I would be surprised if there were 25 Campy equipped bikes in the typical Ironman. Most triathletes don't have a clue as to who manufactured the components on their bike. I only know of one pro who rides Campy. It seems that all the people he trains also ride them (at least those he has sold PC's to). Otherwise, all the Campy people seem to be roadies and they are passionate about the product.

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Frank,
An original Ironman and the Inventor of PowerCranks

Campy Pros...

Hellriegel--Fastest in Kona

Lieto--One of the best bikers in the business

McRae--Might have recently changed

It's a stupid religious debate. At the end of the day, you are right...Most triathletes don't know jack about their equipment...

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http://wattieink.com/elite-team/
Raising funds to help wounded veterans and racing RAAM 2013 with http://team4mil.org/
"If you are gonna charge... CHARGE HARD!"

That is certainly the case. I know of many people who are on Shimano sponsored teams (USCF) that have been upset that they have to ride Durachee over Record or Chorus. In the world of road racing there is an air about Campy that is hard to resist. It is also a common thought among the higher level cyclists that the only reason that Shimano is a prevelant as it is - is not based on performance at all...more based on the fact that Shimano is willing to toss components at damn near every team out there. Campy on the other hand does not have the budget to outfit everyone with two wheels and their legs shaved.

The issue with the money may be due to the fact that Campy does not make any parts for the $99.00 WalMart mountain bike...where as Shimano is all over that market. I would like to see a study (though I never will) on where ShimaNO makes the most profit. I am willing to bet that it is on LOW LOW end cycling gear and fhishing reels. I heard a rumor a year or so ago that ShimaNO was just about breaking even on Durachee grouppos to try and keep the price well under that of Record - though I do not at all know that to be the case. I do know that in most peoples minds the dollar is king and the extra few hundred for Record was not "worth it" to most riders.

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What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?

I was talking to a guy about this just yesterday. There are at least two pro triathletes that ride Campy that I know of, both from the Bay Area. They also happen to ride with roadies a lot, and campy components dominate the group rides.

I am actually considering moving away from Campy because of the lack of Tri bikes that spec it. I am looking at a few different bikes, and I can get a complete P2K with Ultegra for $2000, but if I try to build it with Campy Centaur it will cost me over $2000, and I won't even be getting wheels!

McRae's litespeed at IM Canada was the only pro bike in the racks with Campy record (or campy anything). kinda depressing.

to JohnA, somethings are worth more than a few hundred dollars. knowing your components weren't made from fishing reel parts is one of them.

This is an honest question, not a patronizing one: What is it that makes Campy better than Shimano? Specifically? People say things about Shimano making low-end parts, or making non-cycling products, et cetera, but I've never heard (and perhaps I just haven't been listening) about actual, verifiable quality differences, weight differences, reliability differences, et cetera, being the reason for Campy being better than Shimano.

Just curious.

RecordTI9,

did you see the guy with the Colnago/Ferrari edition with the white Colnago disk and all Campi. I hope it wasn't you? Seemed to be a bit too much for my taste.

Although I appreciate my Record 10 on all my road bikes I rode the Principa with DA this weekend which did a good job.

[quote]
to JohnA, somethings are worth more than a few hundred dollars. knowing your components weren't made from fishing reel parts is one of them.
[/quote]

Yeah, I can appreciate that more now than this morning. I went out and took a test ride on a bike with Ultegra for about 30 minutes - depressing... The STI levers just don't feel as solid as the Ergolevers. shifting wasn't as smooth either. I am riding another Ultegra bike tomorrow - this time with bar ends. Maybe better? Dunno...

Maybe I can just buy the full Ultegra bike, transfer the ultegra to my old road bike and sell it as a complete bike...

Ask any roadie and triathlete what they think of Campy and you'll likely get a response similiar to this

Roadie : Campy Record is the ultimate and in a class by itself. The next one down, Campy Chorus is equivalent to Dura-Ace. Campy is made in Italy by a company that also makes parts for Ferrari and NASA. Shimano is made by a large Japanese company that also manufactures fishing gear. The nice thing about Campy Ergo shifters is that the shifters can be rebuilt when they get worn. Unfortunately the Shimano STI shifters have to be thrown out once they wear. Both do the job very well, but generally the edge should go to Campagnolo. They just have that little something extra that you'd expect from something handbuilt in Italy.

