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Was Record 10 the apex of Campy?
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I just sent out a pair of 10 speed levers for a rebuild, it was a little bit pricey (almost $200 said and done with shipping both ways and new hoods), but I feel like it was worth it.

I still have two Campy 10 speed bikes (A Serotta Coure d'Acier and a lugged steel Bianchi Campione d'Italia, these are two very classy bikes) and two that are 11 speed. I don't think the 11 speed stuff is as good. Doesn't shift as well, the overall quality of the levers doesn't seem as good and you can't shim the front derailler. One of the 11 speed bikes (Cervelo P2C) has bar end shifters and I am still using an ancient (circa 2001) Campy 10 spd friction shifter of an old bike for the front derailler because the 11 spd (and most recently available 10 spd Campy bar end shifters) suck (IMO) and have this "rebound" feature where the lever springs back after each shift that I don't like and makes the mechanism overly complicated for no reason (and you can't shim the front derailler).

Looking on ebay, it is basically no longer possible to find any NIB Campy Chorus or Record 10 speed shifters or deraillers. Even cassettes area a little hard to come by (fortunately I still have a couple of new ones in in my stock).

Does anyone else wish for the golden age of Campy 10 spd and think the 11 (and most likely 12 spd, which I never plan to buy) is garbage or am I just a total Fred? The Serotta is 12 years old (and it is a 17 lb built steel frame) and I still race it, I've never ridden a bike a like better (although I am currently lusting after a Speedvagen rugged road). If I can continue to get parts for it, I will keep it Campy 10 speed forever (the only reason I even have Campy 11 speed bikes is because even in the past 5 years when I acquired these bikes it was hard to find 10 spd parts for a new build (these were both OEM Shimano that I converted). Anyone have any lines on NIB Campy Chorus (I have always used mostly Chorus because the Record price point has alway seemed a little silly).
Last edited by: tri_yoda: Jan 23, 20 12:01
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Re: Was Record 10 the apex of Campy? [tri_yoda] [ In reply to ]
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tri_yoda wrote:
I just sent out a pair of 10 speed levers for a rebuild, it was a little bit pricey (almost $200 said and done with shipping both ways and new hoods), but I feel like it was worth it.

I still have two Campy 10 speed bikes (A Serotta Coure d'Acier and a lugged steel Bianchi Campione d'Italia, these are two very classy bikes) and two that are 11 speed. I don't think the 11 speed stuff is as good. Doesn't shift as well, the overall quality of the levers doesn't seem as good and you can't shim the front derailler. One of the 11 speed bikes (Cervelo P2C) has bar end shifters and I am still using an ancient (circa 2001) Campy 10 spd friction shifter of an old bike for the front derailler because the 11 spd (and most recently available 10 spd Campy bar end shifters) suck (IMO) and have this "rebound" feature where the lever springs back after each shift that I don't like and makes the mechanism overly complicated for no reason (and you can't shim the front derailler).

Looking on ebay, it is basically no longer possible to find any NIM Campy Chorus or Record 10 speed shifters or deraillers. Even cassettes area a little hard to come by (fortunately I still have a couple of new ones in in my stock).

Does anyone else wish for the golden age of Campy 10 spd and think the 11 (and most likely 12 spd, which I never plan to buy) is garbage or am I just a total Fred? The Serotta is 12 years old (and it is a 17 lb built steel frame) and I still race it, I've never ridden a bike a like better (although I am currently lusting after a Speedvagen rugged road). If I can continue to get parts for it, I will keep it Campy 10 speed forever (the only reason I even have Campy 11 speed bikes is because even in the past 5 years when I acquired these bikes it was hard to find 10 spd parts for a new build (these were both OEM Shimano that I converted). Anyone have any lines on NIB Campy Chorus (I have always used mostly Chorus because the Record price point has alway seemed a little silly).

