sdixon07

im building a bike from scratch,
i have the frame and now looking to put together a groupset
im looking at shimano or possibly campagnolo groupset
and i was wondering if different parts are interchangable

i am guessing each companies wont be but would for example
and ultegra shifters work with all ultegra or with dura ace or 105?

and same with campagnolo components?

thanks

operator

Asking us to generalize 3 groupsets from 3 manufacturers and their various incompatibilities from different years into one thread means you haven't done any homework on your own. Please do so and come back with more specific questions when you've narrowed down your choices. And so that this post isn't entirely worthless and which will spawn about 20 irrelevant posts, in general don't mix and match the groups if you can help it.

hybridbkrdr

For Shimano mountain group, from what I know the level of quality is like: Tourney, Altus, Acera, Alivio, Deore, Deore LX then XT and XTR. The chain for a 6 speed, 7 speed or 8 speed are the same. 9 speed chains are smaller and 10 speed chains are even smaller. So, if you had a 9 speed crankset for example, you'd probably want a 9 speed chain and 9 speed cassette.

I've been doing research myself to put a bicycle together so, any detailed questions, go ahead. I might be able to answer some.

sdixon07

sorry i understand that i need to keep all components the same speed group ie 9

but what i was wondering was if i could use
different ultegra series parts together
and if dura ace and or 105 parts would work as well?

operator

There are two seperate divisions, the 7900/6700 "new" style shimano shifters with concealed shift cables and the old generation STI with externally routed shift housing. Everything fairly recent *should* be compatible with each other, for the most part.

caloso

If you were going to build a 9-speed Shimano bike, you can mix DA, Ultegra, and 105, as long as you use the 9-speed versions of those groups. For example, my CX bike has DA shifters, DA bottom bracket, Ultegra crankset, FD, and cassette, and 105 RD.



I have a similarly mixed and matched Campy 10-speed bike: Record cranks; Chorus shifters, and Centaur everything else.

Al1943

Start out right. Avoid mixing Shimano and Campagnolo and/or SRAM.
Plan your wheels before buying components. The rear hub is where most incompatibility problems start.

Al

wrk101

Just realize that mixing component models lowers the resale value of the bike considerably. Such bikes are often called Frankenbikes, and sell at a healthy discount. Buying a frankenbike is a decent way to get a nicely equipped bike at a lower price. But putting together a Frankenbike on purpose is a mistake (unless you are using free/donor parts).

hybridbkrdr

Unless you're really fussy about certain parts on not on others. I'd rather build a bicycle once for myself and forget about even selling it. I could then sell random parts I don't like if I'm not completely satisfied.

hybridbkrdr

Are you willing to say how Shimano and Campy compare?

DMF 

No.

caloso

Both shift reliably. Shimano is cheaper, available everywhere, and I like their brakes better. Campy levers fit my hands better and I like the micro trimmability of the FD.