Originally Posted by
rosefarts
Interesting to hear that. I have 12 speed GX on my MTB and there is no level of finick. I’ve adjusted the cable tension once.
The Ekar setup seems tricky. Also remarkably affordable for Campy. SR has always been about clout, still is. I was trying to think of a well paid person who would use it on an expensive bike.
The GX stuff was originally on my Ritchey tandem and I never made it work correctly. I suspect that cable length was the problem. I went to a Box 9 group set on the Ritchey and the GX went on the shelf until the Fatbike came along. I may put a wireless 12 speed on the tandem. We will see how much touring we get to do. If we do a lot, it will go back to the 12 speed, but wireless this time.
The first Ekar was put on a Lynskey RIdgeline hardtail to gravel conversion and I really liked it. I chose Ekar because I liked the ergonomics of the Campagnolo road groups. Initial setup was ... interesting. Once I learned how to make the Ekar work, it has been stable.
The second Ekar is a TIme Scylon road bicycle. It has become my daily commuter and my group ride bike as well. I work for a small division of a Fortune 500 company as an engineering team lead, so I get to park it inside the badge controlled space inside our building. Lucky me. So do the interns riding aluminum Giant bikes.
My guess is the Scylon matches your description of an expensive bike. Similar price range to a Calfee but not as ugly or pretentious. The SR was almost $4000 more than Ekar, which made Ekar an easy choice. I have an ancient Chorus EPS on my Lynskey road bike and would have loved to have put a Chorus level EPS on the Scylon, but it was not available.