Anyone using Campy Record/Super Record?



Dr Lodge

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May 3, 2012
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Wondering if anyone has bought and is using Campagnolo Record or Super Record components, and if so why? Was going to get Super Record for my new bike, but it seems overkill, is way better than I am, and I'm sure Chorus is good enough.

This is a once in a lifetime purchase, will I regret not going for the best?
 
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Campy...it's not just a once in a lifetime purchase! You'll be hooked on it like crack!

I've run Campy for 40 years...everything from the old Valentino to Croce to Chorus to C-Record to Victory to Super Record. I have never regretted not running the top-of-the-line group set as long as the stuff I was using met my needs. And thanks to Campy's consistent quality and realistic expectations...it always did. So no, I doubt you would be bummed out on 'plain old' Record or even Chorus.

Like any component, if you ride it long enough and/or hard enough you WILL wear it out. Yes, it is mostly rebuildable, but it also gets obsolete/product improved to the point that rebuilding becomes impracticle or undesirable. Sure, I can whip out my 1974 Record-equipped Masi and go for a perfectly enjoyable ride on a 5-speed rear end, 22-pound bike, but why? 10-years maximum as a realistic life cycle? Maybe less, nowadays?

I'm currently running two bikes with a mix of 2012 11-speed Chorus and Record components. The difference between function of the 11-speed Chorus and Record is VERY little, functionally speaking. The difference between Record and Super Record has always been even less...mainly a slight weight reduction and some esoteric cosmetic changes.

That said...

Life is too short to ride ugly bikes and friends don't let friends ride shimaNO!

Buy the group set that makes your friends drool and your heart rate increase just looking at it. For my money, Chorus is the best bang for the buck, Record the most impressive for the money and S-Record the bling at the cost-be-damned price point. Let your wallet and your intended use be your ultimate guide.

For club runs where impressing the guys while enjoying the best mechanical group set...S-Record. For racing at any decent Cat 4-3-2-1 level...for God's sake, trashing Chous components every weekend in falls and transit bumps is crime against humanity enough.

You might even think of holding off purchasing a groupset for a few months or a year until the new EPS stuff drops in price and migrates to Campy's lessor component lines.

Regards,
CampyBob
 
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I say if you got the $$ and want to, go for it. I've been running Athena11 for three weeks and will probably never go back to Shimano (which I've been riding and racing since '82, and almost every iteration thereof). The Shimano stuff worked fine, but there is someting unexplainable about the allure of the Campy. Even the mid-level stuff and I'm not quite sure how I evaded getting bit by the bug till now. And although my alu Cinelli frame was made in China and the Athena's from Romania (?) there is something distinctly Italian about my bike.

Next change will probably be some Record brifters at some point as I hear they feel noteably different. And then eventually maybe full Record down the road (There's a Bianchi Oltre my size hanging on the wall in my LBS and if they haven't sold it in a year or two I could probably get at considerable discount. The Athena may not have the gravitas to match). I race Cat4 now and although it's been some time since my last spill my current gal is pretty fearless when the mustard starts getting spread... some sweet CF frame with SR maybe not so much.

Btw, chicks seem to be looking my way more with the Campy. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif
 
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I've been running Campy Record (10spd) for quite a few years and love it. Why did I get it? I got it 'cuz I got a smoking deal on it, otherwise I likely would have bought Chorus at the time. In terms of performance the biggest difference between Super Record, Record, and Chorus is going to be cost and weight, and the weight difference is not really anything you're going to notice on the bike. Athena is also a worthy option. It offers a more classic look, but it's shifting is more limited. It's only able to shift up 1 gear at a time while downshifting three gears at a time. Note that Campy's website has that backwards in terms of gear ratios. Super Record, Record, and Chorus can upshift 3 gears and downshift 5. I did switch to Chorus 10spd shifters since I wanted to give the new Campy ergonomics a go. I love the ergos, but the 1 up and 3 down shifting is pants compared to what my older Record shifters offered IMHO. Some will tell you that Campy is difficult to setup, but that's a load of BS. It's a doddle and no more difficult than setting up anything from Shimano or SRAM. Campy's stuff just feels right to me, both in terms of ergonomics and feedback.
 
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I've been running Athena11 for three weeks and will probably never go back to Shimano (which I've been riding and racing since '82, and almost every iteration thereof).

Another convert to the Holy Prophet, Tullio, Peace be upon him!

