Shimano vs Capagnolo vs Truvativ

[Ian]

OK people, as a learned lot, maybe you can give me some views, I'm doing a bit of market research.

Say you found what you considered to be the perfect frameset, but you had choices between BB's from
Truvativ, Campagnolo or Shimano, likewise chainsets and an option of Shimano or Campagnolo front and
rear mechs, which way would you go?

Also what disc brakes do you favour? Mechanical and hydraulic and why?

Are your choices based on experience or on recomendation/marketing?

Cheers all, Ian

 

[Jeff Wills]

Ian <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<BB5C524A.C292%[email protected]>...
> OK people, as a learned lot, maybe you can give me some views, I'm doing a bit of market research.
>
> Say you found what you considered to be the perfect frameset, but you had choices between BB's
> from Truvativ, Campagnolo or Shimano, likewise chainsets and an option of Shimano or Campagnolo
> front and rear mechs, which way would you go?

After fifteen years in the bicycle business and a further ten years building and maintaining my own
bicycles, I'd say that you can't go *extremely* wrong with Shimano. I've never worn out a Shimano
cartridge BB or had a single problem with a Shimano (or Campy, for that matter) crank.

Also, I have a set of Shimano bar-end shifters that work perfectly after 13 years of use. I've worn
out a couple derailleurs, but only after 10,000 miles of use.

I was chatting with a bike shop owner yesterday and his opinion was that the only reason for
manufacturers to equip bikes with Truvativ parts was to cater to the "anti-Shimano" crowd. He said
that their parts cost twice as much as Shimano for equivalent function.

>
> Also what disc brakes do you favour? Mechanical and hydraulic and why?
>

No opinion. Rim brakes have served me well year-round, even here in the rainy Pacific Northwest. I
may put a set of Avid mechanical disk brakes on my mountain bike, just to see if they live up to
their hype.

> Are your choices based on experience or on recomendation/marketing?
>

See above.

> Cheers all, Ian

 

[Dave Larrington]

Jeff Wills wrote:

> After fifteen years in the bicycle business and a further ten years building and maintaining my
> own bicycles, I'd say that you can't go *extremely* wrong with Shimano. I've never worn out a
> Shimano cartridge BB or had a single problem with a Shimano (or Campy, for that matter) crank.

Be advised, though, that some of the early (circa 2000) Shimano splined BB's and cranks did have
problems, and would give forth an annoying "click" at every turn of the pedals after a few thousand
km. They have apparently fixed this.

>> Also what disc brakes do you favour? Mechanical and hydraulic and why?
>>
>
> No opinion. Rim brakes have served me well year-round, even here in the rainy Pacific Northwest. I
> may put a set of Avid mechanical disk brakes on my mountain bike, just to see if they live up to
> their hype.

Hydraulic. Pulling on a piece of string to operate the brakes has no place on a modern means of
transport... And if someone would invent a hydraulic "gear cable"[1], I'd be beating a path to
their door.

1 - does /not/ include pneumatic systems whic need to be pumped up every hundred changes.

Dave Larrington - http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk/
===========================================================
Editor - British Human Power Club Newsletter
http://www.bhpc.org.uk/
===========================================================

 

[Jeff Wills]

"Dave Larrington" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>... <snip
> Hydraulic. Pulling on a piece of string to operate the brakes has no place on a modern means of
> transport... And if someone would invent a hydraulic "gear cable"[1], I'd be beating a path to
> their door.
>
> 1 - does /not/ include pneumatic systems whic need to be pumped up every hundred changes.

There was such a "hydraulic gear cable" available about 8 years back- they demonstrated successful
shifting through about 100 feet of tubing. It dissappeared after a couple years- I have no idea what
happened to the company.

Jeff

 

[bentcruiser]

Originally posted by Ian
Say you found what you considered to be the perfect frameset, but you had choices between BB's from Truvativ, Campagnolo or Shimano, likewise chainsets and an option of Shimano or Campagnolo front and rear mechs, which way would you go?

