Groupset

HappyGilmore said:

Any advise out there? I have recently purchased my first real road frame and am ready to build it up.
I should start by saying that I have been a MTBer forever and have decided I want to go faster. I have been out of touch with the latest greatest and don't know a whole lot about the road groupos.
So PLEASE help me. I have been reading a little about Sram and need to know more. Is it a groupo worth while or not? Or should i go w/ the latest greatest Shimano? Are the two compatible or, should I even consider mixing and matching?
I have many a question but I won't pry too early into it. I appreciate all oppinions.
Thanks, Carl

gday, sram (force...soon to be red is king) is gr8 stuff from a mechanical point of view and is completely compatible with shimano - if money is no issue i wud pick zero gravity breaks, sram shift leavers and derailures, dure-ace cranks (or sram cranks with dura ace rings) dure ace chain and dura ace cassette and nokon cables........sram is good and its been out now and alot of the original problems have been ironed out (ie break bolts snapping during instalation.) interestingly though a new sram red group is due out soon and they have re-designed the levers and made it lighter and added ceramics - sounds like a winner and [censored] all over any existing groupset.
2 basic rules of thumb pre-sram
you buy shimano (dura-ace is kind) if you want it to work out of the box, and its cheaper to buy more expensive to repair.
you buy campag (record is kind) if u want it to outlast the ages, though i takes alot of miles for everything to wear in, however individiual parts for each component can be replaced and is cheaper to repair. anyways with out writing a 300pg rerport i think that covers the basics. Theats an explination of the top end group sets and for the most part their features trickle down to the lower group sets so u just select the one that suits ur budget, interestlying though shimano has just launched a new ultegra SL group to fit in between dura-ace (the highest model shimano) and ultegra (formely the second top).
good luck and post back be interesting to see what you choose with a mtb back ground,
cheers
dave

Best is to take some test rides. All three majors will get the job done but have significant differences in their interface with your hands. So a big part of it will come down to your personal preference as to the feel and how the shifts are actioned. The best advice would be to take some longer test rides and see which one you prefer in real life riding.

A lot also has to do with what you can afford!

Top of the line is Campy Record. Some argue Dura-Ace and the new Sram is as good, but Record is the lightest and is rebuildable. The thumb shift on Campy stuff is what dreams are made of and you can down shift multiple gears with one flick of the lever. Shimano Dura-Ace is their top of the line and is depenable and shifts fantastically as well. I'm just partial to the thumb-shift and smaller set up with campy. I've never used Sram, but it uses only one lever to go up and down the gears. Small push for one way, large push for the other.

If you are looking for a solid afordable groupo go with Ultegra. A bit heavier than Dura-Ace, but it will last forever and is excellent stuff. I had Campy Veloce on a bike and it was decent, but not as good as Record and chours. In all honesty it comes down to preference and how much you want to spend.

azdroptop said:

The thumb shift on Campy stuff is what dreams are made of and you can down shift multiple gears with one flick of the lever.

Don't want to start a war but I've just started using a Campy left shifter on one of my bikes and find that I need to unweight my left arm and move my whole hand to downshift, as the resting position of my thumb, when I'm on the hoods, is nowhere near the lever. On the other hand (literally), the Shimano right hand shifter is operated in either direction with nothing more than my fingers moving.
This is a '98 Veloce shifter and things may have changed, but I do find it a tiny bit of a pain.

At the end of the day, you are perform well with either system. You get used to it and learn to use the positive characteristics of the chosen system. Just look at the pros.

Personally love the Campag button shifter. A quick gear dump on the cassette is always so reassuringly positive.

artemidorus said:

Don't want to start a war but I've just started using a Campy left shifter on one of my bikes and find that I need to unweight my left arm and move my whole hand to downshift, as the resting position of my thumb, when I'm on the hoods, is nowhere near the lever. On the other hand (literally), the Shimano right hand shifter is operated in either direction with nothing more than my fingers moving.
This is a '98 Veloce shifter and things may have changed, but I do find it a tiny bit of a pain.