The Shimano stuff worked fine, but there is someting unexplainable about the allure of the Campy.

shimaNO stuff has the same characteristics as a Honda or Toyota...flawless performance, decent value and all the soul and personality of a pine 2 x 4.

Campy stuff may or may not be the 'best' at any given point in time, but it ALWAYS has the soul of il designatore exposed in its' look, its' sounds (Exhibit 'A': The sound of a Campagnolo freehub should be patented!) and its' feel.

It's all BS and truth at the same time.

Sure...a fellow 'could' win the Tour/Giro/Vuelta on shitmaNO or SRAM...but, would you really want your grandchildren seeing your picture 30 years later...riding something NOT Campy equipped?

OK...Miche...Modolo...Regina...FSA...fans unite! Forza Italia! (yeah...we know...Romanian sourced...French sourced [someone put a tachometer on Tullio's coffin!]...Chicom sourced...Taiwan sourced...

I race Cat4 now and although it's been some time since my last spill my current gal is pretty fearless when the mustard starts getting spread... some sweet CF frame with SR maybe not so much.

The season I spent on Victory was the year I was GLAD i left my Cobalto brakes and bling C-Record **** in the spares room!

Ever go down at 25 MPH on a fresh chip & seal road? It's like falling on a cheese grater! Not so good for my hide, but the Victory stuff just looked better with a few battle scars on it. And I still think the old Victory platform pedals with their blue/white nylon toe straps were one of the most comfortable racing pedals ever designed. Even the ****ty Victory crankset was stiff enough to wail away on. The only criticism of Victory components would be that the brake calipers were less stiff than the Record counterparts. The Victory seatpost was actually a better design than the Record seatpost.
 
The last thing I liked about Campag-NO-lo was the original Shamal wheels. The last mix-match of Campag components I had were Super Record, Croce d'Aune and Chorus and the Croce brakes were just about the sh1test things ever invented and stopped worse than a set of 1980's bargain basement sidepulls that came with my cheap but very cheerful Peugeot "Robert Millar" bike back in the day. That said, the Peugeot also had chrome rims and still managed to stop better. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/ROTF.gif

I won't say that I'll never use Campag stuff again - I just can't ever see spending more than Dura Ace money for something that doesn't work as well as Dura Ace. That said, don't expect me to be running out to buy the new Dura Ace 9000 group at full price either.

IMHO, the last decade of Campag components have looked decidedly bland, especially the cranks, that look like they're made from licorice stuffed in a mold and sun baked by Borats' Romanian cousins, and the rear mech. Gone is the allure of C-Record and it's flowing lines or the "it just looks better than anything else" appeal of the mid/early 80's super record. That it did actually work better than anything else seems superfluous while you drooled over it. If you want light, really stiff and SHINY you have to go to Shimano unless you go for components manufactured by smaller companies.
 
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Croce brakes? not work? hmm Were you aware the correct adjustment required the pads to be much farther away from the rims than any other brake?

How many decades ago did you use the "mismatched"' campy parts from different eras that formed your opinion? Did the shifter guides/indents match the brand/type of freewheel or cassette you were using?

Shimano? The company that; introduced planned obsolescense to cycling, requires that you buy 2 or three extra parts to get the one you want? leaves out the most needed tool in a shop kit and requires you buy a whole new kit to get the one you need, that makes a non trimable front derailleur changes designs constantly with built in incompatibility often year to year and model to model, whose races are non-replacable, whose chains wear out so quickly many shops won't sell them or stock a few but "push" Sram or others?
 
Croce and Record Delta brakes SUCKED! Adjustment was not the issue at any pad spread distance.

Mushy actuaction and poor leverage was. I was fool enough to race on those over-weight pieces of **** (the Record model) for two years. (I did love the over-weight original SGR pedals, however! Very comfy and perfect performance despite the mass penalty.)

Their perforfance was more akin to Campy's failed (yes, failed!) recent single-pivot rear brakes. Their ability to 'slow' was also so craptactular that everyone from pros to little kids on sidewalk tricycles demanded Campy bring back a dual-pivot rear brakes.

When a company actually has the brass to advertise that their brakes are not really meant to stop (but rather, to merely 'slow' the rider in a more controlled fashion...rrrriiiigghhttttt!), you KNOW the performance is going to suck!

