Which Groupset?

ok so on the internetz i read that it is the graduality of the bite of the calipers on the braking surface

zero modulation would be no brake and 100% brakes as the two options when pulling a lever

high modulations is where the bite is very gradual dependant on the force applied to the lever
high modulation therefore being a good thing low modualtion not

^ yes.

^^ wtf?

wtf Oswald. Is your surname Mosely?

:)

Shimano cranks might not fit your idea of what is pretty but they are pretty good (lightish, stiffer than most and without reliability issues).

That said... I'm keeping an eye on Athena carbon to eventually replace my Ultegra 6600. A reputable seller on eBay has the group for £480 – the cheapest I've seen so far.

Interesting to hear how you get on with it Jimmy Fingers, so keep us posted.

A reputable seller on eBay has the group for £480 – I cant find it...do they have more than one?

All this crap is Specialized's fault. They produced and cultivated a bad situation starting in the early 80's. Cyclists once craved well made parts that would last a life time. Now they just want cheap crap that collects dust in the garage. But, the customer get's what they demand ... Cheap far eastern garbage.

btw .. I ride Sram ;)

wtf are you talking about?

let me summarise that for you ^

" blah blah blah blah "

A reputable seller on eBay has the group for £480 – I cant find it...do they have more than one?

Found carbon 11 speed for £580 - but only in compact 172 or 175.

Interesting to hear how you get on with it Jimmy Fingers, so keep us posted.

Just zapped up a 11% climb in my lunchour. Well I say zapped, more accurately I meandered up like a drunken goat. As I have said I don't have anything to compare it to apart from Shimano MTB groupsets (XT mainly) but so far I'm constantly impressed on the speed and the precision of the shifting, underload or not. On a less steep slope the bike feels incredibly willing and I love being able to blast up and down the cassette very quickly. My one gripe on the shifting would be on the front mech, because it doesn't have just two (or three even) settings, but seems to have the same as the right shifter, so moving between the big rings can be vague, but I'm getting into better habits so it not problem.

The carbon levers are lovely, nuff said.

I have the alu crankset, which is supposedly more flexy that its Shimano peers but I can't say I notice it overly. Its also narrower, which I like. If you get the carbon cranks it will be stiffer also.

Overall very, very pleased with it, and the bike overall, although some fucker in my office moved it this morning and I found two dirty great paint chips on the top tube. I took out my anger on the road....

This my favourate thing about Sram. If you're a picky bastard, that wants to spec their own brakes, and crankset. Simply buy their 3 piece groupset. Simples.

^ this is news to me. Upgrade for £400 at fudges over my Ultegra 6600... oooOOOoooOOoo

My one gripe on the shifting would be on the front mech, because it doesn't have just two (or three even) settings, but seems to have the same as the right shifter, so moving between the big rings can be vague, but I'm getting into better habits so it not problem.

Sound like it's set to friction, very useful to trim the front derailleur to prevent chain rubbing against it when on the smallest/largest cog.

Ah gotcha, however it does seem to have the same lever movement as the right one, which means while I was getting used to it I could go through 2 or 3 clicks without actually changing chainring

And don't you mean sprocket?

you're right, sprocket, got my terminology wrong.

Ah gotcha, however it does seem to have the same lever movement as the right one, which means while I was getting used to it I could go through 2 or 3 clicks without actually changing chainring

And don't you mean sprocket?

Yeah actually this is one of the best features of Campag - that you can trim the front mech to exactly the right place so there's no chain rub. So it's not that nothing is happening when you're making the clicks, just that it's moving in smaller increments. Once you get used to it's great.

^ this is news to me. Upgrade for £400 at fudges over my Ultegra 6600... oooOOOoooOOoo

just gone completely OCD on this one and measured out the proposed weights of shifters and derailleurs and noticed I get about a factor of £2.30/gram weight saving on a change from 6600SL to Force...

... in comparison I get about £1.20/gram for buying a set of DA 24CL's from a thread here over my Fulcrums.

I shall now be evaluating all new purchases on the basis of price per gram saved.

^ which makes losing 5KG by cutting back on beer and pizza über cost effective.

^ whatever, I'll save £11.5k if I lose 5KG hahaha

Just zapped up a 11% climb in my lunchour...

Ok... um... let me know if it breaks.

If you google "£2.30 per gram" the first hits are all cycling relating.

Silkroad

just gone completely OCD on this one and measured out the proposed weights of shifters and derailleurs and noticed I get about a factor of £2.30/gram weight saving on a change from 6600SL to Force...

... in comparison I get about £1.20/gram for buying a set of DA 24CL's from a thread here over my Fulcrums.

I shall now be evaluating all new purchases on the basis of price per gram saved.

evil laugh

^ this is news to me. Upgrade for £400 at fudges over my Ultegra 6600... oooOOOoooOOoo

Fudge have some great options.

Ah gotcha, however it does seem to have the same lever movement as the right one, which means while I was getting used to it I could go through 2 or 3 clicks without actually changing chainring

And don't you mean sprocket?

Campagnolo state you should use 3 clicks to change front ring. You can then click back once, to trim things if needed. If you tend to shift front from the middle of the cassette or beyond you wont need to trim. I tend to shift chainring early in preparation for a approaching climb, yet still dont use the trim click.

My front mech clears the chain by a whisker in the big ring, little sprocket position. This achieved via cable adjusters. It is the limited in the inner most position, via the limiter bolt. To clear the chain by a whisker on the other side. When in little ring, big sprocket position. Works for me*

(*when my silly cassette behaves)

Compact rings SF?

Compact rings SF?

Campact rings (50/34), and a 11-25 cassette. Some of us live in the mountains ;)

I actually use 50-11, and 34-25. So I'll be sticking to the compact. But I'm tempted to go 50/36 at some point. I have a habit of staying in the small ring for the seriously undulating stretches I ride.

Takes some effort to get the 25t sprocket to play though, and there is some petulance in the centre of the cassette. But this is down to the cassette not the groupset.

Also. Had the bike up in the stand last night. Even with the indexing finely tuned. It occasionally refuses the shift between 4th and 5th sprocket. Looks like there should be a shortened tooth somewhere. Nearly got the Dremel out. Its not an issue when shifting while riding TBH. But it still grates.

Campagnolo state you should use 3 clicks to change front ring. You can then click back once, to trim things if needed. If you tend to shift front from the middle of the cassette or beyond you wont need to trim. I tend to shift chainring early in preparation for a approaching climb, yet still dont use the trim click.

My front mech clears the chain by a whisker in the big ring, little sprocket position. This achieved via cable adjusters. It is the limited in the inner most position, via the limiter bolt. To clear the chain by a whisker on the other side. When in little ring, big sprocket position. Works for me*

(*when my silly cassette behaves)

Ok good to know, I didn't really think it through, but that all makes sense. I will try to perfect my technique.

I will say this about Athena: I used to find gears annoying, but a good groupset like this makes the bike a joy to ride

The one thing about moving to Sram from Campag that I missed how easy it was to jump 2 sprockets at a time.

Ok good to know, I didn't really think it through, but that all makes sense. I will try to perfect my technique.

I will say this about Athena: I used to find gears annoying, but a good groupset like this makes the bike a joy to ride

Its basically a full shifter movement up or down. My SR responds instantly to a front shift. Make it a positive movement, and you'll get a positive response.