campagnolo or shimano groupset....

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Boshk
Posts: 462
Joined: Wed Jul 19, 2017 2:59 am

by Boshk

Which groupset do you have your bike and do you like it....

That new Potenza is out which is similar in price to Ultegra

Anyone used Potenza vs Chorus or Potenza vs Ultegra?

stormur
Posts: 1173
Joined: Tue Aug 12, 2014 3:50 pm
Location: FIN

by stormur

I did.

that topic will be .... we'll see ;)

Anyway , in MY OPINION ( read twice last 3 words ! ) I place mechanical groupsets in that order :

105-Potenza-Ultegra-Chorus/Record/ DA/ Red .

Potenza is closer to 105 than to Ultegra/Chorus. Just to many "cut-off's".


One clarification : Ultegra8000. If I have to choose between Potenza and 6800, Potenza without eyeblink.

Naturally if one realize how much more difficult is life with Campagnolo ;)
Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company.
Mark Twain


I can be wrong, and have plenty of examples for that ;)

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Look595
Posts: 31
Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2017 3:55 am

by Look595

stormur wrote:I did.

that topic will be .... we'll see ;)

Anyway , in MY OPINION ( read twice last 3 words ! ) I place mechanical groupsets in that order :

105-Potenza-Ultegra-Chorus/Record/ DA/ Red .

Potenza is closer to 105 than to Ultegra/Chorus. Just to many "cut-off's".


One clarification : Ultegra8000. If I have to choose between Potenza and 6800, Potenza without eyeblink.

Naturally if one realize how much more difficult is life with Campagnolo ;)


105-Potenza-Ultegra-Chorus/Record/ DA/ Red . You left out the Super Record :wink:

For me i would place it as follow 105-potenza-ultegra/force-chorus-record/DA/Red-Super Record for the mechanical groupset

stormur
Posts: 1173
Joined: Tue Aug 12, 2014 3:50 pm
Location: FIN

by stormur

I just can't see any real life advantages of Super Record. This groupset just doesn't exist for me... No benefit from another 500bucks over Record.
Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company.
Mark Twain


I can be wrong, and have plenty of examples for that ;)

RussellS
Posts: 916
Joined: Wed Feb 03, 2010 1:31 am

by RussellS

I have no knowledge about the new Campagnolo and Shimano groups you are talking about. All my components are now older than the dinosaurs apparently. But I have multiple Campagnolo and multiple Shimano bikes. So I can offer a comparison of the companies at least. They both work perfectly. At least for 9 and 10 speed. No difference you would ever notice when riding. Veloce, Centaur, Chorus, Record on the Campagnolo side. And 105, Ultegra, Dura Ace on the Shimano side. They all work just fine for the past 20 years. There are appearance and weight differences. And maybe some can imagine and dream up speed or performance differences. Both shifting methods, thumb and lever with C, two levers with S, work great. So its easy to use both and switch between both at a moment's notice.

Today I would recommend going with Shimano. Two tangible reasons. Shimano is dominant. Its everywhere. Easy to find every part on earth anywhere on earth. Every bike mechanic knows it. Campagnolo is only available from a few select shops on the internet and no bike shop mechanics have ever worked on or even seen it in person. Other reason is gearing. Shimano and SRAM make 11-32 eleven speed road cassettes. I think one or two other companies may make 11-34 or 11-36 road cassettes. Campagnolo is stuck on 11-29. So, much better mountain gearing with Shimano if you go with a double crank. Shimano does offer a triple if you ever want to do that. No triples with Campagnolo any more.

Have to make some corrections. Apparently Campagnolo moved into the 21st century and now finally has or will have a 11-32 cassette in Potenza. Hopefully it will be slightly easier to find than the Hope diamond. And Athena still offers a triple crankset. So Athena along with Ultegra, 105, Tiagra, Sora, Claris all offer triple cranksets. I guess Campagnolo has not completely abandoned everyone who wants or needs low gearing on the road. But they sure try to hide and discourage it.
Last edited by RussellS on Thu Aug 17, 2017 2:32 am, edited 1 time in total.

