which groupset to go for

in message <[email hidden]>, Danmac

(') said:

I am currently looking to purchase an entry level priced road bike,
and have a few in mind, the thing that is hindering me making a
decicion at the moment is which groupset to choose.

basically 2 of the prospective bikes come fully equipped with Campy
Xenon the other comes fully equipped with Shimano Tiagra.

i tend to be leaning towards the campy at the moment but this might be
something to do with the other specs of the bike.

the main piece of advice i'd like to know is is there a significant
enough difference in the performance of the groupsets that should be
effecting my choice.

I haven't used low end Campag stuff, so probably out not to comment, but
my middle-high end Campag stuff (Centaur) is a lot more precise and
positive than my middle-high end Shimano (XT, XTR). I mean, partly I
like Campag because that's what I wanted when I was a kid, and it's
also true that almost all my Campag stuff is road and all my Shimano
stuff is MTB, and it may be the case that road stuff is more precise
anyway because the inter-cog jumps are smaller. But I do ride both and
can say that in my experience the Campag stuff is better.

Mind you, of course, as I say, this does not necessarily say anything
about the Xenon groupset.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
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Danmac said:

any advice would be greatly appreceated

Don't ask. Brace yourself for the Campag fans to tell you why Campag is so
much better thread. I have little experience of Campag. A seatpin which
performs as well as my Shimano one and a set of pedals which were nowhere
near as good as Look branded ones. If you want Campag, go for it. It'll do
the job just fine.

Danmac said:

I am currently looking to purchase an entry level priced road bike,
and have a few in mind, the thing that is hindering me making a
decicion at the moment is which groupset to choose.

basically 2 of the prospective bikes come fully equipped with Campy
Xenon the other comes fully equipped with Shimano Tiagra.

i tend to be leaning towards the campy at the moment but this might be
something to do with the other specs of the bike.

The differences between the other components may well be more important,
not to mention the frames and how well they fit you. If it comes to
deciding between Campag and Shimano, I suggest getting your hands on the
brake/gear levers, literally, and deciding which you prefer, preferably
test riding the bikes.

Ergonomics is important and these are the only part of the groupset you
touch whilst riding, and the two brands do feel and act differently. The
rest of the groupset will get on and do its job in either case.

Xenon & Tiagra are both decent quality, depspite Xenon being at the bottom
of Campag's range. Campag don't make rubbish full stop.

~PB

"Pete Biggs" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Campag don't make rubbish full stop.

Their commas aren't very good though..

cheers,
clive

Pete Biggs said:

Xenon & Tiagra are both decent quality, depspite Xenon being at the
bottom of Campag's range. Campag don't make rubbish full stop.

~PB

Their brakes are poor then ?

"Martin Newstead" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Pete Biggs said:

Xenon & Tiagra are both decent quality, depspite Xenon being at the
bottom of Campag's range. Campag don't make rubbish full stop.

~PB

Their brakes are poor then ?

"Martin Newstead" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Pete Biggs said:

Xenon & Tiagra are both decent quality, depspite Xenon being at the
bottom of Campag's range. Campag don't make rubbish full stop.

I rode a bike with Campag (Veloce) for the first time last month having used
Shimano exclusively prior to that; I absolutely hated the thumb buttons, but
found the changing using the levers actually better than Shimano. Tiagra is
mostly plastic now anyway, I would say go with whatever you most like on the
rest of the bike, there is not much between them if you are not used to one
or the other.

"Simon Brooke" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

it may be the case that road stuff is more precise
anyway because the inter-cog jumps are smaller.

Probably accounts for it.
I have XT for off-road and Ultegra for road, the Ultegra feels way smoother
but I put it down to closer ratios, smaller jumps between cogs, less chain
flailing around etc.
Plus of course the mtb kit doesn't stay clean for long, even if only summer
trail dust (we should be so lucky).

Pete

"Danmac" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I am currently looking to purchase an entry level priced road bike, and
have a few in mind, the thing that is hindering me making a decicion at
the moment is which groupset to choose.

My advice (for what it's worth) is don't worry about it.

I wouldn't choose the bike on the basis of the groupset. Components can
always be changed later (obviously at some cost). I would pick the bike
with the best frame.

Ride all three and choose the one that feels best.

Ian