A can of worms...

So, I'm after people's opinions of SRAM, Shimano and Campagnolo. I realise the "which is best" question is very subjective, so I'm more after people's likes and dislikes about each groupset they have experience of.

I'm running SRAM Rival and Shimano Tiagra on my bikes at the moment, and am considering upgrading both, hence this information gathering exercise.

I'm particularly interested in the pros/cons of Campag Chorus, SRAM Force and Ultegra.

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Andy Mc

Insurance and French type approval. Not health and safety.

I'll post my thoughts when I get home to a proper screen. Stood at kings Lynn station at the moment

Entirely incorrect but you're right I won't hijack Andy's thread.

My thoughts:
Shimano - seems good "bang for buck" ignoring Di2, been pretty happy with my 105 set-up and as with Alec's comments on Campag if you change/adjust the cables as necessary then it just shifts when needed. The levers I'm not 100% happy on but we'll get to that.

SRAM - The "double tap" system is an interesting idea, I've not used it myself but heard from ex-Shimano and ex-Campag devotees that they instantly got used to it and liked it. Shifter levers have less than half the components of Shimano or Campag (less to go wrong) and Campag helped them with their designs when they first set-up (another plus for Campag's sense of tradition I guess, willing to help out a new competitor get started). I've heard negatives about their shifters (at the top end) being fragile due to construction and that they are "best for climbers trying to measure every gram of their bike"

Campagnolo - Alec has this pretty well covered. Only negative I've seen is that they can be a bit touchy to index (I've only used Campag with downtube friction shifters for my sins, current bike was first with Shimano and indexed shifting). The "multi shift" gets a lot of praise, EPS shows a slight disadvantage actually in this area because the box "pauses" to work out if you want a multi or single shift when you hold the shifter in while mechanical just changes. As an engineer I really like the ergonomic layout of the Campag shifters, that and the fact they do a spacer for those with larger hands so again looking at more than just the usual 90th percentile (or whatever SRAM and Shimano work to). They have spent years developing things and a bit like certain software developers only release "when it's done" and this can take a bit more time as they don't have the resource of Shimano, and to be honest I don't think they ever want the resource of Shimano, they do what they do well with what they have. Also heard a lot of good things about their wheels and think all can be bought with a Campag or SRAM/Shimano freehub.

If I could have a choice on my next bike I'd go Campagnolo or SRAM.

Edit:
The bit I meant to add about levers, Shimano you obviously have shift and brake on one lever and then shift only on the other. Less than ideal at times because I find myself sometimes pulling my brake levers "outwards" to prevent a shift under heavy braking. SRAM only have one shift lever but as you're aware Andy it serves a dual function with the brake lever being separate. To me this is better solution. Campag's is ergonomically the best with one lever per function and has been clearly tailored to racing with the "down shift" thumb tabs being pretty much out of reach when you're on the drops.

Note that I use "down" and "up" in a similar manner to a car gearbox, so "down" is a smaller front ring or a bigger sproket on the cassette and "up" the reverse (so harder gear to turn).

Thank you, gentlemen.

Alec, how does your Campag react to horrible, gritty winter roads? Obviously, as with any drivetrain, a proper post-ride clean would be needed, but I'd read a few reports that Campag is more likely to develop problems on winter rides. What's your view on this?

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Andy Mc

Di2 now supports multishift... (Firmware update)

Think about wheel compatibility... (Campaign needs new free hub body)

Think about 11 speed.... (All brands are now just producing 11 speed)

Think about 10 speed bargains... (In light of the above there are serious bargains to have, dura ace 7900 manual and SRAM red 2012 for example)

I only have experience with Shimano, ultegra upwards. Ultegra survives winters well and it's on my cross bike!

Campaign? Lol. Stupid iPad

David, I had spotted that but suspected Andy was looking mechanical hence the slant on my comments (mechanical Campag will multi shift as will EPS but only Di2 does on Shimano and SRAM doesn't at all unless the new "True 22" gear does).

Have you updated your firmware? If you have, is there (or has someone reported) a hesitation in shifting when trying to multi shift as I am guessing it's "hold down the lever/button" the same as EPS?

Good points, David, particularly about the freehub. It would cost about £50 - £60 to migrate my Fulcrums to a Campag freehub, so an important consideration.

My preferred solution, as I already run Shimano and SRAM on two bikes, is to get a third bike and run Campag. However, this is my wife's least-preferred solution...

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Andy Mc

Time to get that Fluro look with EPS!!

Gareth - not sure not done it yet, but the single shift is instant

As an aside, David, are you running Di2 on a frame without a dedicated battery mount? If so, does that cause any issues?

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Andy Mc