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MayhemSWE
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Location: Stockholm, Sweden

by MayhemSWE

Go with whichever brand's shifter ergonomics you prefer. That is really the only major difference as most groupsets within a given price bracket work equally well.

AJS914
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Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 6:52 pm

by AJS914

RussellS wrote: Other reason is gearing. Shimano and SRAM make 11-32 eleven speed road cassettes. I think one or two other companies may make 11-34 or 11-36 road cassettes. Campagnolo is stuck on 11-29. So, much better mountain gearing with Shimano if you go with a double crank.


You can get an 11-32 with Potenza. This year Campagnolo is coming out with medium cage derailleurs for Chorus/Rec/SR so you can soon get a 11-32 with those groups.

Which groupset do you have your bike and do you like it....


I'm a Campy guy through and through though I have Sram on my Crux gravel bike and I've had Shimano on all my mountain bikes.

I stay with Campy because it's beautiful and has jewelry like finishes though this is less so now that polished aluminum is out and black is the current fashion. I just find Shimano a little souless. I buy Chorus now because I don't think the $500 upgrade to Record or the $1000 upgrade to Super Record are worth the few Ti bits and ceramic bearings that you get for that money. You can take your Chorus group and install ceramic bearings for not much money or buy a few ti bolts. You could install some weight weenie brakes on Chorus, save the 100 grams and equal Record. Lots of options to save weight that are more cost effective.

Would I ride Dura Ace if a bike came my way with it installed? Sure, no problem. I had an Ultegra bike a long time ago and I didn't think the quality of the metals was anywhere near Chorus. The painted finishes weren't attractive but Ultegra worked just fine though.

Berryrice
Posts: 9
Joined: Wed Aug 09, 2017 12:29 am

by Berryrice

I would just go out and test ride any bike with current Campy (although the shift action feel is slightly different between the groups but you literally have to ride them side by side). But the hood ergonomics was a key difference for me...that's why I bought the Campy Record 11sp just last year. I didn't like the look of it over my previous 10sp stuff but it just feels so much nicer in my smaller hands. Shimano always felt pretty good too! I will say Campy shifting gets smoother after 500-600 miles on all my Campy bikes vs the Shimano bikes are great outta the box. All the groups are all pretty nice what ever you choose.

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silvalis
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Location: Aus

by silvalis

+1 choose based on hood ergonomics.
Chasse patate

bilwit
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Location: Seattle, WA

by bilwit

DA9000. It just looks great. I might eventually put SRAM Red mechanical w/ EE brakes on my steel bike to save a couple hundred grams or so.

Boshk
Posts: 462
Joined: Wed Jul 19, 2017 2:59 am

by Boshk

The hoods are 'that' different hey....
as you have said, campy are pretty rare and trying to find Shifter to even just hold let alone on a bike will be hard.

bremerradkurier
Posts: 419
Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2016 4:18 pm

by bremerradkurier

stormur wrote:I did.

that topic will be .... we'll see ;)

Anyway , in MY OPINION ( read twice last 3 words ! ) I place mechanical groupsets in that order :

105-Potenza-Ultegra-Chorus/Record/ DA/ Red .

Potenza is closer to 105 than to Ultegra/Chorus. Just to many "cut-off's".


One clarification : Ultegra8000. If I have to choose between Potenza and 6800, Potenza without eyeblink.

Naturally if one realize how much more difficult is life with Campagnolo ;)


Chorus groupsets are currently selling for less than R8000 groupsets, at least on the UK websites.

joeyb1000
Posts: 488
Joined: Thu Mar 03, 2016 8:37 pm

by joeyb1000

My vote is Chorus over Ult8000. I would have said it's a tie, but Campy levers are more comfortable.

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kgt
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Location: Athens, Greece

by kgt

Chorus is by far the golden standard in terms of performance*manufacturing quality*aesthetics*weight*price

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gewichtweenie
Posts: 152
Joined: Fri Sep 25, 2015 3:12 pm

by gewichtweenie

i have have or still have campagnolo and shimano 10sp and 11sp.

for both generations, prefer ergonomics of campagnolo. durability and adjustability and all that mess is about the same for me.... i.e. someone who isnt putting 20000km a year or doing non-stop bike touring or anything like that

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