Why I changed from Campa to Shimano



Status
Not open for further replies.
D

Derk Drukker

Guest
I'll give my own reasons to go Shimano:

1)I travel to France a few times a year to cycle in the hills and when I needed a sparepart it was
far more difficult to find Campa parts then Shimano parts.(In Holland it's much the same btw, but
we have the European headquarters at a 20 minutes drive from my house, so it's maybe unfair to
compare availability here). Parts ordered from Italy took ages to arrive here.

2) Although I find Campa more beautiful to look at, I find Shimano shifts better, though I prefer
Campa's front derailleur shifting.

I also prefer Campa's hidden cables.

3) I once changed the springs of an Ergopower and though I now know I can do it, I am not willing to
do it again. What a job! I prefer paying for a new shifter, so repairability is not a reason to
buy Campa.

4) I went through 3 different Ergobrains cablesets. All failed at a given moment.

Greets, Derk
 
On Thu, 13 Mar 2003 14:12:38 -0500, Derk Drukker wrote:

> I'll give my own reasons to go Shimano:
>
To each his own, I suppose.

> 2) Although I find Campa more beautiful to look at, I find Shimano shifts better, though I prefer
> Campa's front derailleur shifting.

I find the fussiness of Shimano front derailleur shifting to be a real pain, especially with a
triple. Campy is much simpler. Rear shifting is pretty comparable between the two -- either
works well.

> 3) I once changed the springs of an Ergopower and though I now know I can do it, I am not willing
> to do it again. What a job! I prefer paying for a new shifter, so repairability is not a reason
> to buy Campa.

That is not my experience. 20 minutes to change not only the springs, but the shifting disk (to go
from 8 to 9 speeds). Piece of cake. If replacing the shifter is the better option for you, OK, but
that is a lot of money to save 20 minutes. Maybe 10 the next time, now that I know what to expect.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win you're _`\(,_ | still a rat. --Lilly
Tomlin (_)/ (_) |
 
On 3/13/03 14:12, in article [email protected],
"Derk Drukker"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
> 3) I once changed the springs of an Ergopower and though I now know I can do it, I am not willing
> to do it again. What a job! I prefer paying for a new shifter, so repairability is not a reason
> to buy Campa.

You know, you can always pay somebody to do it for you, probably $20 US rather than a couple hundred
to buy a new shifter, but it's your money. Do you want to sell your old campy stuff?

Baird

--
Baird Webel Washington DC
 
Hi Baird,

On Fri, 14 Mar 2003 02:30:52 +0100, Baird Webel wrote:
> You know, you can always pay somebody to do it for you, probably $20 US rather than a couple
> hundred to buy a new shifter
I asked here, but even all Campa Service Centers refused to do it.

> Do you want to sell your old campy stuff?
I sold my Pinarello bike with Chorus and traded it in for a Titanium Merckx with Dura-Ace.

Greetings, Derk
 
d drucker-<< 3) I once changed the springs of an Ergopower and though I now know I can do it, I am
not willing to do it again. What a job! I prefer paying for a new shifter, so repairability is not a
reason to buy Campa.

You would rather spend $150 for a shifter than $8 for two springs? I guess the Euro economy is
doing well!!!

<< 4) I went through 3 different Ergobrains cablesets. All failed at a given moment.

ERGO Brain and Flitedeck are expensive answers to simple questions IMO-

Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St. Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535 http://www.vecchios.com "Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"
 
"David L. Johnson
>
20 minutes to change not only the springs,
> but the shifting disk (to go from 8 to 9 speeds). Piece of cake. If replacing the shifter is the
> better option for you, OK, but that is a lot of money to save 20 minutes. Maybe 10 the next time,
> now that I know what to expect.

David, _how long_ does it take you? It takes me longer than that to deal with the bar tape and
cables just to get to the mechanism. What's your trick?

~John
 
"David L. Johnson
>
20 minutes to change not only the springs,
> but the shifting disk (to go from 8 to 9 speeds). Piece of cake. If replacing the shifter is the
> better option for you, OK, but that is a lot of money to save 20 minutes. Maybe 10 the next time,
> now that I know what to expect.

David, _how long_ does it take you? It takes me longer than that to deal with the bar tape and
cables just to get to the mechanism. What's your trick?