And just a damning; anyone that has the brass to manufacture a brakeset that weighs more than the anchor of the USS Enterprise should have been horse whipped. Yeah, Fignon hauled those sorry assed pieces of artwork over the Alps...too stupid to change out to the much more effective Record sidepulls. Of course, Fignon was once noted for vaulting a wall on an Alpine descent and landing in a tree! Perhaps he enjoyed the experience? Pro's...paid to ride and promote dangerous devices...heheh! Yes...let's all go out and race on glossy carbon rims, buy some voodoo cork yellow pads from the Swiss and cram them into some retarded single-pivot brake setup and...descend the Stelvio like Tommy V. on LSD!

Someone queue up the pic of the pig!

 
I just can't ever see spending more than Dura Ace money for something that doesn't work as well as Dura Ace.

You're not alone.

Most folks won't spend more than Kia money for a car because nothing else works better than a Kia.
Most folks won't spend more than Huffy money for a bicycle because nothing else works better than a Huffy.

Life's too short to ride ugly bikes and friends don't let friends buy shitmaNO.

It's not about the money after the second bicycle or so...

Fat girls and mopeds...there is a saying.../img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif


the last decade of Campag components have looked decidedly bland, especially the cranks, that look like they're made from licorice stuffed in a mold and sun baked by Borats' Romanian cousins

For you, we paint on stripes to make more like look of SRAM and FSA! No extra charge! Sorry, we no can make look like 1982 aluminum forging from Soviet-era tank factory like shitmano Dura-Ass crank arm do. We try, but fail, at getting that fugly.

Verrry nice!
 
I've used Dura Ace 7800, and my Campy bits perform at least as well and have ergos that work much better for me.
swampy1970 said:
The last thing I liked about Campag-NO-lo was the original Shamal wheels. The last mix-match of Campag components I had were Super Record, Croce d'Aune and Chorus and the Croce brakes were just about the sh1test things ever invented and stopped worse than a set of 1980's bargain basement sidepulls that came with my cheap but very cheerful Peugeot "Robert Millar" bike back in the day. That said, the Peugeot also had chrome rims and still managed to stop better. :rofl: I won't say that I'll never use Campag stuff again - I just can't ever see spending more than Dura Ace money for something that doesn't work as well as Dura Ace. That said, don't expect me to be running out to buy the new Dura Ace 9000 group at full price either. IMHO, the last decade of Campag components have looked decidedly bland, especially the cranks, that look like they're made from licorice stuffed in a mold and sun baked by Borats' Romanian cousins, and the rear mech. Gone is the allure of C-Record and it's flowing lines or the "it just looks better than anything else" appeal of the mid/early 80's super record. That it did actually work better than anything else seems superfluous while you drooled over it. If you want light, really stiff and SHINY you have to go to Shimano unless you go for components manufactured by smaller companies.
 
Originally Posted by swampy1970 .

IMHO, the last decade of Campag components have looked decidedly bland, especially the cranks, that look like they're made from licorice stuffed in a mold and sun baked by Borats' Romanian cousins, and the rear mech. Gone is the allure of C-Record and it's flowing lines or the "it just looks better than anything else" appeal of the mid/early 80's super record. That it did actually work better than anything else seems superfluous while you drooled over it. If you want light, really stiff and SHINY you have to go to Shimano unless you go for components manufactured by smaller companies.
Ya know I have to partially agree with you. Adopting Shimano in the early years cause I was a broke teenager was a no brainer. Along with the slant parollelogram RD design adopted by pretty much everyone today the stuff works great. And 7800, combined with 7900 shifters and FD, the nicest looking, shiniest groupset available, finally with some aesthetically acceptable shifters, now both beautiful and functional. But what's up with the rest of the 7900 groupset? I thought maybe it was a design snafu, but just when I imagined a crankset couldn't get any worse looking, it did. The new 11spd may function flawlessly but MY EYES! In contrast the Campy 11spd shifters are possibly IMO the finest piece of cycling equipment ever manufactured. Purely subjective of course, but nothing from Shimano, Suntour, Mafac, DiaCompe or Modolo have ever felt this good in my hands. Or looked as sexy. possibly the Modolo "resin" levers... but that was a loooong time ago.
 
Originally Posted by alienator .

Athena is also a worthy option. It offers a more classic look, but it's shifting is more limited. It's only able to shift up 1 gear at a time while downshifting three gears at a time. Note that Campy's website has that backwards in terms of gear ratios. Super Record, Record, and Chorus can upshift 3 gears and downshift 5.
This is important to note with the new 11spd Athena. The alternative option is to buy a set of the older Ultra-Shift Athena 2010 shifters (vs. the new Power-Shift), usually readily available on eBay which function the same as their current higher level cousins.
 
