[boris the blade]

I am going to be getting a road bike soon and am not sure if i should get campy or just stick with ultegra. Is there any atvantage of one over the other that is very obvious?

 

[mtbykr]

campy

do a search on www.roadbikereview.com , and you will get a ton of opinions. i run campy and here are the reason:

-campy seems to get better over time while shimano wears out
-campy is a crisp and shifts great
-you can rebuild campy while once shimano breaks, you have to replace it

but it all comes down to personal preferance, i prefer the way that campy shifts over shimano.

Hope this helps, good luck!

 

[older guy]

I am going to be getting a road bike soon and am not sure if i should get campy or just stick with ultegra. Is there any atvantage of one over the other that is very obvious?

Obvious advantage is the 2nd tier (Chorus)and 3rd tier (Centaur) of Campy is 10 speed this year, while Ultegra is still 9 speed. Down the line 9 speed will be like 8 speed with mountain bikes just a few years ago. It's still okay but parts are becoming scarce.
____
older guy

 

[Phat_Head]

i love campy! the campy shifts are much more positive feeling whereas the shimano feels kinda vague to me. i also like the shape of the campy hoods better. i just like the feel of campy better, but it is damn expensive! if money is no object, the campy is awesome!
it really boils down to personal preference though.

 

[Rev Bubba]

Campy if my LBS is right.....

I was told that once you get two rings on Shimano, you are stuck with it but with Campy you can go from two to three or back without any major changes to your drivetrain. I am not sure if that is correct but if it is and I were in the market and unsure of what I ultimately wanted, I'd go Campy for the flexibility.

As far as shifting, I am happy with both but I'm no roadie and have no long term experience with either.

I suppose you get more points on the snob meter with Italian Road bike equipment. That is worth something to someone.

 

[sircrashalot]

I was converted...

I am going to be getting a road bike soon and am not sure if i should get campy or just stick with ultegra. Is there any atvantage of one over the other that is very obvious?

All the bikes I looked at had shimano equip. I liked it and was going to pull the trigger. Then the guy at the LBS sowed me some things.

1. A mid group like centaur has all (nearly) the same features as Record. Just some small differences in metallurgy.

2. Campy stuff is mostly rebuildable, shifters etc... (no plastic in crucial places)

3. The bearings in campy are excellent (hubs and pedals)

But, I bought mine before the Euro went crazy.

Some down side to Campy,

1. Cost
2. Availability
3. Compatibility with bargain stuff (wheelsets are typically shimano)

From a user standpoint, I'd do campy again without hesitation

 

[scott.com]

First Ultegra will be 10 speed next year not that it will help you. Second I think Shimano has come a long way. It's high end groups are more robust then they use to be. They also do not look that bad to boot.

It comes down to

1. If you looking at the the mid end groups do you want 10 speed (Campy)

2. Do you want a stiffer crank (Shimano)

3. Shifter which could be either

Personally I have a mix of Campy Record/Chorus on my two bikes. I like the smaller shifter and hidden cables. I find the Shimano shifter to chunky.

 

[boris the blade]

i am in between the 2005 trek 2100 and the unseen 2200. we got the 2100 in at work and i have yet to see the 2200, but judging by the price the 2100 is going to be it for me, ultegra 9spd, although i think that there may be some 10 ultegra in that line i think that right now for my money i will stick with what comes on the bike.