I did this to some degree when I ordered my bike. I had money to play with so I ordered a Canto. My choices? SRAM 9.0SL rear derailleur and shifters, a 9 speed Shimano Cassette, Truvativ Elita cranks and rings and a SRAM chain.

 

[Bentheadswb]

I have used Shimano, TruVantiv, Maxy and Sugino cranks and they all have their points. Presently, I
use a TruVantiv Elita Isis drive crank and FSA Ultimax Chromoly bottom bracket. Salsa rings for
added flavor and different gearing range to fit my needs. That puppy is stiff, shifts well and is
very light. If you want a great bottom bracket, Phil Wood now makes ISIS drive bottom brackets for
Race Face, TruVantiv, FSA etc. If money is no object, get a RaceFace crank with the Phil Wood ISIS
drive bottom bracket and enjoy life. Shimano makes decent stuff for the most part but read mtbr.com
and roadbikereview.com to check part reviews by the folks that own them.

John H N TX

 

[Ian]

bentcruiser must be edykated coz e writed:

> Ian wrote:
>> Say you found what you considered to be the perfect frameset, but you had choices between BB's
>> from Truvativ, Campagnolo or Shimano, likewise chainsets and an option of Shimano or Campagnolo
>> front and rear mechs, which way would you go?
>
>
>
> I did this to some degree when I ordered my bike. I had money to play with so I ordered a Canto.
> My choices? SRAM 9.0SL rear derailleur and shifters, a 9 speed Shimano Cassette, Truvativ Elita
> cranks and rings and a SRAM chain.
>
>
>
> --
> Derek, Burley Canto
>
>> --------------------------<
> Posted via cyclingforums.com http://www.cyclingforums.com
You should try the Sram cassette sometime, it is lighter than the Shimano and runs sooooooo smooth
with the PC59 chain.

Ian

 

[Tom Sherman]

Jeff Wills wrote:
>
> After fifteen years in the bicycle business and a further ten years building and maintaining my
> own bicycles, I'd say that you can't go *extremely* wrong with Shimano. I've never worn out a
> Shimano cartridge BB or had a single problem with a Shimano (or Campy, for that matter) crank....

Has that included any low-end Shimano BB's? I have had two LP-37's as original equipment, and
neither made it past 2000 miles before the bearings went out.

Tom Sherman - Quad Cities USA (Illinois side)

 

[Jeff Wills]

Tom Sherman <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Jeff Wills wrote:
> >
> > After fifteen years in the bicycle business and a further ten years building and maintaining my
> > own bicycles, I'd say that you can't go *extremely* wrong with Shimano. I've never worn out a
> > Shimano cartridge BB or had a single problem with a Shimano (or Campy, for that matter)
> > crank....
>
> Has that included any low-end Shimano BB's? I have had two LP-37's as original equipment, and
> neither made it past 2000 miles before the bearings went out.
>
> Tom Sherman - Quad Cities USA (Illinois side)

Ummm... granted. I haven't used anything lower grade than a UN-52.

Jeff

 

[Rorschandt]

Ian <[email protected]> wrote in news:BB5C524A.C292%[email protected]:

> OK people, as a learned lot, maybe you can give me some views, I'm doing a bit of market research.
>
> Say you found what you considered to be the perfect frameset, but you had choices between BB's
> from Truvativ, Campagnolo or Shimano, likewise chainsets and an option of Shimano or Campagnolo
> front and rear mechs, which way would you go?
>
> Also what disc brakes do you favour? Mechanical and hydraulic and why?
>
> Are your choices based on experience or on recomendation/marketing?

