ditch digger

Can you downshift from the drops with a campy group?

El Diablo Rojo

I can, but I have very long fingers and thumbs.

telenick

yes ...not sure why you're winking.

ditch digger

Isn't that thumb-shifter on the hoods for downshifting? I think that would be very hard to hit from the drops...

ViperZ

The thumb shifter is for up shifting (to smaller cog).

Down shift or up shift can be done from the drops, hoods or bends. What I like is it does not tag the brakes slightly like Shimano tends to sometimes when pushing the big lever.


Regardless, either you want Campy or you don't, if you aren't convinced, no loss, go hard on Shimano, it's all good!

bluecd

not only can i upshift from the drops i can use my pinky finger & upshift from the tops.

fmw

Good point. I had forgotten that I hardly ever rode my Shimano equipped bike (when I had one) in Winter because I couldn't shift to the large chainring without applying the brake because of the thick gloves. I think people who worry about the Campy controls either haven't tried them or haven't spent enough time with them to get accustomed to them. It is easy to adapt to either system in my view and I think the way the controls work is a trivial difference between the two systems.

I prefer Campy mostly because it has proven to be stronger and more reliable for me over the years. I got my first Campy equipped bike as a gift from my Father. It was a brand new 1956 Raleigh road bike. So I have 50 years experience riding Campy. The Shimano equipment works fine but isn't made as well. I have 2 snapped rear derailleurs, a chain and a broken STI unit to remind me. I got my first Shimano equipped bike in 2002 so I only have 4 years experience riding Shimano drivetrains. I think I'll stick with what has treated me well for 50 years. Your mileage may vary, as they say.

roadracer13

Man I hate uneducated remarks like the one above... First off, at the very top end DA does not compare to Record... DA cannot compete with Campy on weight if you get into the Carbon stuff... DA is more compared to the Chorus line... and second of all Record is CHEAPER than DA!! The price came down on Campy stuff a year ago you idiot!

I will show 2 examples of a Record comparo to DA and why Record can out class DA... please read below.

An example... (from Competitive Cyclist web site)

Campagnolo Record Includes:

Bottom Bracket
Brakes
Steel/Ti Cassette 11/23
Ultra Narrow Chain
Alloy Cranks 172.5
Front Derailleur 34.9
Ergo Shifters
Rear Derailleur

Total Weight: 2150g
Total Price: $1412.99

Same exact Config for Shimano DuraAce

Campagnolo Record Includes:

Bottom Bracket
Brakes
Cassette 11/23
Chain
Alloy Cranks 172.5
Front Derailleur 34.9
STI Shifters
Rear Derailleur

Total Weight: 2160g
Total Price: $1556.91

Record Group... $143 and change cheaper and lighter! So way to go you uninformed moron!

Now if you wanted to loose weight and go to 1986g's (174g saving over Shimano) on the Campy you can do that for a price increase of about $400 Campy bucks $259ish over the much heavier DA... can't loose weight with Shimano. 2160 is as light as it goes. So from that stand point it can't compare with Record and it is more expensive.

WOW... thanks for letting me vent! Campy stuff is great all around and is all the things listed above.

zacster

It is easy to shift from the drops with Campy. From the tops I don't know though.

I'll side with the Campy folks, but I doubt there is anything about Shimano that is really bad, except maybe the inability to adjust the front derailleur. I've spent all my riding years adjusting the front to get rid of chain rub and to not be able to do that seems backwards.

Stallionforce

I have DA on my racer, and Mirage on my commuter (which I used to race before I got the full carbon). I agree that the performance difference is paper-thin. There are just a few things I really prefer about the Campy system, which have all to do with racing, and high-end performance:

--> up/down shift motion with the hand corresponds to direction of chain movement
--> can shift up to three gears in one motion
--> hoods more ergo for my hands
--> thumb shift works better for me when climbing out of the saddle (but not quite as good in a sprint)
--> front derailleur shift from big to small ring much better in Campy


One thing I will say about my DA though is the rear derailleur shift is so smooth it almost seems to glide into place. But, as I said, I only have Mirage; I can't compare Record to DA. But from what I've read here, the Record shifting is pretty damn smooth.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

gotcoffee

rapidcarbon - some appreciate irony... .

