Which Groupset?

Joax

Which did you choose and why? How has it performed? Are you happy?

It looks like I'll be getting a new frame on insurance and have to kit it out. If any of you have experience with the above groups in their most recent incarnations your thoughts would be welcome. If you know anywhere to pick them up cheap then add that too!

what bike you putting it on, I'd never put campag on a japanese frame nor shimano on an italian. Jury's out on SRAM though...

^don't hang on to pointless ideas such as the above - ride whatever you like the look of or find comfiest or shifts in the manner you prefer. I've been running ultegra 6600 for for years and am perfectly happy with it, this time next week I'll be able to give you an opinion on sram.

Engrish frame so they are all in the mix right now. Just looking for some real world input before jumping in as I've never used Sram or newish Campag before.

Have a go on the three. I think double-tap is weird, but I think I'd like to give it a go eventually. Campag is the most comfortable hood position for me. I went with Athena over SRAM in the fall. No regrets.

My other half (Dammit on here) has been upgrading his Cannondale to Force (from Ultegra).

He thinks Force sits between Ultegra and Dura Ace, and that anything Campy is the devil's own work.

Part of the Campy hatred is that he doesn't like the thumb shifter which, on my 2006 Chorus, is a bit awkard to get at from the drops. Both Shimano and Sram use double tap.

As horatio says, you need to test ride them.

I like pretty things, so like the Italian stuff!

I've heard the double tap is really good when you get used to it, which is why I'm Sram curious. I think trying beforehand is a good shout. Anyone running sram force who want's to let me have a spin?

I'm running new Ultegra and it's damn good. Rear shifts are a little slower now the cables are under the bar tape but the front shift is awesome. Really great wheelset too.

Since changing to Shimano, I've never missed Campag a bit.

Shimano on Italian frames. Win.

SRAM is for winners (check the results)

Shimano is for engineers (functional but pig ugly)

Campagnolo is for roadie douche bags (pretty but can be a little flaky)

I have no experience of any of the above, besides Chorus, which I run on my road bike.

I have no issues with thumb shifting.
The changing is very smooth.
I have had issues with ghost shifting (too heavy for my bike, I think) and chain suck (I think this may be down to my changing technique).

It looks pretty though...

Ha, I'd already pm'd you as I knew you were running Chorus!

Two Omegas might as well have been talking about me, everything applies just as well. Don't like the thumb shift on Campag, and I've been considering upgrading to Force on my Ultegra one If I'm blown away by Red on the new bike.

ffs

how many times does this question come up

buy the one that is most comfortable, unless you are a complete incompetent you will not spend your whole time braking or changing gears (which they all do relatively well anyway)

you spend more time just on the hoods, so that is what is going to affect you most

so which fits best? and then shop around for the best deal

Oof. Have you used any of these groups while you've been huffing at the back of a group James? How did they affect your ride? Which did you prefer? xx

I'd say get whichever one you like. Campagnolo is quick but clunky, Shimano is slow but smoother and I have never used Sram.

I have Ultegra on my current bike but my next bike will have Athena - as long as the hoods are comfortable and they don't need adjusting every five minutes, I'm happy.

You're just fishing, aren't you Gav? This thread allows you to find who runs what so you can approach people for test rides!

Start a list! User name/ Groupset/ Frame size/ (pedals)

I have Athena 11 speed.
I like the way it looks. I like the way the ergo's feel. I like the thumb shifting. I like the way it goes up to 11.

I dont like the way it costs a shit load to replace bits. I dont like adjusting the indexing.
I dont like getting stuck in the big ring in the middle on a monster hilly ride... but I am a man, so i just deal with that shit.

I'm having Dov's SRAM red off of his Bianchi soon though... so the Italians can go fuck themselves..... My Itallian bike and groupset will be relogated to commuting duties.

Gav

I have ridden bikes with all 3

Shimano is my preferred shape
Then SRAM
Campagnolo is a no go for me

Not fishing, just trying to get an overveiw of what people like/dislike about their groups. I do really need to test ride a few set ups but that will invlove me blagging shops over the weekend. It being Friday and all I thought I'd ask around rather than do any actual work.

I've got 10sp campag and SRAM, and like them both an equal amount. The campag suits my hands the best, plus all the important bits are servicable/rebuildable. I'm not keen on 11sp campag though, I think it requires more maintence to keep running sweetly than I'm willing to put in. The SRAM groupset I've got feels more precise (which it should do, since it sits above my campag groupset), but the double-tap catches me out in the wrong gear soemtimes. Swings and roundabouts.

That is three brilliant groupsets right there.

I could'nt think of any impartial reason to pick one over the others. I can think of several items of personnal fit and taste.

Hood size and shape - generally Shimano fits larger hands, campagnolo smaller, and SRAM is something inbetween. But all three companys try to make there levers as unversally fitting as possibly. So its not really that cut'n'dry.

Lever reach - SRAM has a good adjustment feature for this, shimano has something similar. Campag only has 2 settings (+ a shim option).

Gear actuation - I like the 'one lever-one function' functionality of campag, some like the clean single lever solution of SRAM.

Gear function - Traditionally Campag have a positive click style change, while Shimano is smoother. But the Campag changes have been made smoother in recent years. SRAm again seem to ly inbetween the two.

None of this makes one groupset better than the other. At least not in a way that will be more noticable than personal taste and fit.

Try them, then buy Campag. It looks sooooo much better than the other two.

SRAM do seem to offer far more chioce in terms of ratios, crank lengths etc. They also give the best value for money.

...sorry just wanted to be involved.
(SRAM by the way)

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if you are talking about the latest iteratons, i'd go for SRAM, Shimano then Campag.

don't like the way the new campag levers look.

SRAM i find comfiest, the new shimano stuff with internal cables looks tasty and hand position are no longer limited by a great big cable sticking out of the side.

^ Pity the 7900 cranks are proper fugly. If I could afford some 7800 stuff I'd be all over it as I still have 7400 that's running perfectly.

I'm already going to have to sell a bike to fund a groupset at the Ultegra level and I'm not good enough to tell the fecking difference anyway.