Campag Veloce or Mirage Groupset?

Veloce has always been said to be the base groupset if you want some level of good durability. So I'd say it's worth it. The construction and feel are significantly better than Mirage IMHO.

sogood said:

Veloce has always been said to be the base groupset if you want some level of good durability. So I'd say it's worth it.

Having said that, shifterwise, the '07/'08 QS brifters (which get the most use and therefore msot likely to wear out soonest after the cassette/chain/rings) are practically identical in parts from Xenon up to Centaur, with the only parts differences being the brake levers and shift lever assembly, which are both no big deal. Check the Campag spare parts catalogue on their website for detailed info.

So that being the case, if you are desperate to save as much money as possible, then buy Xenon, since there *appears* to be little functional or durability difference up 'til Centaur on the new groups. Note that I don't have experience with the current crop of levers to give a user's opinion.

If you care about the bling factor of alloy or carbon brake lever blades, then go for Veloce or Centaur respectively.

For other parts (RD/FD/cranks), I can't imagine the difference in durability being huge, although the plastic bushings probably wear out faster than bearings. This is a moot point for Xenon vs Veloce, though.

Consumables - I would imagine that the cheaper chains/cassettes/rings tend to be made of heavier (and therefore empirically) more durable parts. I don't use original campag cassettes/chains though, so I can't tell from experience.

n