The Campagnolo Thread

Yes I would say you can’t go wrong with the appropriate TA rings, I’ve got them on a couple of bikes too

Do Campagnolo use the same cables as Shimano? And is it different gear and brake cables? Just fallen into the cable rabbit hole - only found out today that there are different cables for MTB and road....

Looking for some white ones to go my new build.

different cables. You need Campagnolo compatible cables and outers as the diameter is different to Shimano etc. Or you need a file and some patience to file the ends down.

Thank @jeff80

Now to get my printer to work to print out the returns form...

Something to be aware of is the bolts. At some point Campagnolo switched to a threaded inner chain ring, which obviously requires different bolts. I'm converting 2012 Centaur Carbon Power-Torque 10-speed cranks to 11-speed using Stronglight CT2 chain rings, which are threaded while the original Centaur ones are not. I had to buy a set of FC-SR200 bolts to make it work.

It looks like the TA Nerius inner ring is not threaded, which I wish I would have known before I bought the Stronglights. TA does make a set of bolts that will work with their non-threaded chain rings, if the set of bolts that came with your crankset are for threaded chain rings. I suspect that the Campagnolo FC-RE303s (this is what my Centaur crankset came with) would also work.

Basically, if the chain rings you are replacing are threaded, buy the Stronglights. If they're not threaded, buy the TAs. (I'm a little embarrassed to say that I chose the Stronglights because I think they look better, which is a decision I regret now.)

The cable heads are different as well. Shimano ones are slightly larger and thus will not fit properly.

The Campagnolo CG-ER600 set comes with all of the cables you need to do a bike, works well, lasts a long time and is honestly very good value compared to other cable sets. It also comes in white (CG-ER600W).

For what it's worth, Campagnolo also introduced a new 'The Maximum Smoothness' gear cable set with their 12-speed groupsets, which people on Weight Weenies say are good but which I haven't tried because they are wildly expensive and teflon-coated (the coating can deteriorate inside the housing over time, eventually impeding function), and because my normal Campagnolo cables continue to work well.

n.o.s. stuff:
https://www.catawiki.nl/l/48035093-campagnolo-e-a-mega-lotto-magazzino-campagnolo-rari-nos-onderdelen-1970

Cheers, reckon it will see a lot of road use as I'll commute on it, but 38-9 is still a decent gear. Was also thinking about a second wheelset, would stick the same cassette on them though.

Are both wheelsets going to be the same or what you looking at? The bike comes with the hunt 4 season, but i'm contemplating adding the 4 season wide for gravel ones, or even go 650b.

Malcolm built me up some Borg 28s for gravel: no nonsense, robust alloy wheels.

For road I’ve just got a different freehub adapter for my Bontrager Aeolus (they use DT Swiss freehubs so fortunately it’s just a straight swap).

One of the obvious downsides of Ekar is the fairly limited wheel range at the moment.

Long shot... but does anyone have a 12s Campagnolo chain tool with peening anvil in Souf Laandan?

The Campagnolo UT-CN300 11s chain tool will work just fine (works 11/12s) - it is just the ekar chain tool that is specific for 12/13

Finished my ekar build finally. Was pretty straightforward, I splashed out on the new 13s chain tool and the retention pin makes it waaay easier than the hozan one I've used before.
Brake install was piss easy, followed the yt vids and nowhere near needing a bleed,didnt lose any fluid. Will give it a final tune and post some pics when I cut the steerer.
The only strange on is the bb feels weirdly tight on the stand, but can't feel anything when pedaling. Took it apart and reassembled and it's the same. Maybe the seals are much tighter than a usual UT bb.
No issue with indexing, I'd heard it was finicky but seemed very similar to other groups.

Good info. Doesn't Ekar use the new ProTech BB? Maybe it just needs a bit of bedding in?

Yes, protech bb looks very similar, except it has a plastic (or in campagnolo 'technopolymer') sleeve on the axle.
Hopefully just needs a couple wee rides to free up.

@GrosNaze contribution :)

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Recently peened a chain for the first time. If anyone wants a properly future proof chain tool, the Abbey Decade is a nice alternative to the Campag tool. Slightly cheaper and can be used with SRAM flat tops too and has a changeable plate that Abbey will keep releasing more of to fit different chain types when and if it is required.

Also is beautiful, obvs.

Talking of tools.
I bought this UT Bearing Puller off eBay in lieu of buying the impossible to get and £110 Park Tool version.
Will see how we get on with it. It’s kinda rudimentary and feels all of the £22 it cost but hoping that doesn’t matter as pulling bearings is hardly fine art.

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Never posted a picture. Brakes working fantastically, not difficult for a newbie to bleed, which is surprising considering they're based on maguras.

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stop buying ekar people!

You should have said, I’ve got the proper tool you could have borrowed for £0

I have a brand new 12 speed Chorus chainset (170mm, 48/32T) that is surplus to requirements - I bought a complete groupset but will be using a different chainset. From some basic research, I believe it works ok with 11 speed too. I will put an ad up but thought I should post it here as well.

Unlikely I know, it’s a bit of a random one but if anyone is putting together a 12 speed group and would like it for less than RRP, please give me a shout!

Nah, buy.

I've got a very vague recollection of some kind of web meme from the early days (maybe a geocities webpage?) of an eccentric gentleman waxing lyrical about his odd bikes and saying SHIMANO IS THE BEST!
Amey remind me of him. 10 points if anyone can find it from that terrible description.

is it "Shimano wears out Campag wears in" but in reverse?

Tbf given the current shimano draught I also considered Ekar for a brief second.

Nah it wasn't a silly cliche like that. It's proving very hard to Google though.
Tough times in groupset buyer land, it's been hard for me too.