I just went thru this decision making process over the weekend. I'm building a bike and have just a
few of the parts I need on hand. As for cranks, I decided to stick with a square taper spindle, and
found some really good prices on Campagnola Veloce cranks. As I am still experimenting with the
short crank thing on another bike, the spindle should leave me the easy option of trading out later.
Brakes: Although brakes that rub the sides of the rim seem too similar to dragging a tree branch on
the pavement for the purpose of slowing down,they do work much better than they used to. I opted for
some V-brakes out of considerations for weight, cost, and ease of fitting. Building a bike that
lines up for rim brakes is much easier than for a disc brake, in the precision department. On my
Psycledelic, I thought they were all shimmed up to where they weren't rubbing the disc, and a few
weeks later, they started rubbing again.<sigh> I have a pair of Magura Julies. All accounts I have
read caution against buying the Claras. Shimano derailleurs because they shift well and are usually
on sale(I'd prefer a Suntour Cyclone). I don't like twist grip shifters, so usually use Shimano
barends. I'm experimenting on this bike using Shimano 105 STI road shift/brake levers,with Travel
Agents for both V-brakes.Be sure to get the appropriate front derailleur for your crank/chainring
size. Use an MTB derailleur w/MTB cranks, road w/road. I like the SRAM chains and easy link(or
whatever SRAM's is named)paired with a Shimano cassette because I already have one. I prefer to keep
the chain and cassette of the same manufacture.

cheers, rorschandt

 

[Don]

rorschandt, Are the Campy and Shimano square tapers the same? I thought they were different and that
could cause you trouble when you experiment with short cranks.

The Thorn cranks I use are "Shimano compatible" square taper. If the Campy BBs would work on the
Thorn crank arms that would open up a whole new world of quality BBs at affordable prices. It also
assures me of quality square tapers in the future when all the quality Shimano clones go splined.

I hated using the Shimano UN73 on my custom Giro. It is probably a good BB but not the same quality
level as the rest of my components. I am used to riding a Campy Record triple bearing on my Merlin.
Of course it has to stand up to me standing up. My Haluzak has a Campy Racing Triple crank and BB.

As for brakes that rub the rim (e.g. V-brakes)---they work much better with the newer, machined
side-wall rims. Don

rorschandt <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> Ian <[email protected]> wrote in news:BB5C524A.C292%[email protected]:
>
> > OK people, as a learned lot, maybe you can give me some views, I'm doing a bit of market
> > research.
> >
> > Say you found what you considered to be the perfect frameset, but you had choices between BB's
> > from Truvativ, Campagnolo or Shimano, likewise chainsets and an option of Shimano or Campagnolo
> > front and rear mechs, which way would you go?
> >
> > Also what disc brakes do you favour? Mechanical and hydraulic and why?
> >
> > Are your choices based on experience or on recomendation/marketing?
>
> I just went thru this decision making process over the weekend. I'm building a bike and have just
> a few of the parts I need on hand. As for cranks, I decided to stick with a square taper spindle,
> and found some really good prices on Campagnola Veloce cranks. As I am still experimenting with
> the short crank thing on another bike, the spindle should leave me the easy option of trading out
> later. Brakes: Although brakes that rub the sides of the rim seem too similar to dragging a tree
> branch on the pavement for the purpose of slowing down,they do work much better than they used to.
> I opted for some V-brakes out of considerations for weight, cost, and ease of fitting. Building a
> bike that lines up for rim brakes is much easier than for a disc brake, in the precision
> department. On my Psycledelic, I thought they were all shimmed up to where they weren't rubbing
> the disc, and a few weeks later, they started rubbing again.<sigh> I have a pair of Magura Julies.
> All accounts I have read caution against buying the Claras. Shimano derailleurs because they shift
> well and are usually on sale(I'd prefer a Suntour Cyclone). I don't like twist grip shifters, so
> usually use Shimano barends. I'm experimenting on this bike using Shimano 105 STI road shift/brake
> levers,with Travel Agents for both V-brakes.Be sure to get the appropriate front derailleur for
> your crank/chainring size. Use an MTB derailleur w/MTB cranks, road w/road. I like the SRAM chains
> and easy link(or whatever SRAM's is named)paired with a Shimano cassette because I already have
> one. I prefer to keep the chain and cassette of the same manufacture.
>
> cheers, rorschandt

 

[Rorschandt]

[email protected] (Don) wrote in news:[email protected]:

> rorschandt, Are the Campy and Shimano square tapers the same? I thought they were different and
> that could cause you trouble when you experiment with short cranks.

