Campagnolo groupsets

[Eoin Rua]

Evening all,

I'm contemplating buying a 2nd hand bike with a full Veloce groupset and whatnot, just wondering are there any major pros or cons I should be aware of before possibly going through with it? My current bike has a Sora groupset.

I know this question has probably been asked a million times but looking for some up to date info!

 

[Scilly Suffolk]

I've been looking into Campag recently (albeit more from the "vintage" angle).

The consensus seems to be that Veloce is the lowest groupset worth considering: somewhere around Sora/Tiagra.

The other point of note is that things like shifters and derailleurs can be repaired (individual component parts are available) whereas a Shimano item will have to be replaced.

Oh, and the Campag vs Shimano argument is as hotly debated as Mac vs Windows...

 

[derrick]

Loving the Campag Veloce, so smooth.

 

[Tynan]

I started out with xenon which was two down from veloce and was absolutely fine for me doing fast commuting, maybe if you're racing or riding hard higher is called for, I have a right old mix of veloce, centaur, xenon and most recently some economic BBB parts all working together beautifully

not sure about shifters, one of mine failed and my googling about parts suggested servicing was rather difficult and they no longer supplied parts for them, I'm still smarting after paying £100 for a new pair, xenon too which is the only thing I don;t overly like about xenon, the shifters are for want of a better description black plastic/resin/something

 

[HLaB]

My Bianchi has veloce and my well used sirrus (now on the turbo) has sora; for staters veloce is so much smoother. Veloce is similar to sora in terms of pushing a lever one way to change up and a thumb trigger to move the otherway. However rather than pushing the brake you push a lever behind with Veloce, which IMO feels better and the thumb trigger on veloce is larger and accessible from all positions (on the drops and hoods). I also like to flick the thumb-shifter with my pinky when I'm climbing on the flats, this also lets me change up more rapidly approaching the crest of a hill. The whole veloce set up also feels more substantial than sora (more metal) and the hoods feel more comfortable (although the latter may be due to the bike it is on). IHTH
Edit: my veloce is circa 07 (when it was middle of the Campy range) I don't know how it'll be now.

 

[colly]

I've got a real mix of Campag stuff on my bike and it all seems to work together just fine.
The Veloce brake levers/shifters are over 10 years old and work well with a 1 year old Mirage chainset and rear mech.
I don't know if new Campag stuff is as durable although I've no reason to doubt it.

 

[VamP]

I've got Centaur on one bike, and Ultegra on another. Prefer Campag, but Ultegra is okay too.

The ultegra bike is a CX race bike and while it does less miles , it has a (much) harder life. Chain and rear mech (and pedals) have already been replaced in just a smidgeon over 500 miles. Campag (road) bike is at 2500+ without any issues at all.

I am not sure if that helps you any...

 

[Eoin Rua]

Thanks for the info/advice...picked up the bike last night and had a quick spin, with great first impressions! Just need to get the pedals onto it and I'll get out for a proper ride

 

[Herzog]

picked up the bike last night and had a quick spin... Just need to get the pedals onto it and I'll get out for a proper ride

You rode it without pedals? Bet you've got sore feet

 

[Paul.G.]

Campag wears in, the rest wear out!