Weird? I'm not sure if they have changed either; I'm using 06 Record? For me on the shimano, I have to move my hand a bit to move the lever. Seems the hoods are larger. Don't get me wrong, I could use Shimano no problem, but prefer greatly Campy.🙂

I'm running SRAM force and it is superb in every aspect. That front derailleur adjustment thing just needs a bit of skill with the third hand tool (and I have no barrel adjusters for my front brake). The levers are amazing. So comfortable, great shift feeling, extremely light (lighter than Campy)

bobbyOCR said:

The levers are amazing. So comfortable, great shift feeling, extremely light (lighter than Campy)

Lighter than which model and year's Campy?

The new SRAM road components aren't entirely compatible with Shimano groupos. The chains, brakes, cranks, and cassettes are all compatible, but you need to have a consensual mini-groupo. For newbies, this means that the shifters need to match the derailleurs. I have just recently moved from ultegra 10 to rival and I am loving the levers. The levers hide all the cables; the rear derailleur spring tension is the highest that I have seen, which means really quick up-shifts; and the levers have a wider hood, which I feel fits my hand better. But it is a toss up between the SRAM levers and the ultegra 10 speed. I really liked being able to put a barrel adjuster on the side of my ultegra 10 speed lever, and the Ultegra levers certainly are a lot easier to work with.

sogood said:

Lighter than which model and year's Campy?

Any ergopower campy. Record levers all come in at ~ 327 g. Sram force levers ( mine) were 306g for the pair.

All of the top end groups are great. Don't let the fanboys convince you to buy so and so based on weight as this is ridiculous. I mean the weight difference is less than swallowing a mouthful/glass of water.

Best to select what you are most comfortable with.

If you have to have carbon, don't have weak thumbs, and like the image that an Italian groupset brings, buy Campy Record. [hoods more suited to smaller hands]

If you like some carbon, be a little different (and have riders asking about your groupset at the lights), prefer not to use thumbs, buy SRAM Force. [hoods more suited to medium hands]

If you are worried only about function, and want something that will work like clockwork, buy Shimano Ultegra SL/Dura-Ace. [hoods more suited to large hands]

In regards to rebuilding levers, have you ever needed to rebuild your MTB shifters? I would bet that 99.9% of Record users have never required a rebuild. And if they were on a 2006 groupset, they would upgrade to the 2007 QS lever rather than servicing because let's face it, Campy levers are not expensive when compared to the opposition.

bobbyOCR said:

Any ergopower campy. Record levers all come in at ~ 327 g. Sram force levers ( mine) were 306g for the pair.

From what I've seen the 'overall weight' of Campy is lighter, not by much, but enough for the weight weenies to care. LOL 🙂

JeremyP said:

...If you are worried only about function, and want something that will work like clockwork, buy Shimano Ultegra SL/Dura-Ace. ...

Despite your objective introduction, I would say your description is hardly unique to Shimano. Unless you really can't think of anything unique with the Shimano system, objectively, that same statement can be said of all three groups.

So what's the unique feature of Shimano again?

azdroptop said:

From what I've seen the 'overall weight' of Campy is lighter, not by much, but enough for the weight weenies to care. LOL 🙂

That's why SRAM RED is being released.

have 105 , ultegra , dura-ace .. but the new Sram Force really looks great. Am just worried that my hands will go nuts when I switch between bikes (haha).

campy is not an option here locally. Totally no support/parts at all.

for the poster : the new 105 (10 speed) is very very good. If this is your first roadbike , get the 105 and it'll grow with you.

cheers.

.

bobbyOCR said:

That's why SRAM RED is being released.

I looked over the number again, this month's bicycle mag, and it's only a 100 gram difference...

azdroptop said:

I looked over the number again, this month's bicycle mag, and it's only a 100 gram difference...

So I wonder what Campagnolo Record 2008 will bring...

sogood said:

So I wonder what Campagnolo Record 2008 will bring...

good question. It's gonna be hard for them to come up with anything nicer looking. Beautiful stuff! I really want to try the ultra torque crank set up!