[This came in from an industry insider who wishes to remain anonymous. Part 1 also covered major atrocities the Italian manufacturer has committed. -Ed.]Â
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I have to say I’ve always loved the anatomics of the shifters. They were able to maintain a traditional shifter look and incorporate an albeit bastardized 10 speed ergo shifting system that falls way shy of Shimano’s shifting ability. The lead cable heads on campy shift cables are a mouse whisker smaller than a Shimano one. So if you install a Shimano cable it becomes a permanent part of the $300 shifter. The cable housing is stiff and is meant to run tight to the ergo bars. The cables and housing make sharp turns immediately after leaving the shifter. However, it doesn’t impact the shifting just your attitude about taping the bars. It can take a whole roll of electrical tape to keep the cable housing at bay. It’s obvious that the component ‘aesthetics’ are more important than performance when you see tiny Campy logo stamped rubber stops to keep the calipers from scratching themselves. Kinda like when a cone is put over a dog or cat’s head.
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The derailleur set screws are skrewed. There is no middle ground. It makes no sense. The cassette runs so close to the frame and yet the derailleur was design to go lower than the cassette will allow. In other words the lower sets screw is cranked all the way in but you can’t get it off the lowest cog without significantly increasing the cable tension to do so. Which in turn reeks havoc on the upper end of the shifting system. You could feasibly set it up to shift onto the derailleur hanger! The Campy cassette body was designed by the world’s greatest over-thinker. It’s a nice mental test to take and it may be a good way to break in, or filter out new mechanics. If you want those ‘alleged’ terrorists in Guantanamo Bay to sing have them install Campy cassettes all day. The cassette comes with a pseudo guide. It’s a plastic mock-cassette body that is supposed to allow you to ‘plunge’ the cassette down onto the body in its appropriate place. I get very nervous before taking this ‘plunge’ and start to shake making failure the likely outcome. Shortly thereafter the cassette sits loosely in your hand in prep for ‘traditional’ installation. I have yet to take a successful ‘plunge’.
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When all is said and done Campy looks great. They do carbon well and they are renown for their polished finish. But Campy’s best attribute is in making Shimano look great.
Comments 20
SRAM is better than both cramp-n-go-slow and [**** -ed.]mano…
Posted 11 Dec 2007 at 12:23 pm ¶What’s wrong with Campy?
It’s better than shimano, and I agree that SRAM tops them all.
Posted 11 Dec 2007 at 1:07 pm ¶Dude, take your ritalin. It works just fine to tape the housing to the handlebar at 2 or maybe 3 points. You don’t need a whole frickin roll. So what with cassette install. I like being able to take the cassette completely apart for cleaning. Your set screw issues are a classic case of “over-thinking”.
Some would say Shimano shifting is “lighter” or “smoother”, whereas I would say its shifting is “mushy”. Shimano stuff to me is cheap plasticy stuff that breaks. I have 12 year old 9-speed brifters that still work great. Campy rocks for CX too. Solid, dependable, and durable.
Posted 11 Dec 2007 at 2:23 pm ¶campy works fine, even if it is tricky to set up right.
but, most importantly, like you said it looks the best.
and if racing bikes is not about looking your best, then i don’t know what it’s about.
Posted 11 Dec 2007 at 3:09 pm ¶Harry legs, rusted-dirty Ultegra, worn out black shorts, loose plastic water bottle cages to leave landmines for those behind, cheap 25mm clinchers with 4,000 miles on them; it all rocks!!!
Posted 11 Dec 2007 at 6:25 pm ¶http://24.118.139.1/~williamoreilly/peeoncampy.jpg
Posted 11 Dec 2007 at 7:47 pm ¶First off, I hate Anonymous writers, it lacks any credibility. If you have to be Anonymous, then you have to get a different job in the bike industry.
Posted 12 Dec 2007 at 11:09 am ¶Ps, I love campy.
lighten up francis
Posted 12 Dec 2007 at 11:17 am ¶What’s best for riding those rollers?
