Campagnolo Veloce

Veloce is marketed as roughly equivalent to the 105 "level." It's all good stuff. You won't be disappointed.

autom8ed said:

Hello.

New here, but been cycling for some time and am looking to upgrade my road bike. I've been riding my old Cannondale 3.0, which i love, but i feel it may be time for a new ride.

I have the opportunity to buy a bike equipped with Campagnolo Veloce group and wanted to know where this sits in the Campy range.. I'm familiar with the Shimano group (my current bike is equipped with 105.. old downtube shifters and all) but don't know much about Campagnolo, or cycling equipment in general for that matter.

I wouldnt buy anything lower than 105 in the shimano line.. would the veloce be considered the campy equivalent? if not, what is the minimum that i should look for to get a quality group that will last me for good while.

Thanks in advance.

Yes, Veloce is the rough cost equivalent of 105. But based on my experience, it is more nicely finished than 105 and is a very good value. All of the campagnolo groups will last a long time and importantly, the components are repairable if they break or wear out--not true for most Shimano stuff

Basically performancewise, 105 or better in the Shimano line or Veloce or better in the Campy line is sufficient for all but the most rigorous riding. For racing, I probably would consider an upgrade on the shifters and the RD in the Shimano groups and on the brakes in the Veloce line (Centaur and higher use cartridge brake shoes, but Veloce doesn't).

John M said:

I probably would consider an upgrade on the shifters and the RD in the Shimano groups and on the brakes in the Veloce line (Centaur and higher use cartridge brake shoes, but Veloce doesn't).

You can just buy two sets of pads with brake shoes. No need to replace the full caliper.

Maybe off-topic to the poster...

Record is a level by itself followed by
Chorus which is equivalent to Dura Ace
followed by
Centaur which is equivalent to Ultegra
followed by
Veloce which is equivalent to 105.

I know shimano purist will react as to why I placed Record as a level all by itself while DA is equivalent only to Chorus but that is really how it is in terms of pricing, quality and perceived value.

sogood said:

You can just buy two sets of pads with brake shoes. No need to replace the full caliper.

I think you misunderstood me--perhaps I wasn't clear. As you may know Veloce uses a solid rubber brake shoe block that must be replaced in total when worn, whereas Centaur, Chorus, and Record use an aluminum cartridge holder into which slides a rubber brake shoe. Nowhere do I suggest a need for replacing a whole caliper. Yes the Veloce can be upgraded to cartridge brake shoes, but the cost of buying them separately is much greater than the initial cost difference between Veloce and Centaur brakes.

Good stuff! That's all i needed to know .. and then some. :p I've decided to go ahead with the pruchase (a bianchi san mateo btw) so i'm really looking forward to taking her out for a spin.

I gotta say I was a bit reluctant to go with Campy since i didn't know as much about them and since my old 105's served me so well over the years.. but i do like the fact that you can route the cables through the bar tape on the new paddle shifters. Looks a bit tidyer. I wonder why Shimano doesn't go with this routing sytem on their shifters...

Anyway, thanks again for the informative replies... great forum you got here.

John M said:

Yes the Veloce can be upgraded to cartridge brake shoes, but the cost of buying them separately is much greater than the initial cost difference between Veloce and Centaur brakes.

Maybe it's even cheaper if,

1) Only replace the cartridge holder when the cartridge that came with the Veloce brake is worn and due for replacement. I note that Kool Stop also sell these combos.
2) Get second hand cartridge holders off eBay or LBS.

autom8ed said:

I gotta say I was a bit reluctant to go with Campy since i didn't know as much about them...

There are many who regard Campagnolo as the premier choice for bike components. You can't go wrong.

Never having a bicycle with Campy,
I asked my LBS to take a spin on a Veloce equipt bike.

I found the shifting to be clunky and noisy.
I chose Shimano for its smothness and I do prefer 105's finish.

For me, I now refer to Campy as Clunkagnolo...:o

Unbelievably said:

Never having a bicycle with Campy,
I asked my LBS to take a spin on a Veloce equipt bike.

I found the shifting to be clunky and noisy.
I chose Shimano for its smothness and I do prefer 105's finish.

For me, I now refer to Campy as Clunkagnolo...:o

Some people actually prefer that, it's a feature. 😉