Triathlete: Campy who?

This is probably going to sound way too harsh, but...

Buy bare frame, build it yourself, and you can spec in whatever you want.

I ended up mostly Shimano on my last project simply due to what was on sale and the fact that it's pretty difficult to track down relatively inexpensive Campy compatible wheels (I haven't ventured down the road to lacing my own yet).

best stuff ever, all things considered : suntour superbe

most neat-o : huret jubilee

most solid (once you learned how to work it.....) : nuevo record

most solid (without having to learn anything....) : 600/ultegra

best looking in the box: super record

best buy: 105

most expensive that worked the worst: campy synchro

and, drum roll - most soulful : none of the above - one f-ing speed is all ya need :)

seriously, part of the fun is just being contrary. everyone rides shimano, so by riding something non-shimano you distinguish yourself. same thing as riding something besides a trek or cannondale.

In use, I have found my mostly chorus (some record) drivetrain to provide crisper shifts and require less routine maintenance to keep it running. so far I haven't found any plastic parts in any of my campy components which I think is a key reason for the reduced maintenance. it's also been my experience that shimano parts are designed primarily to be disposable. if something major goes wrong you throw the whole thing out (sti lever, bb, rr der...) but the campy parts are designed more like racing car components, to be routinely rebuilt. the tolerances and precision of the campy parts seem to be of higher quality, see Dan's comparison or the long comparison on www.totalbike.com. I believe record edges out DA in the weight category, though we'll have to remeasure once each companies '04 lines are out. there's also how you feel about materials. shimano shows no interest in carbon fiber (or modern headsets!) but does some nice work with aluminum. Campy is pretty much defining themselves by carbon fabrication.

on a road bike the ergo levers are the lynch pin. they are simply miles ahead of sti. the feel is positive, even after months of use (where shimano levers always feel very loose and rattly after a break in period, to me), and you can shift down up to 4 and up, up to 8. yes 8. crest a hill with sti and your going "whack, whack, whack, whack, whack" trying to get a gear for the downhill. with campy you just mash the lever down and stomp.

of course, at the end of the day, it really doesn't make you faster on race day. both obviously get the job done, but for these reasons I easily get my moneys worth out of spending a bit more in the beginning. the time saved in maintenance and part replacement later probably makes the initial investment a wash over the life of the bike.

Brad -

Thanks for the great response and a very informative post.

Good summary. I would just add that Ergo levers below the Chorus level do have plastic bushings and other internal parts. Not that it matters much, as durability is still good (as is Shimano).

I believe the Dura-Ace grouppo was lighter than Record last year, but as you pointed out it's kind of a moot point with revised 2004 grouppos from both companies.

I use a bastard mix of Shimano and Campy on my bikes. I like the Campy stuff a lot, but I find that many Campy users are elitist jerks. Or at least they come across that way.

Bottom line - both groups work. Put your money into race entry fees, your house, your 401k, whatever. But don't worry about trying to replace your 105 or your Mirage with something better.

you gotta be kidding. If I had to go back to 105, I think it would be worth it to drop a couple hours from working out each week to focus on my job in order to get a raise to pay for an upgrade! and I'm not even talking about campy vs shimano. I can't tell you the number of missed shifts and the amount of time I spent trying to keep that 105 drivetrain working well.

I'm not an elistist jerk (no really!), but sometimes I play one on the forum. :-)

Gerard,

I must wholeheartedly disagree with your assessment of the level of component knowledge of the average triathlete (so much so that this is my first post in any forum). I train with a fairly large group of triathletes in Toronto, and while only a few of us actually ride Campy, there have been some lively debates about the relative merits of Campy and Shimano parts during workouts (between the gasping for breath of course)! Some newbie triathletes may not know much about their equipment, but any serious athlete must have at least a basic understanding of their equipment (this is especially true in triathlon) and good athletes always want the best. Many of the triathletes I train with place in their age group at most races, and most of them are true gear heads. The notion that they don't know their equipment is anathema to them.

