bianchi10

I have always been a Shimano fan. Loved how it looks, loved how it shifts. I love how SRAM looks, but personally never liked the operation of shifting. Then there was Campy, which I always disliked the shape of the hoods/shifters and the idea of the thumb lever made me think of Shimano Sora, which is so bottom shelf that I just disliked the whole idea. Never rode Campy, but for some reason developed a strong opinion towards it.

I stopped by a LBS that I hadn't been in since i first started riding. A friend of mine is the lead mechanic there and is going to help me install my new brake/shift lines and then give it a tune up. I wanted to say hello and see the shop again since it had been so long. We got to talking about Shimano, SRAM and Campy. She saw me turn my nose up about Campy and asked why i disliked it so much. I explained and she laughed, then said, follow me. She brought out the owners Dogma with Super Record EPS. The owner was right there we got to talking about the bike. I'm also not a fan of the Pinarello Dogma, but it looked alright. He said, take it out around the block. I hesitated, but he really wanted me to experience the Campy. So I took it out.

Lets fast forward just 10 ft....... HOLY SHIfT! IT was unreal how amazing it shifted! I could shift and it was like it wasn't even shifting. I have ridden several Di2 and none of them felt THIS good. The ergonomics of the hoods felt amazing. I liked the thumb lever. Both shift and thumb lever were so accessible from the hoods, standing and in the drops. One ride around the block and my entire outlook on Campy was flipped upside down! Lets not even get into how stupid light it is!

So glad I had the opportunity try it first hand and that it changed my opinion towards it!

bigfred 

And there goes whatever savings there might have been from the new job's first few pay checks.

bianchi10

As much as I love to sell my shimano and get Campy, I just cant afford it. Maybe someday down the road, but it isn't going to happen for a long time if ever. I'll have my DA 7900 built up by next week so I will be happy with that until I'm not

RedVVing19

I've never ridden campy but like you, thumb shifters = sora

bianchi10

Yeah, I still think of sora when I think of Thumb shifters, but it is so smooth and the location is a little different than sora. I find the thumb shifter on Sora to get in the way, where as the Campy is positioned just right.

WHOOOSSHHH...

Nice write up B10, now you have me wanting it. I'm an advertisers dream...and a nightmare for my wife!

gc3

If/when Campy sorts out the battery to the extent Di2 has, then I might dump out my wallet and buy some. I've tried mechanical Super Record on a test ride and it was fine, even enjoyable (if such a thing can be called enjoyable).

SpeshulEd 

The thumb thing confuses me too...not really but shimano just seems more logical. I dunno. That said, I have no hate towards other components and wouldn't mind owning one of each for prosperity's sake.

bianchi10

She said the battery was fantastic. Longer lasting and charged faster. Said they are also coming out with a seat tube battery as well.

bianchi10

Lol, you should go test ride it. I'd be interested to see what others think after their first time experiencing it.

Dunbar

And SR EPS could be all yours for a mere $2500.

primov8 

I felt the same way and stuck with Sram for around 4 years. I finally got the chance to ride a bike with Record; that was almost two years ago and since then I've gone from Chorus 11, SR 11 to SR 11 EPS. My next build will be with Record EPS.

ahsposo 

Well duh.

Several of us know that Campy is superior in many respects, even on the cable. Low end Campy is better than most other mid-range competition and it's good competition. I am NOT SLAMMING good stuff. But I will stand that Veloce is at least as good as 105 or Rival. SR is probably overkill for ordinary mortals.

In the US Campy is difficult to do business with and most riders start on bikes with a transmission that starts with an 'S' and that's what they know.

ahsposo 

The thumb thing is the whole point, once you use it. It is a travesty that Sora users think all thumb shifters suck big ones.

bianchi10

I didn't like the sora because I felt it got in thenway of my grip when standing. I assumed campy would be the same, clearly it is not

Tunnelrat81

FWIW, I had a chance to test Record EPS before ever trying Di2 in a booth at our local NRC stage race. The feel was amazing, the shifting quick and confident. I assumed that shimano would be equally as satisfying to use, but when I finally got a chance to try it I found that I didn't like the button actuation nearly as much. Shifting is of course great, but especially with an electronic system it's important to be able to feel the 'click' to know for sure that you've pushed the button. Campy's EPS had a very obvious/satisfying click, shimano had a short and quiet button throw. I couldn't tell for sure if I'd pushed it or not. Made perfect sense to hear that Pro teams were going back to mechanical for PR and other rugged races after that first year of using Di2. For all I know Shimano may have addressed this by now, but at least at first it wasn't nearly as good.

-Jeremy

halfspeed

Now you know why Shimano puts thumb shifters on their low-end components.

The vast majority of Shimano users have never used Campy. The vast majority of Campy users have used Shimano. Maybe they know something.

vwchad

Nice write up OP. I'm making my switch, at least on my road bike, to Campy 11s (Athena mech) as soon as I pick up the group from my LBS tomorrow. Looking forward to it.

Samfujiabq

Ridden both ,sticking with Shimano,didn't like the bulbous growth of a battery,JMO.

rm -rf

Is Campagnolo EPS easier to shift with heavy gloves? It seems that it should be easier, with a clicking lever and thumb button.

~~~

I thought this was good design, either for a dead battery or a cut wire or a system crash. The rider can manually move the chain to a specific cog if the shifting fails.

from the Features and Tech page.

chaadster

Ha! You're probably right about that!

donrhummy

Campy is fantastic, but I don't believe you've ever ridden Di2. The shifting is perfect and instant. You're not even done pressing the button and it's already shifted. The most impressive part of Di2 is the front shifting. You can shift into the big ring under load instantly. It's so perfect, effortless and instant, you'll keep checking to be sure it shifted.

donrhummy

not even in your dreams. No one sells it under $4000.

bianchi10

Who are you to say I've never ridden Di2? I've ridden at least 5 bikes with Di2. I never said it was bad. I never said it was rough. I never said it wasn't instant. I never said you couldn't shift under load.

What I did say was that I dont recall it ever feeling this good. I would love to have Campy OR Di2. My entire post was around the fact that I was very impressed about a product that I had previously disliked.

primov8 

Thats exactly how EPS works too. In the end, you can't really go wrong with these electronic group sets and it all comes down to personal preference.

My first SR11 EPS kit, minus the crankset and EPS disconnect tool came out to $2404 via Ribble.