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Shimano vs. Campy

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Shimano vs. Campy

Old 10-26-19, 06:32 AM
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MagicCyclist
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Shimano vs. Campy

Merlin Cycles offers a Dura Ace R9100 rim brake groupset for 1160 euros, while buying parts seperately (from Merlin Cycles too) I can get a Record 12spd group for 1214. What should I buy? Keep in mind that I will have to buy BB cups for the Record (I have Shimano BB cups from my older bike).

EDIT AFTER READING COMMENTS: Well, my hands are small so I will go with Campy. Thumb shift won't be that hard to get used to I believe. My new frameset will be a C64 so Shimano would be way out. Anyways thanks for helping me out!

Last edited by MagicCyclist; 10-31-19 at 12:25 PM.
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Old 10-26-19, 06:33 AM
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shelbyfv
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Whichever fits your wheels? Welcome to BF!
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Old 10-26-19, 06:54 AM
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What bike is it going on? Keep it in the family if it’s an Italian frame.
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Old 10-26-19, 07:45 AM
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Originally Posted by shelbyfv
Whichever fits your wheels? Welcome to BF!
This is a pretty good US based deal that includes wheels

CAMPY 12s Plus BoraWTO 45s
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Old 10-26-19, 09:00 AM
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Record.
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Old 10-26-19, 09:32 AM
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Originally Posted by MagicCyclist
What should I buy?
You mention price so its safe to say that's a factor.
If your budget is 1160 euro, then get the DA. If you want to have some imagined mystique, then get the Campy.

I would get whichever I had the tools to work on and liked using more. They are different in shifting and hood design- which do you like more?
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Old 10-26-19, 10:14 AM
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I wouldn't let price dictate your decision. Get whichever is more ergonomic for YOU. I'm a diehard Campy rider, but Shimano is great stuff. I just don't likenShimano's shift method.
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Old 10-26-19, 11:46 AM
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Oh man, if the price is right, why deprive yourself? Get Campy!
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Old 10-26-19, 12:49 PM
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If you plan to travel at all with the bike, get shimano, replacement parts are easier to come by.
Also for the new 12 speed please take into consideration of cassette cost. you can get a 11 speed shimano 105 cassette for $40, there is no cheap 12 speed cassettes. Are you comfortable spending $200 every 6 month or so.
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Old 10-26-19, 01:11 PM
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The shimano group will soon be outdated when they change to 12 speed. The BB cups cost little. That should not impact your decision. You can also get a chorus 12 group for quite a bit less. If you're buying separate parts, just a chorus cassette would save quite a bit.

I have two bikes with Chorus 12. No regrets at all. The shifting is great.
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Old 10-28-19, 04:08 PM
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Thumb shift or not. Thats the question only you can answer. It gets in some peoples way, others not. Either are flawless shifting.
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Old 10-28-19, 05:15 PM
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It depends. Do you prefer sushi or pizza?
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Old 10-28-19, 05:22 PM
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Originally Posted by bruce19
It depends. Do you prefer sushi or pizza?
Are anchovies considered sushi?
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Old 10-28-19, 07:02 PM
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I like my brake levers to do just one thing. I also like being able to shift multiple gears with one movement.

Sometimes the second mouse gets the cheese
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Old 10-29-19, 06:58 PM
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I put Campy 11 speed on my bike this summer. First brifter machine I have owned, but have set up countless brifter bikes at the shop. Shimano just ain't my thing, don't like the shift mechanism. My brain won't wrap around it. The Campy mechanism works better for my feeble mind. Shifts perfectly, too. If you keep up on maintenance, specifically chain cleanliness and lubrication, the cassette can last many thousands of miles before needing replacement.

One thing to note, Shimano brifters lose their "crispness" more rapidly than Campy. Campy seems to stay "crisp" meaning positive clicks for a longer period of time than Shimano. Both work well, but I most certainly have a preference for Campy. By the way, Campy 11 speed drive train is perfectly interchangeable with Shimano, Sram, and other brand 11 speed cassettes and chains. Note: Campy hubs only accept Campy cassettes, but you can use other brand hubs to use the other brand cassettes.
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Old 10-29-19, 07:32 PM
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Originally Posted by bruce19
It depends. Do you prefer sushi or pizza?
Is it bad form to quote yourself? I made a funny in a different thread from years ago. To wit:

Campagnolo is Catholic. Shimano is Buddhist. SRAM is Baptist.

Hermeneutical exegesis: Campagnolo is hidebound, stuffy, mysterious, poetic and a little sinister. Shimano is abstract and ethereal, but in a very plain, sensible and dependable way. SRAM is forthright, insistent and practical, but a little bit irritating.

Italians. Japanese. Americans. Pick your poison.

(https://www.bikeforums.net/12138740-post45.html)
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Old 10-29-19, 09:25 PM
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Folks might have an easier time getting their heads around Shimano's shifting if they had their front brakes on the right...

A sudden red light in front of you or whatever, and bam - brake to a stop and downshift to a big cog in one move. It's pretty damn cool, but I never noticed it was a possibility while I had my front brake on the left.

My rationale for switching after thirty years was that it made more sense to have the important brake on the same side as the important shifter. Took a year or two to regain my braking reflexes (mostly just not locking up the rear on occasion), but there's no looking back.
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Old 10-29-19, 09:26 PM
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Originally Posted by TiHabanero
Note: Campy hubs only accept Campy cassettes, but you can use other brand hubs to use the other brand cassettes.
You can also replace the hub body with a Campy one on many non-Campy hubs.
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Old 10-29-19, 09:31 PM
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Originally Posted by Kimmo
A sudden red light in front of you or whatever, and bam - brake to a stop and downshift to a big cog in one move. It's pretty damn cool, but I never noticed it was a possibility while I had my front brake on the left.