My tri bike is Dura-Ace, but I want a road bike to go with it, and I am seriously considering Campy Chorus components (perhaps on a spanky new cervelo R2.5?).

Sincerely,

M. Pearce

I recently did the Windsor Triathlon and was surprised by the number of bikes with drop bars and STI vs. cowhorns and bar end shifters. This was on both the elites and age groupers. Do Canadians favor that setup?

I hate to burst your bubble but you would be surprised at the level of ignorance of elite athletes regarding their bicycles and components.

Some do not have a clue regarding anything mechanical. Others are very savvy. Most are somewhere in between.

Frank

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Frank,
An original Ironman and the Inventor of PowerCranks

I've never had 10 STI levers, but my 105 DT shifters, cranks, brakes, hubs, derailleurs, etc. have allways performed flawlessly. Are you sure your components were adjusted properly? Perhaps you were not as accomplished a mechanic as you are now.

My first road bike had 7 speed 105 on it and it always worked great and stayed in adjustment. My 9-speed (Campy) stuff is much more sensitive to cable stretch and that kind of thing. As you add more cogs your room for error simply decreases. I think that's why you find so many cyclo-crossers and MTB'ers who still use 8 speed.

Frank,

I wasn't referring to elite athletes but more to top level age-group athletes. My guess would be that because elites get their equipment for free, there is less incentive for them to care or be interested in it, so long as it functions properly. For age-groupers, good equipment is an investment and they therefore (IMHO) tend to be more interested/knowlegeable with respect to the equipment that they buy.

Mike

Maybe, except for all elites had to pass through the top age-grouper status before anyone "gave" them anything.

I just think many of them are clueless. Many age-groupers (and probably some elites) do not even know that cranks come in different sizes. They just ride what came with their bike and once in awhile take it in to the shop for a tune-up. About the most that some do is put air in their tires and fix flats when forced to.

Having been associated with the Timex team this year and listening to the stories of the mechanic has been very entertaining. He is sometimes completely baffled as to how some of these athletes get their bikes into the condition they are in.

Some care about this stuff. Some don't.

Frank

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Frank,
An original Ironman and the Inventor of PowerCranks

just so you know, Cerveloguy is not Gerard. Strangely enough, Gerard's screen name is "Gerard".

Go John !!!!!!!
What does crampy offer for my Mt. bike ???
The low end stuff works greet on my kids bikes.
Long live Simplex !
Dirtball

maybe I was unfortunate enough to have a faulty group, or a bent pulley cage or something. if anything I suspect I was a better mechanic then than now, since I don't get much practice anymore.

my experience with 105 drivetrain:

• the left STI lever would occassionally (1 in 15 shifts?) bind, disallowing a shift. by jiggling it a bit you could convince it to shift. never replaced because the levers are just too dang expensive, campy or shimano, any level of part.
• the indexing on the front was pretty much a failure. there were 4 positions for the triple. this was the worst part. I have sworn off triples because the front indexing was too difficult to get dialed in well. at least for this home mechanic. I suspect a double would be fine since the "indexing" would just be up or down. However, I certainly prefer the ability to trim the setting with the campy friction levers when I want to ride a non-optimal chainline for whatever reason.
• the rear mech would hold the High/Low set screws fine, but required a fair amount of barrel adjuster use. while riding I found the plastic downtube adjuster pretty much impossible to turn.
• then there's the chain, but it doesn't take a campyphile to complain about the press pins on the shimano chains. plus I use a connex link on my campy chain anyway, so it would seem odd to complain about that on shimano. however, the shimano chain is the only one I've busted while riding. not a fun experience.

I may throw some smack talk around about shimano, but seriously ultegra and dura ace are fine. Maybe I just had a bad experience with 105, but I won't use it again.