Where does Veloce fit in the scheme of things? Is it like Tiagra/105/Ultegra? Anybody with a reason I shouldn’t buy a (road) bike with this?
Thanks
John
The Campy series goes like this…
Xenon/Mirage/Veloce/Centaur/Chorus/Record
I’ve got Veloce on my road bike (Bianchi), and think its great. My understanding is its slightly superior to 105. I really like the shifting, and have no complaints. However in hind sight I think I would have rather gotten Shimano… Beta may be better, but if everybody else has VHS you might have less headaches. Not all LBS’ carry campy stuff, so that might be something to consider.
Most shops dont have Campy in stock…I dont know many that have any groupset in stock…what would the issue be? I dont get it…
The bike I’m looking at is a 2002 Bianchi aluminium M Reparto Corse. Endurosport and my lbs have looked after my current (ok so 89 isn’t current) Campy stuff, but I know what you mean about going with the flow.
J
There is no reason you shouldn’t buy a road bike with it. It is a great groupset and campy quality is fantastic. The weak point of Veloce, in my experience, is with the brake pads - replace these with some Kool Stop Black pads and you will be good to go.
In general, Veloce takes a lot from Centaur, which is basically the same as Chorus, without as much carbon, or Record, without as much carbon and titanium. The weakest point in the groupset are the hubs - not that they are worse than Ultegra or 105, because they aren’t, it’s just that they don’t inherit as much from the Record/Chorus/Centaur line.
I wouldn’t bother trying to compare Shimano and Campy - eg: Centaur = Ultegra. If you like how Campy rides, and I do, then just buy the groupset that you can afford.
R10, the only issue I have ever had is finding a cheap set of training wheels with Campy hubs.
What’s been your experience with the hubs? I have old Super Record hubs on my Aluminox wheels now and have found them to be great even if they are a little long in the tooth. Do the Veoce hubs not stand up?
(sorry, meant to reply to JohnA)
J
I have no experience with them, but I have looked at them extensively as a cheap hub to build some training wheels on. The rear hub can be had for practically nothing - like $60 if you shop around. Centaur rear hub costs quite a bit more, like $120.
The difference seems to be related to the internals of the hubs. Centaur and above are designed to you can adjust the bearings on the fly, the Velces and below do not have this feature.
I have Mavic, Campy (Centaur) and AmClassic hubs at the moment, and the Campy’s are the smoothest.
Comparable quality:
Xenon - Sora;
Mirage - Tiagra;
Veloce - 105;
Centaur - Ultegra;
Chorus - Ultegra;
Record - Dura Ace.
Bianchis are built with Campy. Why would anything else even occur to a person? the kind of deviant thinking that would put shimano on a bianchi can also be found in the poor individuals who would elevate duraace to equality with record or ultegra with chorus.
If you go veloce, maybe try to spec up the wheels to get record hubs and G3 spoking. zondas perhaps?
… the kind of deviant thinking … can also be found in the poor individuals who would elevate duraace to equality with record or ultegra with chorus. …
Hey, I prefer Campagnolo too! Don’t attack me for answering the question of the topic starter. However, I still think my list is correct. Prefering Campa over Shimano is purely an emotional issue. I mean, who doesn’t love these brakes?
The Delta brakeset is a work of art. But I disagree slightly with your equation of groupos. Dura ace is alsmost as good as Record. Ultegra is not near as good as Chorus. 105 is nowhere near as good as Centaur. Veloce is probably equal to 105. Not sure about the lower end stuff.
The Delta brakeset is a work of art. But I disagree slightly with your equation of groupos. Dura ace is alsmost as good as Record. Ultegra is not near as good as Chorus. 105 is nowhere near as good as Centaur. Veloce is probably equal to 105. Not sure about the lower end stuff.
I agree. With your comment we get the following list:
- Record - Dura Ace;
- Chorus - …;
- … - Ultegra;
- Centaur - …;
- Veloce - 105;
- Mirage - Tiagra;
- Xenon - Sora.
I’ve found the Veloce hubs not to be so hot - bearings get gritty quite quickly. the present generation of Veloce hubs uses sealed bearings, the previous generation had ball bearings. my current rear hub is, I think, a sealed bearing hub. also, the rear hub uses the older 9s lockring, whereas the higher groups all use the same 10s lockring. the Veloce shifters are good, the derailleurs are good also. no comments about the rest of the groupset, because I haven’t used any other components. however, I think that a lot of the internals are the same as Centaur. the cranks use I think stamped chainrings, the Veloce BB has a solid axle vs Centaur’s hollow one, the shifters are probably the same except that Centaur has a cutout on the secondary paddle like the old Chorus, and the finish on Veloce is poorer all around.
all in all, there’s no real reason you shouldn’t buy a road bike with Veloce. it’s kinda equivalent to 105, like everyone else is saying, but you can’t always compare groupsets directly. it’s kind of the same deal as PC vs Mac.
johng, i ride a 2002 al bianchi reparto corse and love teh bike. great value for the money. mine is equipped w/ daytona. no problems.
R10, the only issue I have ever had is finding a cheap set of training wheels with Campy hubs.
I have many years of riding Shimano Hubs and Cogs with Campy gear - no fancy cogsets, spacers or anything. That being said, a built wheel with a Mavic rim, 32-3x, and Campy hub is as cheap and available as a Shimano 105 hub wheel.
…sigh…
Fausto, this is lame. Have you ever seen a Centaur shift lever and compared it to Ultegra? Of course, Ultegra 10 does have superior cranks, but Centaur has better hubs, but Ultegra has better brakes, but centaur has a better front derailleur…
At the end of the day, it’s what you like to use and what you can spend. If you don’t have a preference, then the only way to align them is on price.
I think I get the picture from all of you. It’ll do the job and I’ll enjoy it. Use the wheels as trainers and buy some good racing wheels with upgrade hubs.
Thanks for all your replys.
J
…sigh…
Fausto, this is lame. Have you ever seen a Centaur shift lever and compared it to Ultegra? Of course, Ultegra 10 does have superior cranks, but Centaur has better hubs, but Ultegra has better brakes, but centaur has a better front derailleur…
At the end of the day, it’s what you like to use and what you can spend. If you don’t have a preference, then the only way to align them is on price.
Yes, of course it’s always lame. It is just meant as an indication.
The wheelbuilder guy I know could make some Veloce/MA-3 wheels for me, straight 14 gauge spokes, but it was still over $200. Fortunately I found some Chorus/Open Pro wheels on eBay that fit the bill perfectly for a lot less.