Campy Potenza...Anyone tried it??

[weiwentg]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

... In addition, as nice as 8000 and 9100 is, it's a shame they are making cranks that aren't compatible with earlier chainrings..when a 6800 or 9000 CR is gone, it's a shame to have to swap the crank to 'replace' a chainring...

Shimano may say the chainrings aren't combaptble, but do we know this for a fact? Campy, after all, swears up and down that a lot of its products aren't cross compatible, but this isn't always true.

With the 9000 vs 9100 chainrings, for example, is the extra .5mm occurring on the chainring, or on the spider? If its the spider and the chainrings are the same thickness, then they could well be compatible. Or add a .5mm spacer and they're compatible. Or you can just run the wrong chainrings, and it's still within the adjustment range of your FD?

Again, have you personally inspected a 9000 vs 9100 series crankset and verified that it won't work? Or do you just expect this based on your experience with Shimano? If the latter, how much experience with the latest two generations of Shimano have you had?

Mind you, I'm not saying I know. I'm still on 10s Campy. I'm just asking.

[Jingle Jangle]

I'm currently running Potenza on my L'eroica bike, with down-tube shifters.

Works perfectly.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by weiwentg

Shimano may say the chainrings aren't combaptble, but do we know this for a fact? Campy, after all, swears up and down that a lot of its products aren't cross compatible, but this isn't always true.

With the 9000 vs 9100 chainrings, for example, is the extra .5mm occurring on the chainring, or on the spider? If its the spider and the chainrings are the same thickness, then they could well be compatible. Or add a .5mm spacer and they're compatible. Or you can just run the wrong chainrings, and it's still within the adjustment range of your FD?

Again, have you personally inspected a 9000 vs 9100 series crankset and verified that it won't work? Or do you just expect this based on your experience with Shimano? If the latter, how much experience with the latest two generations of Shimano have you had?

Mind you, I'm not saying I know. I'm still on 10s Campy. I'm just asking.

Cranks
The new cranks incorporate the same hollow-forged aluminum asymmetrical four-arm design as its predecessor. However, the new crank is slightly lighter (621 vs 629 grams) with no stiffness loss. The spider arms are wider than before, so chainrings are not cross-compatible between the 9000 and 9100 cranks.

https://www.bicycling.com/bikes-gear...dura-ace-r9100

[dmurphey]

"Should be noted that you can install a Potenza longer cage on SR/Record/Chorus rear ders also..

Page 19

https://www.campagnolo.com/media/fil...017_part_A.pdf

AND medium cage rear ders for SR/Record/Chorus as well..for 2018."

If I put Potenza cage on my Campy Chorus 11 mech RD with Campy Chorus shifters, can i run the 11-32 11 speed casette without interference between RD and cassette? You guys are the best, Old Potatoes are my favorite.

[carpediemracing]

A friend rides Potenza with Chorus levers (latter for better feel), been about a year. Seems to be doing well. Wide range cassette in back (I don't recall exact numbers).

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by Tommasini53

I'm building up a gravel bike and planning to use Chorus. I know rear derailleurs can take some abuse with sticks, rocks and mud on gravel so I'm wondering if the Potenza rear derailleur might be tougher than the carbon models.

You do realize that Potenza rear derailleurs have plastic composite knuckles? (That's why there are no all black Potenza rear derailleurs.) Previous plastic derailleurs (such as from Simplex and SRAM) have not been the most durable.

[jruhlen1980]

I put mostly Potenza parts on my gravel bike earlier this year. I have about 5000 miles on them, including beating the sun at Kanza this year. I upgraded from a Shimano 105 5700 10-speed group that was just an absolute hunk of turd -- never could get the rear shifting right.

Overall I'm satisfied. I like the feel of the shifters much better -- they don't call them ergo for nothing. The shifting has been reliable and seems to do well under sub-optimal conditions, which is such an improvement over that finicky 105 group I was working with. I was leery of the thumb button shifter because I had an old Sora 8-speed group that was also absolute crap, but unlike the Sora the Campy thumb button works well and can be reached in the drops. Also I like to run 11-32 on my gravel bike and the Potenza is made for that.