My rationale for switching after thirty years was that it made more sense to have the important brake on the same side as the important shifter. Took a year or two to regain my braking reflexes (mostly just not locking up the rear on occasion), but there's no looking back.
I'm sorry.......what?
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Old 10-30-19, 07:23 AM
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Originally Posted by pickettt
I'm sorry.......what?
He's talking about having the right hand brake lever operate the front brake like Euro bike racers have been doing since the 60s, maybe even further back than that. I'm not familiar with Shimano shifters but it's nothing more than running the front brake cable to the right lever with Campy. Even though I ride motorcycles, I keep my right lever as the rear brake because I'm right hand dominant and the rear doesn't have as much mechanical advantage as the front (longer cable run).

With the way Shimano works, I don't think braking hard and sweeping the cogs into a lower gear is really a viable option (if the right lever were set up to be the front brake). One or the other functions would be compromised given that the brake lever serves two functions (braking and downshifting). With the front brake lever on the left it would lend itself better to braking with the front (left side) and down shifting (right side) at the same time.

All that said, that's just what I think and doesn't make it a fact. I don't have time to get an inter-net arguing degree and battle it out until one of us gets a gold medal

Last edited by nomadmax; 10-30-19 at 07:28 AM.
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Old 10-30-19, 07:35 AM
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When you are braking hard, you are not pedaling. Makes shifting at the same time difficult at best!

I love the rock-solid Campy lever feel and ergonomics. I'll never get anything else!
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Old 10-30-19, 07:36 AM
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Originally Posted by DaveSSS
The shimano group will soon be outdated when they change to 12 speed. The BB cups cost little. That should not impact your decision. You can also get a chorus 12 group for quite a bit less. If you're buying separate parts, just a chorus cassette would save quite a bit.

I have two bikes with Chorus 12. No regrets at all. The shifting is great.
DaveSSS, that's good to know. A new member to this particular forum but also to the western slope contingent of the Medicare Peleton.
I'm strongly considering Chorus 12 set up (vs. Force 1 with modestly larger chainring than for a cross bike since I'm comfortable w/ 2T jumps at the smaller end of the cluster from 1X mtb'g and current Centaur 2X10).
Any input? thanks.
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Old 10-30-19, 10:19 AM
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Originally Posted by Kimmo
Folks might have an easier time getting their heads around Shimano's shifting if they had their front brakes on the right...

A sudden red light in front of you or whatever, and bam - brake to a stop and downshift to a big cog in one move. It's pretty damn cool, but I never noticed it was a possibility while I had my front brake on the left.

My rationale for switching after thirty years was that it made more sense to have the important brake on the same side as the important shifter. Took a year or two to regain my braking reflexes (mostly just not locking up the rear on occasion), but there's no looking back.
I have never shifted the FD while braking, but ok.

It makes sense to me to have the front brake on the left, so you can brake and downshift with the right at the same time.

Of course, I've only used Shimano, so it's what I'm used to.
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Old 10-30-19, 10:42 AM
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Originally Posted by nomadmax
He's talking about having the right hand brake lever operate the front brake like Euro bike racers have been doing since the 60s, maybe even further back than that. I'm not familiar with Shimano shifters but it's nothing more than running the front brake cable to the right lever with Campy. Even though I ride motorcycles, I keep my right lever as the rear brake because I'm right hand dominant and the rear doesn't have as much mechanical advantage as the front (longer cable run).

With the way Shimano works, I don't think braking hard and sweeping the cogs into a lower gear is really a viable option (if the right lever were set up to be the front brake). One or the other functions would be compromised given that the brake lever serves two functions (braking and downshifting). With the front brake lever on the left it would lend itself better to braking with the front (left side) and down shifting (right side) at the same time.

All that said, that's just what I think and doesn't make it a fact. I don't have time to get an inter-net arguing degree and battle it out until one of us gets a gold medal
I understand "moto" style, I ride dirt bikes also. Fun Fact: All bikes are assembled that way in Japan, and builders WILL NOT assemble them any other way. Shimano instructions do not specify one way or the other.

What I don't understand is how often are you coming to an emergency stop that you would set your bike up just for that. I don't know which brake is the "important one", and I don't understand why one would bother with shifting at all in an emergency situation. You need to pedal for a shift to take place, and how do you pedal while emergency braking. Granted, everyone can set up their own bikes however they want, the reasoning just doesn't make any sense....to me.
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Old 10-30-19, 02:43 PM
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Originally Posted by stormpeakco
DaveSSS, that's good to know. A new member to this particular forum but also to the western slope contingent of the Medicare Peleton.
I'm strongly considering Chorus 12 set up (vs. Force 1 with modestly larger chainring than for a cross bike since I'm comfortable w/ 2T jumps at the smaller end of the cluster from 1X mtb'g and current Centaur 2X10).
Any input? thanks.
Chorus 12 is a great option if you don't want or need the lowest weight group. Functionally, there's no difference between Chorus and the higher level groups. The shift lever are now made of black coated aluminum, instead of carbon fiber and the crank lacks the fancy clear coat finish of Record and SR. Chorus offers a new 48/32 crank and an 11-34 cassette, which is what I chose for the steep hills in norther Colorado. The hills on my rides are far worse than most mountain slopes. I got my groups from pinkjersey.com.
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