creamy

Hey I am currently thinking about getting one of these top groups for a new bike. There is one problem that i need help with. I am trying to understand what group offers the best in durability. I know they all perform great. Its about duribility, whether 5 or more years down the road they will still work flawlessly. I currently have older campagnolo and it is very durable. Please share your knowledge and experience with me! ( I want the mechanical versions, i dont like electric shifting).

himespau 

They'll all fall apart in much less than 5 years (assuming you ride them). It's this new planned obsolescence thing they've got going on with the top tier of products. If you don't ride them, they should last forever, but what's the fun in that. If you want true durability, you need to look at microshift because they're a bit behind the times and haven't figured out the planned obsolescence thing yet.

Carbon Unit

All of the groups hold up well. Campy is the only group that is rebuildable though.

Homebrew01

They are all good. Make your decision based on how the shifters fit your hands, and which shifting mechanism you like better.

tagaproject6

Decide according to your taste and sense of style. They are all good so don't get caught in the argument of which one is the best (Campagnolo, of course )

merlinextraligh

Ultegra or Chorus .

If Durability is your No 1 criteria, you're actually better off not getting Dura Ace or Super Record. The top groups actually become less durable in a few places in the name of saving weight. Cassette is the most notable example, but there are other examples if you go through piece by piece where the lower group has more steel and is more durable than the top end group.

The difference is not a big deal, but don't kid yourself into thinking you're getting better durability by buying the top of the line group.

pallen

Centaur is more on par with Dura Ace, the other Campy groups go up from there.

Carbon Unit

Campy has been very reliable for me and if wears out, I will rebuild it. There is one feature that I really like though about SRAM. They machine their cassette from one piece of steel. So you get very durable cassette that is in the weight range of a Ti cassette.

Campag4life

Best answer IMO. Hood and shifter ergonomics are big. But OP...if you don't know any better than it won't matter really.
Timely that you ask. I have been riding Campy forever. I just bought my first Dura Ace 7900 groupset to try. I believe I will prefer it all said...not in terms of any shifting superiority or even durability difference...I like the feel of the shifter with bigger hood and no button on the side and I like how DA shifts. Will see how it goes. There are no losers with top of the line groupsets. Economics matters as well. Super Record and new '12 Red are gonna cost you big time. DA 7900 with the popularity of electric shifting is relatively well priced. I prefer Shimano cassette options as well...and std. short cage DA 7900 rear derailleur will shift a 28-11 cassette no prob.
Have fun.

alpha_bravo

If you've got the cash to burn, by all means go for super record. But for all practical purposes record is the same group with just a fraction more weight and some substantial cash savings. I'd buy record and a Campy chain tool and you'll be set for a really long time.

IthaDan 

Didn't we just do this last week?

Sure did- https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...11-vs-sram-red

E: What the crap man, you're the OP in both threads?

Bob Dopolina 

+2.

They're all great products. Ergonomics should be the deciding factor.

enroper

Sora. So much plastic in that **** it'll have to last forever

BykOfALesserGod

Pick Campagnolo the Campagnolo shifting Campagnolo style Campagnolo that Campagnolo suits Campagnolo you Campagnolo better

Or save yourself a lot of trouble and get Campagnolo

StanSeven

And post the same question twice here on separate days

IthaDan 

Vuja De

GlennR

Agreed, my son chose Force over Red for the durability. When you get into the top groupo they are more interested in weight saving over years of service. Force has the same ergonomics as Red, but a few less carbon parts.

Paul Y.

Dejavu

Drag

Computer Usage and Short Term Memory Loss

I <3 Robots

That makes not much sense. I've seen more Rival and Force shift levers break than Red. Tell me what specific carbon Red part is less "reliable" than Force?

Campag4life

The best review I have read that compared all three groupsets I have pasted below. I haven't tested Red yet...I understand the hoods are nicer for 2013 and what I didn't like about it previously. I just picked up DA 7900 mostly based upon how Shimano shifts without mouse button inboard wall of the hoods...and the overall shape of the hoods...DA being a bit larger than Campy hoods.
I won't have the DA groupset on the bike for a couple of months...will swap out my Campy driveline over the winter...but won't get rid of it as it has been solid. I am doing this for hood ergos mostly. Love the DA stuff in my hands...very nice hardware.

User's comparison of all three groupsets:


Strengths: Price (it is nowthe cheapest of the premier groups.) Brakes (while none are bad these arenoticeably better.)
No trimming required if set up carefully.
Front shifting leaves others for dead.
Cranks (while I can't tell if the arms are stiffer, the chainrings definitelyare.)
Great range of sizes for cranks and cassettes.
Upgradeable to Di2 later on. (I won't bother though.)


Weaknesses:Ireally don't think any of the top tier groups have weaknesses, they just havequirks which make them more or less appealing to some people. Just get what feelscomfortable or you like the look of and ride like hell.

BottomLine:
This is a strangereview for me because I've long been a Campag fan. Before I go any further Ijust want to say I respect the opinion of all the other reviewers here and Idon't want to start any arguments about DA vs Red vs SR, I simply want toconvey my experiences with this groupset.