The one nitpick I've had is that I broke an RD a few weeks ago when I was doing a little bushwhacking on a "road", a stick jumped up and got jammed between the cage and the chain and the RD snapped in two right at the housing surrounds the bolt that screws into the hanger.

Granted -- its possible that would have broken any derailleur, and I'm lucky that it snapped the RD itself instead of the hanger, I guess? At least it didn't cause any damage to the frame or my wheel. But it did seem like the sort of thing that I've encountered with other derailleurs that have survived.

My setup: Potenza shifters and rear derailleur. Shimano 105 Crank 50/34. 11-32 cassette. Shimano CX70 front derailleur (despite both Campy and by LBS insisting that it wouldn't work, it works flawlessly.) Tektro CR720 cantis.

[tombtfslpk]

Originally Posted by Mark McM

You do realize that Potenza rear derailleurs have plastic composite knuckles? (That's why there are no all black Potenza rear derailleurs.) Previous plastic derailleurs (such as from Simplex and SRAM) have not been the most durable.

This.
Back in the Spring I built a Soma Fogcutter for an all-purpose bike. Campagnolo Chorus cranks with Potenza shifters and derailleurs, 11-32 cassette. I put several hundred road/gravel/single track miles on it without a problem or accident.
Yet on my first REAL gravel ride (in the mountains,think Southern Cross combined with Six Gap) the rear derailleur begins shifting poorly. I reach the lowest point on the route and the plastic knuckle on the Potenza rear derailleur separates/breaks, requiring me to single speed it (mostly uphill now) 40ish miles back to the car.
I noticed a lot of chain slap (on the descents) before the derailleur broke, and I expect this caused the knuckle to separate. I encountered no sticks and had no crashes on this bike up to this point.
I'm pleased with all of the Potenza components EXCEPT the rear derailleur. I've left that plastic part off of my bike from here on.

[tombtfslpk]

Originally Posted by jruhlen1980

I put mostly Potenza parts on my gravel bike earlier this year. I have about 5000 miles on them, including beating the sun at Kanza this year. I upgraded from a Shimano 105 5700 10-speed group that was just an absolute hunk of turd -- never could get the rear shifting right.

Overall I'm satisfied. I like the feel of the shifters much better -- they don't call them ergo for nothing. The shifting has been reliable and seems to do well under sub-optimal conditions, which is such an improvement over that finicky 105 group I was working with. I was leery of the thumb button shifter because I had an old Sora 8-speed group that was also absolute crap, but unlike the Sora the Campy thumb button works well and can be reached in the drops. Also I like to run 11-32 on my gravel bike and the Potenza is made for that.

The one nitpick I've had is that I broke an RD a few weeks ago when I was doing a little bushwhacking on a "road", a stick jumped up and got jammed between the cage and the chain and the RD snapped in two right at the housing surrounds the bolt that screws into the hanger.

Granted -- its possible that would have broken any derailleur, and I'm lucky that it snapped the RD itself instead of the hanger, I guess? At least it didn't cause any damage to the frame or my wheel. But it did seem like the sort of thing that I've encountered with other derailleurs that have survived.

My setup: Potenza shifters and rear derailleur. Shimano 105 Crank 50/34. 11-32 cassette. Shimano CX70 front derailleur (despite both Campy and by LBS insisting that it wouldn't work, it works flawlessly.) Tektro CR720 cantis.

I'm glad I'm not the only one. What did you replace your broken derailleur with?

[FlashUNC]

Fwiw, Campy hasn't really sold Potenza as the "gravel group." They pushed it as a wider gear range for those really awful, but still paved, road climbs after everyone barked they wouldn't make anything taller than a 29 rear.

[jruhlen1980]

Originally Posted by tombtfslpk

I'm glad I'm not the only one. What did you replace your broken derailleur with?

Another Potenza. I had about 4000 miles on it at that point with no issues, figured it's an uncommon thing and just be a little more careful next time I'm riding a (technically closed) road with a lot of branches on the ground.

