bonehead

I've heard mixed opinions on this. Some say that Dura Ace will go three years before needing any repair (normal wear and tear, of course); then others have said the entry level Campy comps. just start to break in at the three year point. What is your experience? I don't mind the investment, if it is going to save and last me in the long run.

Thanks

merlinextraligh

I've had 2 Campy groups (Nuevo Record, and Athena) and D/A 7,8,9 and 10 speed groups. Admittedly my Campy knowledge is dated, but as to D/A it is very durable. Last year I got rid of the 7 speed group because it was starting to wear out after 17 years, and 50,000 miles (although it still worked and with a few replacement parts, like a new spring on the front derailleur, would still work well) The 8 speed group got stolen. The 9 speed group works fine going on 8 years. And the 10 speed group is fine after one year.

HAMMER MAN

I use to be a campy man back in the late seventies early eighties.
As campy got more expensive I switched to Dura-Ace and never looked back.
I find it quite durable. new 10 speed I just replaced a shifter on warranty
good for 3 years

fmw

The campy stuff is simply better. It is stronger, more reliable and repairable. My personal experiences are exactly the opposite of the responders above and I don't give you this opinion because of my experiences but because of the experiences of cyclists in general that I know. If you ride the current groups in both brands you will see that there is no comparison. There just isn't.

2Rodies

I've used nothing but Campy since the late 90's, currently my race bike has '05 Record and my other bikes have '04 and '05 Chorus. I've had zero issues with Campy and love it. I've ridden lot's of bikes with DA and it works just as well as my Record stuff. My issues with Shimano are first the hoods just aren't as comfortable for me as the Campy and I just hate the exposed cables on DA. If you are worried about durability I don't think you'll find a huge difference between Record/Chorus and DA. I'd go with what fits your hands best.

cyclintom

The Dura Ace 7-speed era headsets, bottom brackets and hub bearings were attrocious. Headsets often would notch within weeks. BB's would wear out in a month in some cases. The hubs were rough from the start.

8-speed stuff was little better.

It wasn't until Shimano released the cartridge bearing lines that things improved. Now headsets are as good as Chorus but bottom brackets still lag behind and wear out pretty rapidly. I assume the main reason for this is the large diameter pipe spindle doesn't allow large (and hence strong) enough bearings. They've responded by putting in EXTERNAL bearings. I'm afraid that seems so rediculous to me that I've completely turned away from Shimano stuff so configured.

Shimano Dura Ace STI shifters were always pretty good. They seldom failed even after many years though the Ultegra models wear out rather rapidly to this very day. Dura Ace derailleurs are great.

Chorus level components are like more reliable Dura Ace and are always my first choice. I also very much prefer the Ergo lever method of shifting and the definite CLICK when you change gears which is completely missing from the Dura Ace design.

Record stuff is preposterously expensive and isn't designed for racers as is commonly imagined but for the rich cyclist who pretends to be a racer. Giving away reliability to save a gram is the height of delusion and Record owners everywhere are guilty of it.

Tequila Joe

Here we go again....

Ridem' both and pick the one that feels better to you. Both groups will last a very long time.

Al1943

Narrow tires have less rolling resistance than wide tires.....

briscoelab

"Record stuff is preposterously expensive and isn't designed for racers as is commonly imagined but for the rich cyclist who pretends to be a racer. Giving away reliability to save a gram is the height of delusion and Record owners everywhere are guilty of it."

This is a really stupid comment. Record not for racing?? What is crazy expensive is the Dura-Ace or Ultegra SHIFTERS.... those things are WAY too much money. Record shifters are much cheaper than either. Plus, there is NO excuse for how much the Dura-ace shifters weigh... esp considering the price. Both DA and Record work fantastic..... they are both very durable. Go with that fits your hands better. Or get one bike with each

merlinextraligh

I think you may be showing your Campagnolo bias on this one. The one place where D/A has an advantage over Campy is the 2 piece crank/external bb. In fact Campy is finally getting ready to give up on it's square taper bb. But back to the OP, Record and D/A are both going to last a long time and serve you well. Decide on which one you like better, fits you and fits your wallet.

park

Pro teams are split pretty evenly on use of Campy or Shimano, but you'll find Shimano more commonly in the US. Parts for Shimano are going to be easier to get. Having said that I've never had to fix my Dura Ace equipment despite less than stellar attention to maintenance and cleaning. I've ridden Dura Ace for years with no complaints. I'm sure Campy equipment is very similar.

55/Rad

I like pie.

2Rodies

Really? I've never had a failure on any of my Record or Chorus stuff. Secondly a full DA groupset is about the same price as a full Record groupset. Record is about 7% more than DA.

cyclintom

Personal experience on failure rates isn't very indicative. In the bike shops I've seen quite a few failed Record shifters from broken levers. Now everything is REPAIRABLE and that isn't a problem but aluminum levers seldom had catastrophic failures. I've also seen quite a few broken rear Record derailleurs with the carbon sideplate. Notice that Campy is avoiding putting out carbon fiber brakes? A failure there might doom their market in the USA in the court system.

Again, this is all very minor but the fact is that racing teams would preferred Chorus parts when they were all aluminum over the marginally lighter but less reliable carbon fiber parts.

The ONLY advantage of carbon fiber in these applications is minute weight advantages.

jameyj

+1

DocRay

I'll agree that there is no performance difference between Chorus and Record, and even some components between Veloce and record.
However, there is no reliability loss going to Record, hundreds of pros use Record.
The DA brifters are clumsy and heavy, and I like the micro-adjust on the front deraileur, and the lever-based brake release.

DocRay

Pro team choice of components has little to do with the components, more with sponsorship.

patentcad

The only two D.A. parts I've had break are:

Rear shifter (on the brake lever). They're good for 3- 4years, then some little spring in them goes. $200 or so for the part every time.

One rear derailleur. This over 15+ years.

So yes, D.A. is durable. I kid the Campy zealots but most of the pro peloton is racing on it at the highest level. So it really can't suck.

So take your pick weenies. It's all good.

2Rodies

You are aware that Chorus shifters are CF right? In '04 I tanked it pretty hard on my Cinelli, hard enough to write off the frame, hit my Record rear dr pretty hard, scared the CF face plate up pretty bad. Bolted on the new bike and it worked fine, I still have it as a spare. Record stuff holds up just fine.

GuitarWizard

Ok, recipie post time....

Unfortunately I can't find my damn spaghetti sauce recipie, and can't remember the amounts of some of the key ingredients .

HAMMER MAN

kinda comes down to personal preference.

Performance is a give and take, also depending on comfortability with body size/hands and fingers. as well as asthetics of the equipment
I do perfer the way Campy shift levers are and how they work compared to shimano, but once you are with a gruppo seems that you stay with it, at least for me.

My twin brother uses Campy after I turned him on to bicycle riding, every year he has to rebuild the shifters on one of his bikes, they both have campy record.
In the fifteen + years I have used shimano I have only had to replace a shifter nothing else.

hi565

ohhhh you made me have a craving...

SDRider

Me too. I could go for a slice of pecan pie right now.

GuitarWizard

I could go for blueberry, apple, or key lime pie right about now....

HAMMER MAN

I prefer choclate cream pie or a boston cream pie.
smile.
EVERYDAY IS A GREAT DAY