Hardly call a lever that has to be rebuilt every 7500km as the pinnacle.
Not that you should have paid that much, spring kit costs $13 and takes 12 min to fit plus $20 for new hoods.
The new 12 speed has perfect ratios and a huge gear spread, much much better than 10 speed.
They also don't need rebuilding, shift better and are lighter.
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Re: Was Record 10 the apex of Campy? [tri_yoda] [ In reply to ]
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Campy who?
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Re: Was Record 10 the apex of Campy? [tri_yoda] [ In reply to ]
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I thought Rockman was Chip's apex
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Re: Was Record 10 the apex of Campy? [tri_yoda] [ In reply to ]
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After 10 speed, I believe the shifters are no longer rebuildable, which was a huge justification for the price premium of Campy stuff.

Almost every bike I own is 10 speed, after spending a bunch of time standardizing them over the last few months (makes swapping wheels so much less of a headache).

The Italian bikes are all Campy Record, and the "other" bikes are DA (tri), Ultegra (road), and 105 (CX/Gravel). I have 2 set up with SRAM, just to see how I liked it...it's a bit different, but kind of neat. I have a 11 speed gravel bike (105) that seems to be a big improvement in shifting and cable routing over the 10 speed, and one 11 speed Super Record that's really not any different than the 10 speed Record bikes I own, as far as shifting goes. IMO, Shimano improved the design quite a bit from 10 to 11 speed, but Campy didn't really change much, other than to make repair no longer possible.

So when I burn up the 10 speed Campy shifters, I can rebuild them for about $20 each...once the 11 speed shifters wear out, I'm looking at a very costly replacement.
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Re: Was Record 10 the apex of Campy? [tri_yoda] [ In reply to ]
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Agree with most of your comments on the 10spd group basically being bombproof. I have it on a couple older bikes and my guess is that it will last forever. The 10spd TT shifters are also excellent quality, but I could argue that for their older 7-9spd groups as well that I have sitting in boxes waiting for the electronic era to fade. Aside from crashing and breaking parts I haven't had any issues with the 11spd mechanical group either. I think I recall having a slipping ratchet in one of the shifters and I had to disassemble it and realign one of the parts, but nothing major. That being said I've spent most of the last year on the 12spd EPS, and thus far I think it is their best group ever.
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Re: Was Record 10 the apex of Campy? [TJ56] [ In reply to ]
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TJ56 wrote:
I thought Rockman was Chip's apex

I was thinking the same thing
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Re: Was Record 10 the apex of Campy? [jaretj] [ In reply to ]
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That’s a helluva throwback.
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Re: Was Record 10 the apex of Campy? [tri_yoda] [ In reply to ]
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I got into road bikes with a first campy group—I was living in London at the time and it was 10 speed veloce. I loved the front derailleur trim, the shape of the levers, and the way it just worked.
I bought another set of older metal levers from that era to build a campy/sram frankenbuild (apparently the throw ratios are close enough to work and you can then use shimano hubs that are more available) but I didn’t get around to it.
Shimano’s shifters were bulky, had ugly cables, and were totally plastic.
You’re making me want to hunt eBay for more parts but being locked into diminishing cassette supplies scares me.
I think on the lower end stuff they started to kill their old product with power torque, which couldn’t be removed without an insane tool no one would have (likely not even a US LBS) and the dumbed down shifters.
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Re: Was Record 10 the apex of Campy? [tri_yoda] [ In reply to ]
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tri_yoda wrote:
I just sent out a pair of 10 speed levers for a rebuild, it was a little bit pricey (almost $200 said and done with shipping both ways and new hoods), but I feel like it was worth it.

In answer to your title question, hell no!

I never paid to have them rebuilt, but never got more than 10k miles before needing it. And doing it sucks.