If you ride in constant rolling to hilly, ever-gear-changing-terrain with lots of short, steep walls and fast drop-off descents that require punching up to speed quickly, Campy mega shifts are the way to go. Down three or up three shifts happen every few minutes on most of my training routes.

But, with a nick like "CampyBob" I can hardly be accused of prejudice!

The 11-speed setup is just awesome...more gears, allowing me to keep the close ratio setup I prefer while adding the bailout gears age demands without sacrificing...anything! If Campy comes out with a 12-speed, I can fill-in the missing 18T on my block and die a bodisattva.
 
Originally Posted by Pat Stowe .

Croce brakes? not work? hmm Were you aware the correct adjustment required the pads to be much farther away from the rims than any other brake?

How many decades ago did you use the "mismatched"' campy parts from different eras that formed your opinion? Did the shifter guides/indents match the brand/type of freewheel or cassette you were using?

Shimano? The company that; introduced planned obsolescense to cycling, requires that you buy 2 or three extra parts to get the one you want? leaves out the most needed tool in a shop kit and requires you buy a whole new kit to get the one you need, that makes a non trimable front derailleur changes designs constantly with built in incompatibility often year to year and model to model, whose races are non-replacable, whose chains wear out so quickly many shops won't sell them or stock a few but "push" Sram or others?
Yes I was aware that it was supposed to be required that you set the pads a little wider than normal. I tried everything from milimeter clearance to as wide as they could go with a myriad of different pads. Sh1t would be a polite way to put their effectiveness but it was good enough for a TT bike 90% of the time. The 10% that it wasn't you just rediscovered how fast you really could go around corners at the bottom of hills... Continetal's LA tubulars were very forgiving even at 175psi.

The mismatch of parts was early to mid 90's. Super Record cranks from the mid 80's, croce brakes, chorus rear mech... Good enough for a long 20 minute, 10 mile TT ~29mph on a pair of Shamals. That pic was take about a week before I moved from the 175mm Campag cranks to 185mm TA Alize.



Reynolds 531 tandem tubeset too because the downtube was too long for a regular 531C set ;) Exotic stuff, no? /img/vbsmilies/smilies/ROTF.gif Descente 'batman' skinsuit designed in the windtunnel with raised ribs (for my, not her pleasure) and Bell Vortex aerolid were... The skinsuit was 'used' when I got it from the UK descente importer and cost an arm and a leg.

Danfoz,

I too was broke when I raced. Who wasn't broke when they raced and went to university? All my Campag equipment apart from the Shamals was used. My road bike had all Shimano gear because i needed fast gear changes and Campag Syncro was beyond sh1t. If some of the planets lined up, if it didn't rain the past few days and, it was a big AND, the wind wasn't blowing in the wrong direction you might get three consecutive indexed shifts out of your synchro gear system. Campag record outshifted by Shimano 105... by a country mile and if you fudge a shift it doesn't matter how good the rest of the groupset is the basic function of pressing hard on the pedals to generate power has been disrupted.

Alienator,

For me the pinacle of perfection with regards to brake lever ergo is the 7900 Di2, thin and skimpy like a traditional lever but it just begs you to try and find an uncomfortable position if you could... I've not tried the EPS levers because it's still as rare as rockinghorse sh1t around these parts. The 7900 levers on my "posh" bike are the most comfortable standard cable actuated "brifter" that i've tried, not just because it's comfy to pop your hands on but because the brake lever position is adjustable. It's not much of an issue for rides of a few hours in length but for the 12+ hour slogs that I do every so often in the high Sierras, that feature itself is worth it's weight in gold. Each to his own but I wouldn't trade those levers for anything but Di2 right now.

Campybob,

That licorice chainset that Campagnolo puts out has nothing on this:



3D awesomeness not seen since 1986 and C-Record - except lighter and probably much stiffer. It might be as light and as stiff as the aluminium Cannondale Hollowgram Si SL chainset that I have which, IMHO is better than the current Super Record chainset. Lighter, stiffer and has an replaceable spider that allows 130bcd and 110bcd chainrings. Shimano are going for 110bcd across the board to cut out the nonsense of 130 and 110bcd and beefing up the chainrings. Nice.