Other than that I've been satisfied with the performance, I love the shifters and anything else that is compatible is not in my budget right now. If I break a second one though I'll look at other options.

[weiwentg]

Originally Posted by jruhlen1980

...
The one nitpick I've had is that I broke an RD a few weeks ago when I was doing a little bushwhacking on a "road", a stick jumped up and got jammed between the cage and the chain and the RD snapped in two right at the housing surrounds the bolt that screws into the hanger.

...

That was a point of concern for me with Potenza. After the carbon face plate on my Record RD snapped, I wasn't very happy. That said, if the frame didn't have a replaceable derailleur hangar, then if the choice were snap the hangar or kill the RD, then that's a noble sacrifice by the RD. That said, you might also have just bent a steel hangar, rather than snap it. Or if it were a replaceable hangar, then that would snap and save everyone else (we hope).

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

https://www.bicycling.com/bikes-gear...dura-ace-r9100

I glanced at the article. It says that the chainrings are incompatible between 9k and 9100. That's probably the Shimano company line.

So what? Campagnolo says stuff like this all the time, and it has historically not been quite true. You've repeated it many times on this forum, and the Campy users here are thankful for that. Including me! Presumably, with Campy, you had first hand experience with at least some of the forbidden combos.

But now it's Shimano, and you repeat the company line. Again, do you know that the 9100 series rings will not work at all with the 9000 cranks?

Moreover, your earlier post seemed to imply that Shimano would cease to offer replacement chainrings, thus forcing everyone to switch to 9100 or 8k. That would be monumentally stupid of them, and it would earn them a lot of well-deserved ire. However, right now, I can find replacement chainrings going back to their first 10s generation (7800, 6600), plus subsequent 10 and 11s generations.

[saab2000]

I don't know if the 9000 cranks and 9100 would have interchangeable rings, but they would look awful no matter what, so I'm not doing it.






Even if the bolt spacing were identical, the contours don't match. I would actually be surprised if they would fit together even if someone were willing to tolerate the mismatched components.

I own 9000 groups on three bikes. I'd love to own 9100. It looks much more premium in person than in photos. Also, I want to try the Shimano power meter.

Finally, I think chainrings for 9000 will be available for quite a while.

[oldpotatoe]

[QUOTE=weiwentg;2235305]That was a point of concern for me with Potenza. After the carbon face plate on my Record RD snapped, I wasn't very happy. That said, if the frame didn't have a replaceable derailleur hangar, then if the choice were snap the hangar or kill the RD, then that's a noble sacrifice by the RD. That said, you might also have just bent a steel hangar, rather than snap it. Or if it were a replaceable hangar, then that would snap and save everyone else (we hope).



I glanced at the article. It says that the chainrings are incompatible between 9k and 9100. That's probably the Shimano company line.

So what? Campagnolo says stuff like this all the time, and it has historically not been quite true. You've repeated it many times on this forum, and the Campy users here are thankful for that. Including me! Presumably, with Campy, you had first hand experience with at least some of the forbidden combos.

But now it's Shimano, and you repeat the company line. Again, do you know that the 9100 series rings will not work at all with the 9000 cranks?

Moreover, your earlier post seemed to imply that Shimano would cease to offer replacement chainrings, thus forcing everyone to switch to 9100 or 8k. That would be monumentally stupid of them, and it would earn them a lot of well-deserved ire. However, right now, I can find replacement chainrings going back to their first 10s generation (7800, 6600), plus subsequent 10 and 11s generations

Pm sent

[makoti]

Originally Posted by dmurphey

"Should be noted that you can install a Potenza longer cage on SR/Record/Chorus rear ders also..

Page 19

https://www.campagnolo.com/media/fil...017_part_A.pdf

AND medium cage rear ders for SR/Record/Chorus as well..for 2018."

If I put Potenza cage on my Campy Chorus 11 mech RD with Campy Chorus shifters, can i run the 11-32 11 speed casette without interference between RD and cassette? You guys are the best, Old Potatoes are my favorite.

I get a 404 error on that link. Is it correct?