10 years ago I paid $220 for a set of Campy Chorus 11 road shifters. >60k miles later they are still going strong. If I'd kept the 10spds and went through the hassle of having someone rebuild them like you did, I'd have spent >$1k. IMO the 11s are a vast improvement. Much better shape as well.
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Re: Was Record 10 the apex of Campy? [tri_yoda] [ In reply to ]
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I have two road bikes with Chorus 10, a Speed Concept with Record 11 (that I am selling) and now a new Speed Concept with the new Super Record EPS 12. I really like my Madone with the Chorus 10, that has been bombproof but I totally love the new EPS SR 12, shifts great. No idea about longevity as I only have about 300 miles on it so far. No issues with the Record 11 on my earlier SC. I loved the return to center bar end shifters and haven't had any issues with it. Maintenance wise I usually recable all my bikes once a year and replace the chains on a regular basis.

Mike Plumb, TriPower MultiSports
Professional Running, Cycling and Multisport Coaching, F.I.S.T. Certified
http://www.tripower.org
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Re: Was Record 10 the apex of Campy? [TJ56] [ In reply to ]
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TJ56 wrote:
I thought Rockman was Chip's apex

You won the internet for the day!
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Re: Was Record 10 the apex of Campy? [tri_yoda] [ In reply to ]
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I prefer most of the 10spd components aesthetically and they worked very well but I think 11 was even better. I've had one of my 11 speed groups since Campy released it and I think overall it has worn better and held up better than 10 did. I also have a group from their last iteration of mechanical 11 speed and I think it still shifts smoother and better under load than Di2. I have yet to make the move to 12.
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Re: Was Record 10 the apex of Campy? [rruff] [ In reply to ]
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rruff wrote:
tri_yoda wrote:
I just sent out a pair of 10 speed levers for a rebuild, it was a little bit pricey (almost $200 said and done with shipping both ways and new hoods), but I feel like it was worth it.


In answer to your title question, hell no!

I never paid to have them rebuilt, but never got more than 10k miles before needing it. And doing it sucks.

10 years ago I paid $220 for a set of Campy Chorus 11 road shifters. >60k miles later they are still going strong. If I'd kept the 10spds and went through the hassle of having someone rebuild them like you did, I'd have spent >$1k. IMO the 11s are a vast improvement. Much better shape as well.

I have had these shifter for 16 years and this is the first rebuild. If I make it another 16 years I will be 60 years old and I doubt rebuild parts will even be available.
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Re: Was Record 10 the apex of Campy? [tri_yoda] [ In reply to ]
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Record 10 was pretty special. 11 has been a bit more finicky and not as aesthetically pleasing IMO. I doubt any groupset will ever look as good.
But Record 12 steps it up again. On my wifes bike as all mine are still 11 - it's crisper and has a great gear range, plus the cassette is like a work of art. She took a while to gain descending confidence on the new bike as the brakes scared her (much more powerful). One downside of 12 is the cost of the cassette, but all chains around here are waxed so will be a long time before I need to replace.

I've had to replace the shifter body on 11 - I was extremely disappointed to discover I couldn't rebuild. Now you only keep the main lever blade. However - that cost less than what you paid for a rebuild...
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Re: Was Record 10 the apex of Campy? [tri_yoda] [ In reply to ]
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tri_yoda wrote:
Looking on ebay, it is basically no longer possible to find any NIB Campy Chorus or Record 10 speed shifters or deraillers. Even cassettes area a little hard to come by (fortunately I still have a couple of new ones in in my stock).

Campy stopped producing all 10spd parts in 2010
Production is in Romania/Poland except for rims (carbon and alloy), hubs and 12spd chain (Vicenza).

Anne Barnes
ABBikefit, Ltd
FIST/SICI/FIST DOWN DEEP
X/Y Coordinator
abbikefit@gmail.com
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Re: Was Record 10 the apex of Campy? [tri_yoda] [ In reply to ]
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Super Record was the apex of Campy. The legendary stuff all the pros used and everyone wanted....even though we could only afford Suntour.




ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
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Re: Was Record 10 the apex of Campy? [TJ56] [ In reply to ]
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For all his craziness I missed Chip when he stopped posting.


Train safe & smart
Bob

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