I'm not sure that I'd go with this particular gear ratio but, Mmmmm shiny ;)



It's not about materials - it's about function. If a manufacturer put out a frame made of spaghetti and cheese but it worked better than my current frame then Italian food frame it is... Calfee put a convincing arguement for bamboo frames for long distance events. Carbon isn't the be all and end all of performance. That Shimano is the biggest producer of carbon leisure equipment chooses not to manufacture all it's premier equipment from that material kinda tells you they think of things the same way.
 
Calfee put a convincing arguement for bamboo frames for long distance events.

Convincing??? Calfee hasn't convinced me he can even build a carbon tandem without it snapping in half...exactly what happened to a friend and his tiny girlfriend stoker. I sure as hell wouldn't ride one of his bamboo pieces of envirowhacko **** even if the tube joints were wound with hemp.

And that Dura-Ass crank is beyond fugly. Just when you thought shitmano could not possibly design a more fitting prop for the set of "Planet of the Apes: Return to the ITT"...they manage to bring out something that tops...Biopace...

Just to prove I'm a good sport...don't tell anyone!...check out the Dura-Ass crankset on the track bike! It does spin on a Campy BB!



Allow me to add some another picture of Delta brake idiocy. They sucked. Hard.


 
Swampy, forgot to add...I agree that Campy cranksets are NOT all that stiff. The Hirth joint axle may be stiff...the outboard bearing cups may add stiffness...the ring bolt pattern may add stiffness, but the arms are not.

Grab ahold of an old C-Record and push, pull and twist. Then try the same to any Ultra-Torque.

The result is clear.

Still, they work just fine for me and the pros. And the only crank arm I've managed to snap in two was a left-side Record alloy with the vanity groove. Oops. Maybe it IS about the material?
 
Swampy, re: your piccie of the Dura Ace 9000 crank, I think it's fugly, about the same fugliness as the previous Dura Ace crank. The pedals in the picture are lovely, though. Some friends bought me the latest Dura Ace pedals, and me loves them: the pedals and the friends for buyin' 'em. None of slop betwixt cleat and pedal as is common to Look's Keos, and while it means nothing, the bearings feel so smooth when turning the DA pedals by hand.
 
Originally Posted by CAMPYBOB .

Swampy, forgot to add...I agree that Campy cranksets are NOT all that stiff. The Hirth joint axle may be stiff...the outboard bearing cups may add stiffness...the ring bolt pattern may add stiffness, but the arms are not.

Grab ahold of an old C-Record and push, pull and twist. Then try the same to any Ultra-Torque.

The result is clear.

Still, they work just fine for me and the pros. And the only crank arm I've managed to snap in two was a left-side Record alloy with the vanity groove. Oops. Maybe it IS about the material?
I've broken an old super record crank too - well, it caught it at the stage where the cracks were appearing right where the crank buldged out towards the end for the pedal threads.

The C-Record cranks' saving grace was that it looked farking ace.

Alienator,

I think the new Dura Ace crank looks way better better than 7900 and better than pretty much any crank out there that's being produced right now. I like shiny. It has shiny. My Cannondale cranks are not shiny. Boo!
 
Thanks for all your comments and replies guys. I have gone for Super Record, with the exception of Chorus cassette (12-27 to go with 34/50 chainset) and chain. The frame is pearl white with black and there is a mix of black and white throughout the components, saddle and bars. Its gonna look well cool /img/vbsmilies/smilies/cool.gif
 
I've broken an old super record crank too - well, it caught it at the stage where the cracks were appearing right where the crank buldged out towards the end for the pedal threads.

I 'caught' mine just as i 'caught' the bike from an out-of-control dive across the left lane as I shot the gap between two oncoming cars.

The left pedal and 2" stub of crank arm hit the pavement so hard that it stripped the pedal/toe clip/strap off my shoe and I recovered it from the center stripe of the road. The black cage alloy S-Record pedal was re-used on another bike.

Analysis of the crack propogation showed it had been working for some period of time/miles and was cracked approx. 1/3 thru when it let go. The ballmill used to mill the lightening groove had been allowed to dwell at the pedal end of the cut and the spindle must has sunk (-Z axis) a few thousandths. the ballmill created a small 'circle' about 1/16" in diameter and maybe .003"-.005" deep. The crack was perfectly tangent to that circle and I judge to be the stress riser that caused the eventual catastrophic failure.

I have gone for Super Record, with the exception of Chorus cassette (12-27 to go with 34/50 chainset) and chain.

The Chorus nickel plated steel cassette gears will outwear the Record Ti (large inner set) gears by many miles. Congratulations on the Record group. Now...go practice you shimaNO smirk and SRAM snicker!