and that record/chorus has a matching carbon compact crank. and i just like the way campy hoods feel and look better. a bit more classy. not all battlestar galactica looking.

acorn_user

Surely Dura-Ace and Record are equally poseurish if we are going to get into that I recognise my inexperience so briefly; I like Sora. It's fun, and shifts fine. But the moving brake levers annoy me, and I struggle to use the thumb shifter to change from the drops. For the money, it is amazing... But, I have also ridden 8speed veloce, 9 speed veloce and 9 speed mirage. The new levers are nice, the shifting is good, and the braking is amazing. Hence, my bike is going to be built with Mirage. Re the cassettes. Ambrosio, Mavic, Marchisio and Miche all seem to make conversion cassettes. That way you don't have to junk perfectly good wheels. Whatever you choose, it will be miles better than my simplex ten speed!
Dave

rapidcarbon

roadracer13, can you read??? Can you tell that I have all campy record on my bikes? Can you read the line I said "I still love them" ??? Can you tell that I was kidding about campy suck???

Besides, let me teach you something about shopping. Record is not cheaper than DA, moron. Only stupid people buy stuff without research. A full D-A group (8 pieces) only costs as much as 1200 or lower at GVH bikes, Probikekit, Totalcycling, while can't find a Record group for less than 1300. Oh by the way, guess how much I paid for a chorus group to put on a bike that I use as a loaner (to let my friend borrow when he pays me a visit)? Only 950. And how would someone say that D-A can only compare to Chorus.

g0d d@mned !t, call yourself a road racer and don't know *****. I'd bet your cheap arse still race on a huffy.

JamesV

Isn't it funny how Campy thumb shifting is praised while Shimano Sora thumb shifting is condemned? What a difference an inch or two makes.

[i have both Campy on one bike and Shimano on the other, i'm not taking sides, just making an observation]

jdcowboy

I have a four year old Colnago with 15K miles and the full Record triple set up. Just bought new bike with full DA. Had the shifters rebuilt recently in the Record and shop says it is set up properly, newer chain, cassette and front deraileur. The new DA shifts much easier and smoother compared with my old Record stuff--no comparison. I liked the cable routing and thumb shifter of the Record, but that was all. Parts are so expensive to replace that I would rather buy the complete DA part. The availability of someone who can work on Campy stuff is sometimes a problem.

My $.02.

H1449-6

If not for brifters, I'd be on *****mano. Campy Ergo far > *****mano STI.

Willing to run downtube, bar end or mind control shifters? Then get *****mano.

'nuff said.

urbanknight

It did take me a week to get used to, but the thumb shifter is just as easy as the Shimano. Not applying the brakes by accident is nice, too, but that rarely happened to me on Shimano. I live in Cali, though, so I can't tell you what they'd be like with thick gloves on.

catatonic

true, but they still work differently.

cebrefreveil

My wife had Sora on her bike. Appart from the fact that the front shifting never worked properly (triple chainring) the thumb shifter is much more smaller than the Campy one, which may not be as ergonomic. But honestly the real reason may only be that Sora is the low end of Shimano...

caloso

Here's a question for you Campaphiles:

If one were to go with a Centaur-Chorus mix, where would you go up? I was thinking of mostly Centaur but springing some extra dough for the Chorus RD. Or is it better to spend the money on Chorus levers?

DocRay

The Chorus levers. I just did this. The only real difference in RDs is weight up the scale, but the Chorus levers are better than Centaur.

recursive

You'd be wrong. I've used both Shimano Sora, and Campy Veloce extensively. I could just barely reach the upshift on the Sora, but the thumb shifter is in a much different position on the campy ergopower levers. Shifting from the drops is absolutely no problem. I can upshift 4 gears at a time with my Veloce. Try that with any STI system.


It does make quite a difference. I have heard a theory that Shimano intentionally puts the thumb shifter in one of the worst possible places in order to encourage people to upgrade. Sounds kind of conspiracy-ish to me, but you never know...

tinrobot

I wonder how quickly that will fill up with dirt/grime?

recursive

Probably pretty slowly if you occasionally clean your bike.