I need a Campy tutorial

[kohlboto]

Okay, with the move from shimano to Campagnolo, I am in need of a quick differentiation between Chorus and Athena and all this "ultra" versus "power" shift and torque.
I'll be hanging these parts on my incoming Strada Bianca Ti, if that matters...maybe the silver Athena stuff would look nice but am I sacrificing anything in performance over the Chorus offerings? For reference, my last experience with Campy was 2006 chorus and ultra torque cranks so I have a bit of perspective in that regard.
Thanks in advance for any insight.
Cheers
Jay

[Tony T]

Take a look at: http://www.r11.campagnolo.com/en/confronta/item_compare-11s-groups.jsp
and the catalog: http://www.campagnolo.com/repository/documenti/en/Campagnolo_primaparteGB.pdf

[gone]

maybe the silver Athena stuff would look nice but am I sacrificing anything in performance over the Chorus offerings?
Jay

I'll let others respond to the PT/UT differences but one key difference between Athena and Chorus (in the 2011 offerings) is Athena does not allow you to dump multiple cogs in one shift i.e., it's the "click-shift-click-shift" of Shimano rather than the push-dump several cogs of Campy.

Other than that, it works great but I really miss the ability to dump multiple cogs in one shift.

[kohlboto]

I had heard that about the power shift...
I guess, now that I think about it, my question is really this:
From a cost/ performance perspective, what is the best Athena/Chorus combination? Splurge on chorus shifters and the rest Athena?

[gone]

I had heard that about the power shift...
I guess, now that I think about it, my question is really this:
From a cost/ performance perspective, what is the best Athena/Chorus combination? Splurge on chorus shifters and the rest Athena?
Yep.

[Dave]

I had heard that about the power shift...
I guess, now that I think about it, my question is really this:
From a cost/ performance perspective, what is the best Athena/Chorus combination? Splurge on chorus shifters and the rest Athena?

Yes, but read my post about the PT crank. I have no personal experience with it, but it's certainly different than the UT crank. As a mechanical engineer, I want to understand the PT crank splines and the weak preloading spring.

I'd probably opt for the UT crank too. Never had a problem with it.

[kohlboto]

good call, thanks.

[roguedog]

One of my fave threads by Guy..

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=79229

I subscribed for reference :)

[atl001]

People focus on the rear shifting of Athena vs. Chorus, but for me the bigger difference is at the front. Chorus lets you trim in both the big and small chainrings, while Athena only has trim on the small ring. On my Athena setup, I'm tempted to remove the plastic insert from the front derailleur cage just to get more clearance for the chain.

[kohlboto]

One of my face threads by Guy..

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=79229

I subscribed for reference :)

that was very helpful, thanks for posting that.

[kohlboto]

Am I asking for trouble if I go with a Power Torque crank (more from a maintenance perspective, not necessarily performance POV)? My search for a 2010 Athena UT compact crank is meeting dead end after dead end...

[FlashUNC]

This should tell you what you need to know about Power Torque:

http://bikehugger.com/post/view/campagnolo-power-torque-cranks

[jds108]

Am I asking for trouble if I go with a Power Torque crank (more from a maintenance perspective, not necessarily performance POV)? My search for a 2010 Athena UT compact crank is meeting dead end after dead end...

Athena UT 172.5 compacts are still available brand new. I bought a couple from Shiny Bikes in the UK. Didn't check today, but when I bought them they were cheap. I have two UT and one PT and I'd rather have three UTs. There is more drag in the PT crank, but I think it's the seals not the bearings. You need more tools to deal with removing a PT crank also... Chalk up another $50 for that.

Just go all Chorus plus a KMC chain and you're good to go.

[Ken Robb]

I forget how many cogs O could drop at once on my 7800 group but I can shift down 3 or 4 with one sweep on my 6500 Ultegra.

[ultraman6970]

My only thing between power and ultra in the brifters is just the way they shift, the mechanisms are different, and the main thing is that with power shift you cant have a diarrhea of cogs shifting up or down that was what made campagnolo ultra shift the preference between racers. If you want the bike for casual riding and pretty much you dont need the feature and you are ok shifting 1 cog at a time then pick powershift athena wont be a problem, since you are coming from shimano probably wont be a problem either because powershift.

3 sprockets up (i believe) and then 5 down <-- ultra

power shift will do one cog per click.

I have been using UT cranksets since they came up and never had a problem with it, but no idea how they work with oversize BB because i never had a bike with that. Since the darn creak was a problem looks like they came up with power torque just to make everybody happy. Since power torque needs more tools that I have no intention to buy I trying to delay the acquisition of one of those PT cranksets. Personally i had the creak problem but nothing more than a lot of grease in the cups, cups threads, wavy washer and in the crankset bolts and tight the crap out of the center bolt (you dont want that to fall off) and never a problem. In a friends bike we had to put 2 wavy washers, that took care of all his problems.

All depends of what you need, personally I still use my old 10 speed shifters and i barely used the diarrhea of cogs feature because I'm not racing no more. If you are in a budget and really dont need those features PS athena 11 should do it just fine (you can find athena 11 in ultra shift just in case). As for the cranksets well.... the problem with PT is that you need to get the tools to deal taking the NDS crank out.

Post pictures of the build. :)

[d_douglas]

Just buy Chorus UT and be done with it. Reliable, 'basic', and proven.

Nuff said Jay :)

[soulspinner]

Just buy Chorus UT and be done with it. Reliable, 'basic', and proven.

Nuff said Jay :)

this, chorus on two bikes now and been perfect.

[oldpotatoe]

Am I asking for trouble if I go with a Power Torque crank (more from a maintenance perspective, not necessarily performance POV)? My search for a 2010 Athena UT compact crank is meeting dead end after dead end...

Not at all. A good design, easy to install. Yes, you need a couple of specific tools to install and remove but a good design.

[oldpotatoe]

This should tell you what you need to know about Power Torque:

http://bikehugger.com/post/view/campagnolo-power-torque-cranks

With a 'bit' of bias, yep me too, but in the other direction. It's a fine design and with a few basic tools, easy to work on.

[AngryScientist]

as much as i love campy, IMO shimano executed the external bottom bracket design the best. very simple bearing preload adjustment. no-tools needed bearing replacement, dirt cheap BB's, etc.

i just polished out a nice shimano crank to use on my otherwise campy build, and i couldnt be happier.

that said, i think UT in itself is a pretty good system, but i'm just not sold on power-torque. it may be an "OK" system, but you wont find one on any of my bikes.

[oldpotatoe]

as much as i love campy, IMO shimano executed the external bottom bracket design the best. very simple bearing preload adjustment. no-tools needed bearing replacement, dirt cheap BB's, etc.


No Campagnolo preload adjust on PT...tighten it till it stops
Tools for the BB cups the same as shimano
PT cups and shimano 5700/6700 cups the same price.

'ONLY' gotcha is the LH crank remove, which is supported by lotsa tools now. Park, Cyclus to name 2.

AND you can replace the bearings on PT...ala UT, with bearings that are less $ than new, throw away, cups.

Just a counterpount.