American Euchre

....and I really liked it!

I started off with electronic shifting and it is pretty dang cool. I actually thought I was riding mechanical, and thought it shifted with fantastic ease.

Turns out, I was wrong. I then tried super record mechanical; whoa! It could not be more different from shimano! I really, really enjoyed the experience. The shift lever action is very, very stiff. It requires a bit of muscle to complete each and every shift. Not only is the shift lever very stiff--lever travel is very long. Shift action is stiff, long, and noisy. Campagnolo makes no effort to hide the fact that these are in fact levers, and it seems as if they do everything they can to accentuate the mechanical nature of the action.

I could see how and why campy would develop such a devoted following. Their components are proudly devoted to delivering a very unique experience in riding a bike.

On the other hand, and I don't mean this as a compliment or criticism of either company, but shimano ultegra (mechanical), for example, feels about as smooth as effortless as campy electronic. As a matter of fact, I'd say ultegra shift lever travel is shorter than with campy electronic, and shifts are completed even more quickly.

If shimano electronic improves upon this nearly effortless experience, it must be near telepathic.

Like I said, it's not a knock against campy which attempts to make shifting as mechanical and tactile as possible. They do what they do very well.

I see campy sticking around for a very long time. They take a unique approach to componentry and do it very very well.

Long live Shimano!

Long live Campy!

Now, if only I could get my hands on a sram equipped road bike.

rpenmanparker 

Where are you located. I have three in Houston.

jamesdak 

Sounds odd to me, my Athena shifts even easier than my wonderful Ultegra 6800 setup. I love both but prefer the Campagnolo hoods and thumb shifter. I wonder if what you rode was not setup properly?

rpenmanparker 

Ya think?

Lazyass

Campagnolo has been around since 1933 so I can also see them sticking around a very long time

thin_concrete

Interesting - I have Ultegra 6800 on one bike and Super Record on the other, and the Super Record shifts like a hot knife through butter. I love both and use the 6800 as my main bike, but I could see myself at some point switching to the SR bike because, like @jamesdak, I like the hoods and the thumb shifter.

I did ride a friend's SRAM Red (22?) bike recently and it was pretty neat, but I couldn't get a hang of the double tap. Every time I tried to downshift I went down several gears instead of just one. Given that I was on the bike for a total of ~15 minutes, I'm sure I could figure it out if I could spend more time with it. I did like the shifting characteristics and feel though.

GlennR

I had the opposite, i've been riding Sram for 5 years and recently rode a Domane SLR with Ultegra. It took some time to get used to shifting with the brake levers.

Neither is better... just different.

Never liked the Campy thumb shifters, but never road the higher groupsets.

Wait till Rotor and FSA have their groupsets out. Then there will be 5 options.

gregf83 

If it was stiff the cables were probably old or incorrectly installed. Should be a light touch. The travel is long because it is shifting multiple gears. Makes one wonder whether you were actually using Campy or something else?

redfooj

don't need to get all transcendental about it ...

i prefer campag because of the shorter throws up and down, top shape, multi-shift both directions.... (and looks)

it falls behind shimano in general smoothness, extra position from large hood end, and ease of shifting from drops (which i rarely ride)

first set of qualities > the 2nd

...just some objective differences. nothing metaphysical-like

PepeM

So should I switch or not?

redfooj

11sp lets you mix and match the tranny

if youre bikecurious, that is

WalksOn2Wheels

It was definitely the meanest thing I think I've said in a while, but it was also the nicest possible way I could say it.

thin_concrete

Do it!

GlennR

FYI

Dan333SP

/s

Urban Dictionary: /s

MikeyBoyAz

I like my Campy too. FWIW.

jamesdak 

Well, just to show how different we see things. I've been in the drops a lot lately and it is there that I find the Campagnolo clearly superior for me.

GlennR

Sweet, that makes 2 things I learned today.

redfooj

didnt add my caveat: older ergopower have the longer transverse thumb tabs. the newest ones with angled tabs must be easier. mine is the older style, which requires a bit of a crook of the thumb from my medium-sized paws.

Dan333SP

GlennR

That means you it.... I'm getting the hang of the interest.

/s

jtaylor996

I've only rode a few things. No campy yet. I've ridden SRAM Red/105 5800/Di2.

Maybe it's because I haven't tried everything under the sun, but 105 5800 continues to impress me. The only thing I could think of that would make it better (in feel) would be if I could up shift 2 gears at once. At the start of a hill I'll often drop to the small ring and then need 2 upshifts to get to where I want to be. Aside from that, shifting is the least of my concerns on the bike.

eastbay71

I guess one of the benefits of getting older is in comparison to what was available when I started cycling, everything offered today is pretty amazing. My first road bike had cottered cranks, center pull brakes, non aero brake levers, friction shifters and simplex derailleurs.

I'm impressed with how well groups like Sora and Tourney work much less the Ultegra and Super Record

OP congrats on your Campy experience!

Shuffleman

+1.
I have always ridden and always will ride Shimano on my mtbs but Campy has got me on the road bike. I love my Athena hoods. I have no problem with Shimano or Sramm. They are all good and mostly a matter of preference. With that being said, Super Record seems like the best on the market in my book. I would not spend the money for that or Dura Ace but I do feel like SR is the best of the bunch.

Bob Ross

I just recently acquired my first Campy-equipped bike (2015 Record 11-speed mechanical) and I too am impressed with the unapologetic "CLUNK!" of every shift. It feels like it was built back in the days when mechanical engineers were the manly cowboys of new technology. It reminds me of the difference between old Ampex 300-series tape machines where the Play/Stop/Record buttons were hefty mechanical switches that required some brute force to actuate (there's a reason the phrase "punching in" developed!) and modern solenoid-equipped tape transport controls, where you can accidentally engage the Fast Forward button by farting in close proximity to the remote. Campy mechanical is the Ampex; Shimano Di2 is the Otari.

None of this is meant to express a judgement, just an experiential observation. My next bike will almost certainly have Di2!