Campagnolo Technology

[Lovetoclimb]

Noob question, and one I am slightly ashamed of asking since I run Campy on one of my bikes, but who will explain the differences in the 8,9, and 10 speed drivetrains by Campy please? I am looking to build a Colnago MXL with Campy 9 or 10 speed parts mixture, but am confused by any advantages or disadvantages to having Ultra Drive, Ultra Torque, or Quick Shift . . .

My searching of the interweb was fruitless, but perhaps I simply did a poor job typing into the Google window. :crap:

Any help is very appreciated. Thanks!

[oldpotatoe]

Noob question, and one I am slightly ashamed of asking since I run Campy on one of my bikes, but who will explain the differences in the 8,9, and 10 speed drivetrains by Campy please? I am looking to build a Colnago MXL with Campy 9 or 10 speed parts mixture, but am confused by any advantages or disadvantages to having Ultra Drive, Ultra Torque, or Quick Shift . . .

My searching of the interweb was fruitless, but perhaps I simply did a poor job typing into the Google window. :crap:

Any help is very appreciated. Thanks!

Biggest thing to consider that altho Campagnolo still makes 8s and 9s cogsets, the ratios are limited. Also 8s ERGO were last made by Campagnolo in 1998, 9s in 2001. Most of Campagnolo now is 11s.

go to

http://www.campagnolo.com

to see what's up.

There are 3 Campagnolo 'ProShops' in Ohio or go talk to a LBS that 'qui si parla Campagnolo'..(Speaks Campagnolo).

[Alan]

Ck out www.campyonly.com. They also have a forum with useful info. I have done a lot of mixing and matching but the easiest thing to do is go w a matched new group. Prices from the UK and even in the US are not bad now. There has been a lot of discussion about pricing lately that you can find.

I am thinking about an 11 spd Athena group which looks like a great deal.

Alan

[Dave]

Your question is a bit too broad. Campy introduced 11 speed last year, so only the two lowest level groups, Centaur and Veloce are 10 speed. 10 speed came out in 2000 and had a long run. IMO, 10 speed is the oldest drivetrain to consider buying. Support for the older drivetrains isn't great.

Ultra torque is Campy's latest outboard bearing crank that came out in 2007. Before that, they stuck with traditional square taper BBs.

The big change in 2009 in additioanl to 11 speed was entrely new brake/shift levers with a whole new internal mechanism and better ergonomics.

[Lovetoclimb]

Sorry I should have clarified. I am running an 11 speed mix on my Colnago CLX right now. After some research in the parts manuals and Campy's website I do see what Ultra Torque is: the mating parts of the BB on each crank arm with the outboard bearing cups separate.

What I am confused by is the designation of previous parts as "Ultra-Drive" or "Quick Shift". Sometimes you will see this written on the chain-rings or UT/QS on the levers.

I am thinking a used 10s drivetrain (centaur, chorus, maybe record) will be lower cost than a new 11s Athena, but for anyone who has shopped this idea around and or tested the new 11s Athena, I would certainly appreciate the feedback.

[acorn_user]

I'd buy a complete 09 Veloce group for about $400 if I were you. Basically, all of the 10 speed stuff is interchangeable, with the exception that a QS front shifter would be happiest with a QS front derailleur. Xenon and 07/08 Mirage/Veloce/Centaur share the same shift mechanism, which many don't like versus the typical G-spring system, but the drivetrain components are inter compatible. Pre-2001 9 speed rear mechs need to be paired with pre-2001 9 speed shifters, but post 2001 9/10 speed derailleurs are pretty much compatible.

Also, there have been some name changes. Athena became Daytona, which became Centaur. Then Athena was relaunched as an 11 speed version of Centaur last year.

[acorn_user]

What I am confused by is the designation of previous parts as "Ultra-Drive" or "Quick Shift". Sometimes you will see this written on the chain-rings or UT/QS on the levers.


Quick shift was a way to reduce lever throw on the front derailleur. I think Ultra Drive refers to cassettes, and is the shape of the freehub body. All 9/10/11 hubs are compatible (except the super rare Ghibli disc wheel which you won't have to worry about).

(I think...)

[Dave]

QS shifters just have less dead travel from the left finger lever. QS FDs also have a longer lever arm for a little lighter feel and require one more click to cover the full range of travel.

2009 and newer ultrashift ergo levers work best with 2009 and newer FDs, that were revised once again with a shorter lever arm than the 2007-2008 QS models. I use a 2008 QS double FD with 2009 shifters and have no problem with it. It still take the same 4 clicks to cover the full range of travel. The 2009+ shifters still have the same minimal dead travel from the left finger lever, but it's no longer an advertised feature. The new double FDs also take the same 4-clicks to cover the full range of travel.