Campy experience

[alienator]

I have to say I've never been concerned with it. Cable tension just has to be enough to make the derailleur work properly, and that is really the only baseline I need.

+1. When I set up an RD, I set it up by how it functions, not by cable tension.

 

[pat5319]

I just want to ask others who have used Campy for at least a few years about their experiences.

My story: When I was still on 9 speed (about 7 years ago) I was using Dura Ace 9....pretty much no problems, it was a very very robust group. Even neglecting regular maintenance and having a filthy chain and derailleur did little to the performance - it shifted pretty much perfectly, all the time.

At the time though, I knew that I wanted to try Campy components at least once in my life and see what all the fuss was about. So I went and sold the Dura Ace and bought Record 10 speed. Well, here it is about 7 years later, and here are my thoughts:

Campy, to my eyes at least, looks great. Very stylish, especially the levers and cranks. Some of the innovations were brilliant - Ultra Torque for example, which I use on my TT bike. I still use square taper alu cranks on my road bike however. The levers I always liked better than Shimano because I have smaller than average hands, so they fit better. The thumb shifter I really liked as well.

But....the downsides: it seems every Campy derailleur I've ever had has trouble at some point. The barrel adjuster, for example, is horribly designed - why the need for a spring and a bolt that doesn't fully engage with the threads of the derailleur?? Every single one I've had (Record, Chorus, Veloce and Centaur over the years) has had the bolt mis-align or eventually cross-thread. Once that happens, of course cable tension is very difficult if not impossible to adjust correctly. On the carbon derailleur bodies, in the event of an impact, you may find that the limit screw will no longer stay in place as well. Levers....Centaur seemed to be the best IMO, Record always get spongy. I had mine rebuilt...and it's still terrible. It seems the only good things I can take away are that the lever shapes were nicer than Shimano, I never liked their aesthetics.

But the new Shimano lever shapes are more pleasing to the eye, and they look like they would fit small hands better than the previous style. I'm seriously thinking of going back to Shimano now!

Anyone have similar experiences?

Hmm, I used campy for over 30 yeare no real problems,other than caused by my own stupidity or crashes, in Neuvo Record, Super Record, C-record (crank only) and record, some mix and match in 5,6,7 and 8 spd varieties often upgrading or avoiding new parts by rebuilding. I used both downtube and bar end friction, also click shift in the levers, some stuff I used on several bikes for as long as 20 yrs+