Posted 12 Dec 2007 at 11:35 am ¶I take some things too seriously, I am lightened up. xoxo
Posted 12 Dec 2007 at 1:09 pm ¶I’ve never had a problem with Campy since I made the switch in 1996. Stuff works great.
I guess you have to know what you are doing when you work on your bike.
Posted 14 Dec 2007 at 1:31 am ¶I forgot to mention the lock ring scenario. It’s the cherry on top. So, some cassettes come with a lock ring, some don’t. There are two sizes. Some wheel manufacturers supply lock rings for campy cassette bodies, and some don’t. It’s easier to plan a wedding than it is to choreograph the lock ring scenario. And if you’re lock-ringless you can order one. Do you care to guess the wholesale price of a Campy (not after-market) lockring?
Posted 14 Dec 2007 at 11:43 am ¶Good luck ever being able to service a mushy Shimano shifter, or getting a 34.9mm FD clamp to not leave stress marks on a 35.0mm seat tube. Speaking of cassettes and lockrings, how about the .5mm steel spacer needed on most freehub bodies that results in loose cogs and incessant ghost shifting when not used? Both systems have their quirks, but at the end of the day I’ll take ergonomics, serviceability and attractive aesthetics over awkwardly shaped, ugly and disposable machinery any day.
Posted 19 Dec 2007 at 8:41 am ¶When shimano wears out campy’s just starting to break in and then it lasts and lasts and lasts and…..
Posted 19 Dec 2007 at 6:55 pm ¶“pie wrote:
When shimano wears out campy’s just starting to break in and then it lasts and lasts and lasts and…..”
actually when campy starts to feel good it is worn as well. it is about that time that the “d” springs need to be replaced. they are simply worn flat from use. because they are worn is the reason it feels good…
Posted 20 Dec 2007 at 10:22 pm ¶I automatically replace my D springs when I replace my cables and housing. Ohauling the shifter takes 10 minutes and $8 in parts. I have a 9 speed Campy group with close to 60 k miles on it. It is finally showing some wear in the front and rear derailleurs and it’s on its third outer ring and third set of derailleur pullies. It’s been on 5 frames and 8 pairs of wheels. two of which have cracked and failed. I still have one of the wheelsets which by the way are Campagnolo Neucleons with over 30k on them which I retired for commuting the roads of San Jose, Ca. I had 2 dura ace groups and one ultegra within that time on another bike and all had wore out. The shifters went south 3 times and the shifter blades were not cheap after they stopped replacing them for free. I wore out the front and rear derailleur as well. I did not get anywhere near the miles on the chains or chainrings. I simply got tired of devoting my valuable time having to adjust and repair Shimano. I went to a second Campy groupo on a second bike. It’s now 6 years old with close to 10k on it and it’s practically flawless and it is still on the same frame. The D springs are a small price to pay when you get tired of shimano’s shifter blades failing. It’s very satisfying to be able to easily repair Campagnolo as well as returning it to it’s original condition of operation. To say the least I find Campagnolo refreshing to work on as well it outlasting any Shimano parts I have ever owned. Anybody who complains about working on Campy is either not not reading the simple instructions that come with all Campy parts or they just plain unmechanically inclined.
Posted 27 Dec 2007 at 10:14 pm ¶pie, you ride too much. I love the “chunck!” when I downshift on my road bike so much I just switched out the (worn out) ultegra on the cross bike for campy. and I Love dropping down 4 cogs at time (BIG Chunck !) And Sorry, but shimano just wouldn’t look right on the old Super Corsa. I let the wrench at LBS work on the stuff, I just ride it .
Posted 15 Mar 2008 at 7:33 pm ¶Are you still pissed off that you can’t afford Campagnolo?
Posted 18 Mar 2008 at 3:11 pm ¶pie… email me when you get a chance. I have a question about my campy records.
thanks
Posted 31 Aug 2008 at 9:46 am ¶pingfa5@gmail.com
Posted 31 Aug 2008 at 9:46 am ¶Post a Comment