I've ridden Campag on my favourite bikes for years and so has my wife. Our"best bikes" have had Chorus 11 on them for about 18 months. Mybrother bought a SRAM Red group about 6 months ago and I've been able to playwith his bike for most of this time as he works away. About 1 year ago I boughta Cannondale CAAD 9 with DA 7900 and FSA SLK crank (which uses the BB30system). I didn't need it but it was 50% off and I've always wanted one so thewife gave me the nod. I always had the intention of fitting the Chorus 11 to itif I preferred the frame but a strange thing happened...

After having them all at my disposal I quickly worked out I didn't like theRed. It is ruthlessly efficient but the hood shape doesn't work for me andalthough it shifts fast, you need to use a lot of force at the lever.

My Chorus 11 is on a Scott Addict frame and I put it aside for a while I didthe 60km commute to work on the CAAD9 a few times a week. The weather changedand I started doing more group rides (I'm notoriously lazy when it's cold). Idragged the Addict out and to my shock I found I had started to prefer the DA7900 gear on the CAAD9. While I always liked the Campag 11 stuff, I suddenlyfound myself … read morefrustrated by constantly alteringmy grip on the hoods to reach the thumb lever, enduring the lazy shift onto thebig ring and the need to do a lot of trimming to get decent use of the 11 speedcassette.

Hmm... I deliberately started riding all of them so I wouldn't beaffected by the cycling condition known as "newitis" where whateveris newest seems best.

In the end I just couldn't deny the DA 7900 was most enjoyable for me. Ibought 2 complete groupsets for $1380 AUD each and put them on the Addict andmy wife's bike. I've never looked back. On a side note my wife is very smalland light (44kg) and she loves the DA too. She likes the option of a 165 crankand the shift to the big ring is easiest for her. Red offers the 165 crank butneeds strong hands to operate. Campag's smallest crank is 170 and the amount oflever travel needed to shift up front was a problem for her small hands.

I can honestly say I've had none of the issues mentioned by otherreviewers and this goes for all three of the groups we've got.

I will concede a few things though:

The exposed shifter internals is a bit weird and worried me at first.After several thousand kilometres though it has not gotten dirty or causedproblems. Don't know how it would go for Cyclocross though?

A previous reviewer commented on up shifting only 2 gears at a time.True but the speed with which it shifts makes it a non issue. I agree withanother reviewer though that the down shift can seem vague in so much as it isvery smooth and quiet. Mine never miss-shifts but it sometimes makes youwonder.

Chains do wear quicker than others but I am prepared to accept this forthe quality shifting on offer.

The DA cables are the best of the lot. They are very good quality and donot seem to stretch as much. My DA groups have needed less tuning than theothers but they are all ok in this regard.

People draw comparisons between 7900 and 7800 shift action. Yes 7800 wasa fraction lighter in feel. What are you really comparing though? 7900 hashidden cables and so it must be compared with other hidden cable systems. 7800was always going to be a tad smoother but 7900 is much smoother than Red orCampag 11. You have to compare apples to apples.

Despite the marketing hype from SRAM the weight difference between theRed and DA groups was less than 50g.

DA doesn't need ceramic bearings. I've felt the derailleur wheels andbottom brackets when swapping out chains and the DA bearings are the smoothest.read less


All the groups are within 100g of weight. So, I think Andy fromCompetitive Cyclist said it right--They all work well-- Go with the group thathas the most comfortable hoods for your hands since you spend most of time onthe hoods. I could not agree more. I have large hands. The DA hoods fit themlike a glove as they are a bit longer than Campy and Sram.

volosong

I've been running an Ultegra 12-30 for the past several months on my 7900 compact rig. Works well, no issues.

Campag4life

I had heard the DA 7900 short cage rear derailleur would shift a 30t rear cassette without issue. Good to know. I am going to run a 11-28t cassette with mine. Ultegra cassettes are cheap and come in a no. of different sizes and to me a big allure of Ultegra 6700 or DA 7900.
DA 7900 has taken some criticism as it isn't perfect...but many of the rear shifting issues as with all groupsets is due to poor setup which is common if not prevalent in the industry. Lots of botched cable jobs out there. Specialized is known for this on their internally routed cable bikes, one of which I own. Spesh released a new routing spec called the California Cross that makes cable housing radii a bit more free flowing.
DA 9000 sounds to be the cat's @$$ and preliminary reports are its the best mechanical groupset in the industry. Of course it will cost a lot...require a new wheelset or redishing for the longer 11s free hub and cassette but Shimano has pulled out the stops with revising cable pull for both front and rear derailleurs, further tweaking of hood shape in the direction of Di2 and much shorter shift throws.
For a more budget conscious rider, DA 7900 should be a good sweet spot...will see.

Drag

Da7800 ftw!!!

Campag4life

Not really...although this is a common web mantra among 7800 loyalists. Yes, many do appreciate the feel of 7800. Yes, there is going to be lower cable friction because of internal shifter and under cable routing.

But 7900 is better:
- lower weight
- under cable routing has much cleaner aesthetic.
- hood ergos are improved.
- front shifting is not only better but best in industry...0 trim.
- best brakes in class...graduated cable pull...uber stiff calipers.

Yes...many love 7800...but many and not all believe 7900 to be a major improvement.