upgrading my super six
- Thread starter o1silver4
- Start date
I paid $1200 on eBay for my Athena Group new. It was a hybrid 2010/2012 group. Initially the group was black/silver but in 2012 Campy introduced the all black Athena, but dumbed down the BB from their Ultratorque (TM) to Powertorque (apparently more forgiving of poor installation), and the shifters from Ultrashift to Powershift. Ultrashift can move more gears in each direction with a single finger sweep. I'm guessing there wasn't initially enough differentiation in the product lineup between Athena and their other higher end groups Chorus/Record/SR, functionally speaking.
As for 11 speeds, I used to ask the same question once upon a time and my good friend had answered: "Dan, that's so you can have your 25t AND your 18t". I had grumbled once that in a TT I had a 17 and an 19t on my then cassette and on the back straight a mean headwind had picked up and I had a difficult time finding my sweet spot. I had come back wishing I'd thrown on a smaller ratio.
Short answer: wider range with less jump between gears.
Their new shifter design is available on the 10spd Centaur and Veloce groups and can apparently be mated successfully with the older groups.
The 'cost' depends on whether you DIY or have a shop do the changeover and/or where you buy the components -- eBay, mail order, LBS ...
And, whether you are then compelled to change the brake calipers + crankset ...
'I' don't know that there is an advantage to the extra Cog for people who do not race ... but, as danfoz noted, it can be meaningful if you do ... since I don't race, there are times when I think I may only need a 3-speed with a really wide range to accommodate flat ground, slight downhills when the coasting speed would not be meaningful, and for climbing (or, riding into the wind)!
- based on the pictures which 'I' have seen of the 11-speed Campagnolo Cassettes, the tooth profile mimics the shape of Shimano's, but probably only in part ... nonetheless, while Campagnolo always shifted well (or, well enough), IMO, the shifting with post-1998 Shimano Cassettes is superior due to the tooth profile. Since Shimano did not patent the design, SRAM-and-others quickly adopted the improved design ... the ego of the Campagnolo engineers precluded adoption of any variation of the Shimano tooth profile.
Otherwise, the conversion to a functional 11-speed Campagnolo drivetrain will include
- the Shifters
- an 11-speed Campagnolo Cassette
- a Campagnolo/-compatible rear hub which you will need to relace onto your current wheel OR as a new wheel
- a rear derailleur (a Shimano rear derailleur can probably be substituted, but I have not tried since I do not have an 11-speed Campagnolo Cassette)
- a chain [my guess is that a 10-speed Shimano chain will work well with an 11-speed Campagnolo drivetrain, BTW]
- the cost via eBay auctions for the minimalist conversion should be under $500 for just the parts you need, but you can certainly spend more than 2x that amount without breaking a sweat by choosing components from one of the 'better' component groups OR by buying the components through a mail order retailer or from your LBS ...
BTW. If you are a wise shopper, then you will find that for under $150US, you can buy a pair of new 10-speed Campagnolo PowerShift (the new style) on eBay (24/7) and continue to use your current 10-speed SRAM drivetrain OR an 11-speed PowerShift shifters or older 10-speed Campagnolo shifters as another option to use with your JAMIS which I presume has a 10-speed or 9-speed Shimano drivetrain (OR, buy some Shimano rear derailleurs for one-or-both bikes, as needed) ...
- of course, you will probably be able to sell your current Road shifters for more than the $150 +/- which you will pay for a pair of 10-or-11 speed PowerShift shifters ...
- to perhaps state the obvious, the general lack of demand for Campagnolo components & a persistent demand for SRAM & Shimano shifters/etc.is the reason for the low prices of some Campagnolo shifters on eBay because 'I' presume that most people believe that the other components need to be Campagnolo, too.
"and also is the 11speed better than 10speed?"
Yes. It is exactly one better! /img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif
"what is the advantage other than the extra gear?"
It allows me to add a lower bail-out gear while still keeping the rest of the block one tooth steps. I run an 11-speed 11-25.
25-23-21-19 for climbing and 17-16-15-14-13-12-11 for staying in the ever-narrowing power band. And honestly, I do miss not having an 18. When Campagnolo leads the way to 12-speed cassettes it WILL be mine!
Yes. It is exactly one better! /img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif
"what is the advantage other than the extra gear?"
It allows me to add a lower bail-out gear while still keeping the rest of the block one tooth steps. I run an 11-speed 11-25.
25-23-21-19 for climbing and 17-16-15-14-13-12-11 for staying in the ever-narrowing power band. And honestly, I do miss not having an 18. When Campagnolo leads the way to 12-speed cassettes it WILL be mine!
" "Dan, that's so you can have your 25t AND your 18t". I had grumbled once that in a TT I had a 17 and an 19t on my then cassette and on the back straight a mean headwind had picked up and I had a difficult time finding my sweet spot. I had come back wishing I'd thrown on a smaller ratio."
SEE!!! SEE!!!
THIS is why! And the older you race, the more it seems there are days when you can not force the lower or higher gear to work. You need that bloody fracking EIGHTEEN!
Dan, In addition to Hero of the Campy Union, I'm also pinning on this Partisan of Patriotic Glorious Ratio War medal! With 18 Oak Leaf clusters!
SEE!!! SEE!!!
THIS is why! And the older you race, the more it seems there are days when you can not force the lower or higher gear to work. You need that bloody fracking EIGHTEEN!
Dan, In addition to Hero of the Campy Union, I'm also pinning on this Partisan of Patriotic Glorious Ratio War medal! With 18 Oak Leaf clusters!
"Yea i remember those. they where beast of a bike for there time. haven't seen one in a long time."
With a few mods it was a closed casket waiting to happen. I sold it off, but kept the Harleys and the Indian. Someday, when I get bored, I'm going to grab a fistfull of lightweight 750-something-or-other and see how close to killing myself I can come.
Speed thrills, baby!
Ride safe and watch out for the cars and animals!
With a few mods it was a closed casket waiting to happen. I sold it off, but kept the Harleys and the Indian. Someday, when I get bored, I'm going to grab a fistfull of lightweight 750-something-or-other and see how close to killing myself I can come.
Speed thrills, baby!
Ride safe and watch out for the cars and animals!
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy SIII using Tapatalk 2
Campag-NO-lo. There is no "y" in Campagnolo so why call it Campy? Is it some strange American thing that originated with gay bike riders in San Fancisco?CAMPYBOB said:
You know ever since i started this thread about upgrading my components on my SUPER SIX. I bought my bike towards the end of march, and since then i have change my APEX RD and FD to FORCE. And my crank i have change two times now, from FSA VERO to SLK-L compact. Now to RED standard crank. Love the standard crank, find my self winding out my compact crank very easily here in FLORIDA. I most say after 1065mi on my new bike i found the SRAM group to shift very well with no problems. So i think i will stick with my SRAM group. I think its safe to say SRAM is just as good as CAMPY and SHIMANO. But i most say the best investment that was made over all was the RETUEL FIT i had done. I am faster and more efficient on my bike love it.
Yup there's little performance difference between groups of similar rank from each of the Big 3. What little difference can be seen is most likely the result of ergonomics and personal preference. Good call dumping FSA cranks.o1silver4 said:
Yea didn't have any problem with the FSA cranks. But i have heard a lot of horror stories with the crank coming apart and leaving people stranded on the road. So i have always been a little worried about that happening to me. Thats why i went with the RED crank.
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