Campagnolo advice needed

Got a bee in my bonnet about wanting an Italian steel build....which means a Campy gruppo.

These things are Greek to me. Seems like you can mix bits, as long as it's the same vintage?

Looking for a silver finish, but they seem to have stopped these.....

Happy to go down the EPS route, but will this fit on a vintage-ish steel frame? Does the battery go in any seat tube? Does it need special routing? Will the junction box fit in a 26mm bar?

I'm sure this is a well trodden road....any help appreciated.

Potenza comes in silver and is 11 speed and is a bit hit with the MGOOF crew... no idea about EPS, never had the funds to consider it! What’s the frame?

Still looking at frame. Steel Colnago chromovelato is what I have in mind.

Also trying to make it all work through cyclescheme lol

If going with the silver finish get the older 5 arm cranks for a more refined look. Definitely head over to the MGOOF thread to get an idea.

Thanks for the MGOOF tip!

There’s a person in the Components section often selling vintage Campag stuff in new or near new nick. Worth a look for ideas (do you want an embossed logo or printed lettering, etc).

Thanks for the heads up - will give it a look.

Potenza silver has been officially discontinued but with some luck you can still find it in the market place. Only in-range option right now is Centaur with a silver finish.

I personally agree on the 5-arm crank design if you were to go for a silver groupset. The only option would be to find an Athena 11s which will be difficult as production stopped some years ago already. Athena will automatically be in power torque which isn’t bad (make sure to get the right tool for crank removal) but isn’t as good as ultra torque which is today’s standard across the range.

EPS does require specific frame preparation and in both the tubes and in and around the BB area. The power unit will fit in the seatpost (27.2 and/or 31.6)

The placement of the internal interface in the handlebars will be problematic/ impossible from what I can tell. Your handlebar needs to be prepared for internal cable routing and I’m 99.99% certain the interface itself will not fit the 26mm diameter. It’s been designed around 31.8 bars.

You can still use the external V4 interface but it’ll look less nice than the internal option.

If you don’t opt for a silver groupset, I’d personally go for a mechanical Super Record or Record 12s. I would not go down the EPS route for such a build due to the above.

I’m 99.99% certain the interface itself will not fit the 26mm diameter. It’s been designed around 31.8 bars.

Doesn't the junction box go in the bar end? Which is the same diameter between 31.8 and 26.0mm bars.

@Bainbridge is selling some Athena 11 cranks.

Ah my bad, haven’t worked with 26mm bars in ages. If that’s the case it’ll fit, just need to ensure it’s prepped for internal routing.

Only in-range option right now is Centaur with a silver finish

And it’s out of stock (along with pretty much every other Campag groupset) at the moment.
If you want a groupset now, it’s going to be used. Just avoid anything with power torque cranks.

Finding stock these days is a challenge no matter the brand.

In range means you can simply order it via a local bike shop but you’ll need to wait for it.

Centaur is ultra torque by the way. Only way to get hands on power torque these days is to buy something used or NOS.

Wow - this is all really useful. Thank you.

Can’t seem to get all the bits in one place - does everything have to be the same series, or will a record grifter work with an Athena mech and so on? Might have to get something to run with in the short term.

Athena 11s was ultra torque until 2011 when it was changed to power torque.

I am 99% sure that the cranks I'm selling are Ultra Torque. Which are better.

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Campy gruppo.

You've used these words, therefore you are beyond help.

Correct, I was talking about the latest available version of the Athena silver.

That's an ultra torque crankset.

Ultra Torque indeed, you can tell the model year from the little white sticker. Should start with FC and then two digits. Those digits stand for the model year.

Just avoid anything with power torque cranks.

Why so?

Power Torque cranks are overly troublesome to take off once fitted. You need a bearing puller to remove, and even then it’s not straightforward.

Ultra Torque cranks just need a big hex key to remove, and is relatively straightforward.

You do need a special Allen key though.

This guy has some nice bits and some NOS.

Also here for some nice campag bits (although not sure what the EU-UK shipping situation is right now).

Super useful - thanks!

Think I'll be going down the MGOOF path, but some of these chainsets look sweet.