Shimano is and has served me very faithfully and will continue to do so on my cross bike. My SR11 will be in on Friday as well as a pair of Fulcrum Racing Zero's and a few other goodiies. Yea I am stoked!

So what bike is this?

And you're getting another 'cross bike?

I prefer SR71. Blackbird, baby.

The new stuff will grace the old Roubaix and the Ultegra group will find its way onto a S-Works Crux cross module. I am going to give cross another shot and if I still hate it then the Crux will be a kick ass commuter

The only people who never look back are the people in last place. Is this what you meant to convey? Campy will make him slower?

And, from a previous post, I'm still puzzling over the guy who says Campy SR cranks "spin like butter." Around here, butter doesn't spin. And if it ever does, I'm calling an exorcist.

My LBS just installed CULT bearings in my 2008 Chorus crankset.............very smooth.........they ain't cheap!

Like Butter?

This is an interesting thread because im running UT SR cups with a athena UT crankset w/o any problems. Wonder whats the difference in the cups besides the seals that are practically useless? Anybody knows?

The only difference in the SR cups is no inner seals to keep dirt and water out of the bearings. Those seals are not worthless. Don't whine when your bearings fail prematurely. It's amazing how much dust and dirt can enter the BB through the water drain hole. I've found good sized pieces of sand in mine.

Er . . . Gary . . . did you ask Cadel Evans about his experiences with SR11? (If you ask, be prepared to hear some impolite language.)

Probably it is a good time to improvise using a caged bottle seal like in the old times?

Why, what does he have to say about it?

All done. Yes, The Campy chain tool rocks

Looks good! Enjoy it.

nice! really looks great.

I was just giving Gary a hard time.

Cadel Evans' SR11 malfunctioned on mountain stage 15 of the Giro, costing him one stage win and perhaps the GC win in the Giro this year. Fortunately, it's Campy, so it can be rebuilt . . . DOH!

(It could happen to anyone. And Cadel also blamed illness and his team for his loss, so . . . . )

The ergo levers could move up a little. There's kind of a hump at the back edge of the brake hood, with the brake hood lower than the top of the bar. I know it's personal preference, but I like my brake hoods to be level or angled up a degree or two. Some bars work better than others with ergo levers. The Easton EC90-SLX3 is my favorite.

Funny you mention this. I was having a tough time deciding where to place them. I did a bunch of test rides before I taped the bars and I did move the levers both higher and lower and I never noticed that bump until about 30 minutes into todays ride. I love that bump. I know have 2 "hood" positions to use. That bump holds my palm perfectly or I can slide farther forward into the hood completely. I could see where a little higher lever position could be nice though. I think Ill ride it this way for a week or so then move them up and try it again for a week.

Gary, how would you compare your SR to your previous Shimano?

Random thoughts in no order...

The SR is smoother and fits in my hand much nicer. I felt that the shift quality is similar with the down shifts maybe a tad quicker with the SR. I actually think I prefer Shimanos upshift lever over the campy. I like moving the big lever over Campys smaller paddle but with that said the brakes on the Campy freaking rock and part of that may be due to there lever being pinned in one direction only. Again Smoothness is the biggest difference that I noticed but keep in mind I am also on a brand new wheel set with ceramic bearings as well as tubeless tires so it all plays in. I am not sure I would say SR is hugely nicer than the Dura Ace but it does feel more polished. Is SR worth $1,000 (estimating) more than 7900...... I don't think so but how do you put a value on any of this stuff. Is a $2,000 wheel twice as nice as a $1,000 dollar wheel.............
Installation as very straight forward once I figured out the cable routing. Campy instructions suck so for the most part you figure it out as you go along. The complete job from strip to rebuild was maybe a 4 hour affair in my garage. It was that easy.

Note: 7900 is not $1,000 cheaper than SR. It was merely a off the cuff figure. Maybe $500.00 is more accurate.

Thanks for the informative writeup, Gary. I have Shimano 7800 on one bike and Di2 (which I really like) on my most recent bike, but can get a great deal on SR11 right now for a custom steel build I will be receiving in May next year, so I am seriously giving thought to SR11, even though I will need to get a new set of wheels.

Does this bike shop have other campy stuff cheap? If so care to name/locate it? Belgium is only a short hop away and if it is as cheap as you say the saving will pay for the trip and I could do with a short break.

What wheels are you using now?

An SR group can be had for about $1650 and Record for about $1400. It's not $1000 more than DA7900.

As I noted, a lot of the SR parts offer very little for the extra $. I use Chorus cassettes that last twice as long and I can get three for the price of one SR.

Dave, Your the Campy expert here no qualms about it but I can tell you that any shop in the states that sells SR for $1,650 and purchases it from QBP who is the largest parts distributer in the US will soon be locking there doors due to selling stuff for less than cost.