~John
 
On Mon, 17 Mar 2003 08:48:22 -0500, John Flynn wrote:

> "David L. Johnson
>>
> 20 minutes to change not only the springs,
>> but the shifting disk (to go from 8 to 9 speeds). Piece of cake. If replacing the shifter is the
>> better option for you, OK, but that is a lot of money to save 20 minutes. Maybe 10 the next time,
>> now that I know what to expect.
>
> David, _how long_ does it take you? It takes me longer than that to deal with the bar tape and
> cables just to get to the mechanism. What's your trick?

I didn't replace the bar tape, or the cables. the guts come out without that being necessary.
Granted, it would be a little easier with the bar untaped and the cable gone, but I had more-or-less
new tape and good cables I did not want to replace.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | Become MicroSoft-free forever. Ask me how. _`\(,_ | (_)/ (_) |
 
"David L. Johnson" <David L. Johnson <[email protected]>> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> On Mon, 17 Mar 2003 08:48:22 -0500, John Flynn wrote:
>
>> "David L. Johnson
>>>
>> 20 minutes to change not only the springs,
>>> but the shifting disk (to go from 8 to 9 speeds). Piece of cake. If replacing the shifter is the
>>> better option for you, OK, but that is a lot of money to save 20 minutes. Maybe 10 the next
>>> time, now that I know what to expect.
>>
>> David, _how long_ does it take you? It takes me longer than that to deal with the bar tape and
>> cables just to get to the mechanism. What's your trick?
>
> I didn't replace the bar tape, or the cables. the guts come out without that being necessary.
> Granted, it would be a little easier with the bar untaped and the cable gone, but I had
> more-or-less new tape and good cables I did not want to replace.
>
Exactly my experience. Sounds like this (original) guy changed without thinking this whole thing
through and is now trying to justify his move. Too bad.
 
"David L. Johnson

>
> I didn't replace the bar tape, or the cables. the guts come out without that being necessary.

But...but...you still have to access the back of the shifter housing to remove the sliding plate and
get to the guts. Did you simply _unband_ the whole thing to remove it from the handlebar, leaving
tape intact and cables attached? That's the only way I can figure you did it. If so, I gotta' try
it. Thanks.

~John
 
On Tue, 18 Mar 2003 08:35:05 -0500, John Flynn wrote:

> "David L. Johnson
>
>
>> I didn't replace the bar tape, or the cables. the guts come out without that being necessary.
>
> But...but...you still have to access the back of the shifter housing to remove the sliding plate
> and get to the guts. Did you simply _unband_ the whole thing to remove it from the handlebar,
> leaving tape intact and cables attached? That's the only way I can figure you did it. If so, I
> gotta' try it. Thanks.

Of course. Unband? Well, I backed off the bolt until the head of the lever came off of the band that
holds it to the bars, if that is what you mean. IIRC that does not create serious problems (as it
did for some brake levers) since I think the nut is firmly attached to the band itself.

Then, with the lever hanging by the cables, I could take the back plate off, then remove the various
pieces needed to get to the shift disk and the g springs. You should get an exploded view of the
various parts, which I found at the Campyonly site. Actually, my lever is old, so didn't show up
there exactly, but it is actually a bit simpler than the new ones.

At that point, you replace the g springs, and in my case the shift disk, put it back together and
you are done. Biggest hassle is getting the banjo spring in there right, and for newer ones that may
be a bit fussier than mine was.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | "It doesn't get any easier, you just go faster." --Greg LeMond _`\(,_ | (_)/ (_) |
 
"David L. Johnson

Unband? Well, I backed off the bolt until the head of the
> lever came off of the band that holds it to the bars, if that is what you mean.

Thanks, David. That's exactly what I meant. I guess I never figured this out 'cause I get about a
year's worth out of the springs and replace the bar tape at the same time as part of annual
maintenance.

~John
 
"David L. Johnson

Unband? Well, I backed off the bolt until the head of the
> lever came off of the band that holds it to the bars, if that is what you mean.

Thanks, David. That's exactly what I meant. I guess I never figured this out 'cause I get about a
year's worth out of the springs and replace the bar tape at the same time as part of annual
maintenance.

~John
 
Status
Not open for further replies.