Okay, I'm a little foggy in the memory department(please remember:Head Injury)but unless
Shimano has changed things around, I rememeber there being only two square tapers. A 2
degree taper and a 3 degree. The 3s, almost always have nuts to afix the crank arms to the
spindles(old department store Sakae Ringyo,lower level Shimano, Schwinn Traveler or LeTour,
etc.) almost all 2 degree units have bolts. I'm sure one of the people that like to correct
me will come along soon and go into infinite detail if I am incorrect.(~: All quality
aftermarket BB's are 2 degree, IIRC. The above rule being what it is, if I take a quality
Shimano crank off, I can put a Campy on. It happened that the Campy BB was on sale(so I got
it, too) when I bought the crank, so I'll make some measurements of the Shimano Un72 I have
elsewhere and compare. I looked on the SheldonBrown website for some kind of compatibility
chart, but found none. Perhaps someone else can?

later, Rorschandt

 

[Bikertriker]

I have used various shimano and other Japanese cranksets on 111mm Campagnolo BB's with good sucess.
On one of them I had to remove a few thousand's from the inside of the spider to prevent rubbing on
the shell but on the other two I got a nice tight chainline. It is possible that the bolt won't
tighten down as although the taper is the same the Campy uses a slightly smaller section of it. As
they say, "It ain't rocket science." Dave rorschandt <[email protected]> wrote in
message news:<[email protected]>...
> [email protected] (Don) wrote in news:[email protected]:
>
> > rorschandt, Are the Campy and Shimano square tapers the same? I thought they were different and
> > that could cause you trouble when you experiment with short cranks.
>
>
> Okay, I'm a little foggy in the memory department(please remember:Head Injury)but unless
> Shimano has changed things around, I rememeber there being only two square tapers. A 2
> degree taper and a 3 degree. The 3s, almost always have nuts to afix the crank arms to the
> spindles(old department store Sakae Ringyo,lower level Shimano, Schwinn Traveler or LeTour,
> etc.) almost all 2 degree units have bolts. I'm sure one of the people that like to correct
> me will come along soon and go into infinite detail if I am incorrect.(~: All quality
> aftermarket BB's are 2 degree, IIRC. The above rule being what it is, if I take a quality
> Shimano crank off, I can put a Campy on. It happened that the Campy BB was on sale(so I got
> it, too) when I bought the crank, so I'll make some measurements of the Shimano Un72 I have
> elsewhere and compare. I looked on the SheldonBrown website for some kind of compatibility
> chart, but found none. Perhaps someone else can?
>
> later, Rorschandt

 

[Bikertriker]

I have used various shimano and other Japanese cranksets on 111mm Campagnolo BB's with good sucess.
On one of them I had to remove a few thousand's from the inside of the spider to prevent rubbing on
the shell but on the other two I got a nice tight chainline. It is possible that the bolt won't
tighten down as although the taper is the same the Campy uses a slightly smaller section of it. As
they say, "It ain't rocket science." Dave rorschandt <[email protected]> wrote in
message news:<[email protected]>...
> [email protected] (Don) wrote in news:[email protected]:
>
> > rorschandt, Are the Campy and Shimano square tapers the same? I thought they were different and
> > that could cause you trouble when you experiment with short cranks.
>
>
> Okay, I'm a little foggy in the memory department(please remember:Head Injury)but unless
> Shimano has changed things around, I rememeber there being only two square tapers. A 2
> degree taper and a 3 degree. The 3s, almost always have nuts to afix the crank arms to the
> spindles(old department store Sakae Ringyo,lower level Shimano, Schwinn Traveler or LeTour,
> etc.) almost all 2 degree units have bolts. I'm sure one of the people that like to correct
> me will come along soon and go into infinite detail if I am incorrect.(~: All quality
> aftermarket BB's are 2 degree, IIRC. The above rule being what it is, if I take a quality
> Shimano crank off, I can put a Campy on. It happened that the Campy BB was on sale(so I got
> it, too) when I bought the crank, so I'll make some measurements of the Shimano Un72 I have
> elsewhere and compare. I looked on the SheldonBrown website for some kind of compatibility
> chart, but found none. Perhaps someone else can?
>
> later, Rorschandt