Record vs Chorus

What are the advantages of Campy Record over Chorus, other than lighter weight? Is the performance advantage of Record noticable?

 

The other obvious one is the bling factor and its worth to you.

According to many people who are knowledgable in this area. Chorus and Record share the same technology but Record uses more carbon and other lightweight material, so as you said, it's a little lighter. But as a result, durability of components have been sacrificed by Record for that weight reduction eg. Cassette. Many of those people tell me that the sweat spot for the money is Chorus. To that end, many pro racing teams are standardized on Chorus gears.

 

If you rode the two blindfold, then, well, you'd fall off!
But before you did, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. You pay more for a little more bling with Record, and a negligible weight saving.

 

I'd say stick with Chorus. Although I really want some Record for the bling factor of course. But, I'd say Chorus is definitely high quality stuff and will definitely work.

 

Now we have the record [pun] straight, how do people feel about the next tier... Chorus vs Centaur? This is getting evil and Campy marketeers' nightmare.

 

So do you think the same holds true for DA / Ultegra...or did I just hijack this thread...

 

Yes (to both questions).

 

nope.

i believe centaur doesnt use bearings in the shifters and is considerable heavier. plus, no where near the sex appeal.
and i can tell a noticeable difference between dura ace and ultegra. is it a big enough difference to drop the cash, not in my opinion.

 

So what DID you notice ? Not just the labels I hope.

 

"nope." what? You quoted my reply to jamesdemien, then agreed with what I said (which had nothing to do with Centaur).

 

Record vs Chorus - typically the previous year's Record becomes Chorus. Metallurgy in non-wear parts (crank, hub, headset, brake, der bodies, etc) is the same, i.e. same quality forgings, metal, etc. some upgrades for weight in Record and some extra bearings or pivot bushings, but if you wait a year, it'll probably be Chorus. Pieces you don't think of are unusually beefy - like the big ring is a lot sturdier than a Centaur.

Chorus vs Centaur - Centaur has received prior year Chorus for some components so it's pretty good too, for example the current hub which is absolutely beautiful. The crank/BB are typically not compatible with Record/Chorus. Longer BB axle = more flex. Shifters typically get Chorus hand-me-downs. Derailleurs ditto. Metallurgy is slightly worse - I notice my Centaur cranks are all off - they wobble due to crankarm "perma-flex" - they're not straight anymore. This doesn't happen with Record/Chorus for me, at least not as much. chainrings are skinnier.

I would get the following for the best bang-for-buck:
Record - crank, bb, (hubs - eurus wheels for example), (seatpost), (headset)
Chorus - rear der, ergo levers, (brakes)
Centaur - front der

(for components where I don't get the actual group item)
seatpost - don't like the setback amount
headset - use whatever comes in my frame
brakes - use anything with a QR lever

The price difference between Chorus and Record cranks, for example, is minimal, but between Centaur and Chorus is huge. Front der - any works, as long as it's compact or regular to match the crank. Personally I prefer the steel front der cages as you can bend them to tweak them, unlike the carbon ones.

Don't have enough experience with Veloce to say one way or another but crankarm is similar to Centaur. Veloce hubs are lower quality, not as nice a freehub body. a lot of steel in Veloce so it's heavy and not as pretty.

DA vs Ultegra - significant difference as metallurgy is different between the two. DA is much more durable, stiffer, etc. if you ride 1500 miles a year, maybe not a big difference. but after 5000-6000 miles, huge difference in wear/tear.

Ultegra is big step down from any of the above groups re durability. Aluminum is soft, wears pretty easily, shifter is soft, derailleurs wear relatively quickly.

Note: If you do 100-150 miles a week for 26 weeks (seems pretty reasonable), you're looking at 2600-3900 miles a year.

btw all my opinions are out the door for 2007 with the new BB/crank from Campy as well as their moving the (less expensive) Veloce Ergo innards design up to Centaur/Chorus/Record.

hope this helps
cdr

 

Functionally they are the same. Record uses carbon derailleur cages and lighter hardware throughout the line. On the cranks, Record uses alloy hardware and Chorus uses stainless which accounts for the weight. Record also uses ti hardware in the brakes and derailleurs while Chorus uses steel or alloy. Record also uses a carbon bb shell vs alloy for Chorus. Cassette's are similar except Record uses ti for the four largest cogs, while Chorus uses all stainless. Weight is the only advantage to Record.

 

No. Shimano deliberately engineers the lower groups to be worse that the higher ones. Campy seems to differentiate mostly on weight; the lower groups weigh more than the higher ones, but they still work just as well. Shimano's lower groups do not work as well and are not as durable as the higher ones.

 

Shows how much you know about Shimano. Ultegra is generally more durable than Dura-Ace, though heavier. Some pro teams prefer some Ultegra components as a result.

I also find it difficult to believe that Veloce "works as well" as Record. I know professional mechanics that would disagree with you.

 

I too have heard that Ultegra is more durable than DA. I was very surprised but when you think about it many of the lighter weight materials used are softer so don't quite last as long.
Same goes for some of the Record parts compared to Chorus.

There is now some difference in the campy range in terms of preformance. The shift mechs are now a different deisgn such that you can only shift one gear at a time on centaur and below, but still have the long sweep in chorus and record. This was too save weight on the lower groups.
Previously the designs were all the same, the only difference was the materials used and the finishes. So the entire range had a similar shift feel with very little change model to model. I have heard some poorer race teams use Centaur parts as they performed the same as record but cost way less and didn't add much weight (training bikes perhapes?)
In a blind test most would not be able to tell Veloce from record, save the feel of cold metal shifters compared to plastic. And apparently it lasts many 1000s of kms just like any campy gear.

 

Hmm so I should go with Centaur for my commuter and not worry about the bling factor of Record...

This is going to save me a lot of money...

 

I test rode a bike with Veloce and fully agree. The "cheapness" of its feel was surprising, especially as I was expecting much more given it was Campy.

 

I prefer the feel of the cut-out metal shift lever on my '05 Centaur (the natty Century grey ones) group, to either my cheapo Mirage (which still work perfectly well, just don't feel as nice) or my elderly carbon Record (which actually has the same cheapo plastic shift lever as the Mirage).

 

Thanks, all, for the great input. Just thought I'd share that I went with 2007 Record compact. My first choice was actually 2007 Chorus compact, but I could not find anywhere in Japan that could get it before next year. During a business trip, I found a store in Taiwan that had 2007 Record in stock with 50/34 for the front. Even though it was a bit more than I wanted to spend, I just decided to go for it because the stuff was right there. I'll have the LBS in Japan put it together for me. The price in Taiwan was better, too.

Anyway, I'm looking forward now to my first ride with Campy parts. I've only used Shimano to-date.

 

You'll really enjoy it. I switched from a lifetime Shimano user to campy last year and have never looked back. In fact I built my b-bike with Campy just becasue I liked it so much. My stuff is all 2004-2005. I have heard great things about the 2007 Campy. The crank-bb for one is stiffer and lighter, and the shifters are even tighter (hard to belive since my 2004 Record shifters are practically telepathic). Have fun!