming on small ring only ( however required on 8th cog and higher ( in Campagnolo language lower )- so almost never ( or sometimes if you cross chain in extreme from small ring ( what's the point for it ??? ) , from big ring you have full range of cassette without trimming.

That's main functional difference. Rest is personal.

Personal opinion of mine is : I would NEVER, ever choose Ultegra over Potenza. Both for functional and aesthetic values.

Did I mention that 6800 crank get scratches just from looking at it ?

[Roel W]

Shimano has a diffrent approach then Campagnolo in renewing their groupsets.
Campagnolo groups have some minor or major changes every year.
Shimano releases a group and it remains unchanged for 4 years.
Current Ultegra is more then 3 years old. Take your conclusions: within a year they will release a complete new Ultegra and you will have an old groupset. Nice if you want to do a bargain. Not nice if you want the latest new. That's a personal choice.
I should go for Potenza or wait a few months.

[istigatrice]

Shimano releasing a group and leaving it unchanged is not quite true. Look at the Dura Ace 9001 shifters, di2 junction boxes/batteries and the various chain revisions. The take away is Shimano usually gets it bang on the first time (e.g. they tune out the errors in their own testing so the end consumer doesn't have to do it).

If you've got SRAM force 10sp I'd get force 11. I've had Campy Athena, Shimano 6800/5800 and SRAM foce. I like force the best (but that's personal preference so take it with a pinch of salt). Since this is weightweenies Force/Rival is the lightest groupset in this price range.

[sugarkane]

Except that shimano doesn't get it right first time.. Look at da cassettes and the 9000 type shitfers that still break cables due to the overly aggressive cable bend..
istigatrice I loved your in depth review of the Potenza groupset based entirly on the words of people who have actually used it..

[istigatrice]

I never claimed to review the Potenza, I was simply stating if I were to run campy again I would appreciate Ultrashift - I find the thumb shifter annoying enough so the inability to dump a bunch of gears would be super annoying (but as I sad ergonomics are a personal thing so take it with a pinch of salt). Do you have anything to add about how Potenza rides?

Granted the 9001 shifters aren't perfect either but if you would actually read my comment, I actually mention that shimano not making running changes is a false statement - they generally get it right (with the exception of the 9000 series shifters).

P.S. that Swift Sculp one of your customers rides is pretty sick.

[sugarkane]

not really other than the medium cage is good for running the 32/11 cassette when its mated to a super record ear mech.
i'm hoping the new DA group addresses the cable run as the 9001 fix hasn't addressed the issue entirely and some uy nit still eat cables.. Pauls swift certainly came up nice

[XCProMD]

I have spent all this week on a Potenza equipped Tarmac. I got it in Italy on Monday and I'll be leaving it to her owner in Stockholm tomorrow.

Long story short: it is amazing. If I have to criticise something it would be not being able to thump-dump more gears. But that's really it. The rest is so smooth yet so tactile that my 2013 mech Record feels a tad sloppy by comparison. I don't own a mechanical DA bike anymore but I'll try to lend one tomorrow (again in Italy) with my memory still fresh.


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[EvilEuro]

I put a Potenza rear derailleur on to run the wide 11-32 cassette this past weekend. It worked flawlessly with Super Record shifters, including full dumping of gears. If there was an SR version of it, I'd have it in a heartbeat.

Can't speak for the rest of the groupset, but I can definitely attest to how nice it was to have the option to go a step beyond a 12-27 or 12-29.

[sugarkane]

You can fit the longer cage to a super record rear mech..

[jeffy]

someone should make 3D printed campy long cages...

[mattythemod]

You can fit the longer cage to a super record rear mech..

Wonder if it would work with a Chorus rear mech then ?

[erik$]

I have used Potenza on my commuter/gravel/cx for almost 4 months now and it has performed flawlessly. My setup is Potenza shifters and derailleurs, Juin Tech R1 hydraulic calipers, Stronglight 50/36 chainrings on Rotor 3D power2max, Ultegra chain. Cassettes have been 11-32 from Shimano and 11-28 from Sram. Shifts great both up and down and no problems/issues with the initial setup. Consistent performance up until this point as well.

This summer I swapped back and forth between my 2012 Record equipped road bike and this one. The lever throw, especially on low gears (big cogs in the back) is longer with Potenza but after getting used to it, does not bother me anymore. For me, the one click up shift is actually something I prefer over the multi shift of the Record. This might seem logical when riding in bumpy terrain but I also find it better for general road riding, knowing that I will not overshift, whatsoever. Having easier access to the thumb shifter when in the drops is also a plus.

[sugarkane]

You can fit the longer cage to a super record rear mech..

Wonder if it would work with a Chorus rear mech then ?

yeah totally