Campy comparison: Veloce 10 vs. Athena 11

[brownhound]

After missing out on well-priced used, alloy Campy groupsets here and elsewhere, I am leaning towards picking up a new alloy groupset. Question for those who have opinion or experience:

Veloce 10 or Athena 11?

Athena 11 is priced about $300 more than Veloce 10. Other than small weight penalty, what are the problems or issues with going with Veloce, especially with regards to performance and compatibility going forwards assuming that Campy sticks with 11?

Searches on this subject didn't quite tackle tihs comparison.

[AngryScientist]

Veloce is fine and serviceable gear. if you're on a budget, this is the way to go, 11-sp cassettes and chains are quite a bit more expensive than 10sp gear. both are going to be powershift, meaning one downshift per thumb button, no big deal there really. really they should both perform similarly. i wouldnt worry about parts availability, campy is still making veloce and centaur 10-sp cassettes, so they will be around for a good long time. any 10-sp chain works with the system.

[veloduffer]

I have 9, 10 and 11-spd on my bikes and really find no significant difference. If you're on budget, get the Veloce. The 11-spd will have less issues in the future getting cassettes, but in reality you can find parts fairly readily for many years (can still get for 9 spd stuff, although more used than new).

[harryblack]

I have, and have built and ride both-- silver Athena 11 on CAAD 10 (with Hollowgram cranks), black Veloce 10 on gf's old Bianchi cross bike, both Powershift, great performance etc. Some people will say you gotta have Ultrashift but I'm not one of 'em...

Anyway, AFAIK (Old Potato can correct me) there are no issues going forward, there will almost certainly be chains & cassettes available until long after we're dead so I recommend following your budget and not worrying about it afterwards...

BTW, the Veloce crankset is Ultratorque, not the newer/lighter Powertorque which is somewhat more complicated to take apart but I don't think it's something to worry about on the rider's end.

[pdmtong]

for a new purchase, pony up for 11speed. the lever shape is superior.

the shifting action out of the box on my C11 was better than my '07 R10 with 4k miles.

do you really need the extra cog? I don't, but its clear 11sp is the direction

so you might as well jump in the pond with the way things are and are going.

I dont have enough cash to just blow off my 10s groups to upgrade. at some point I will, but they work fine. but, when the situation required a new group, I went ahead and made the jump to 11s for that frame. happy I did.

[harryblack]

one clarification, pd-- the current Veloce & Athena (and up) levers are identical... and I agree I like this current shape more than the old ones.

Originally Posted by pdmtong

for a new purchase, pony up for 11speed. the lever shape is superior.

the shifting action out of the box on my C11 was better than my '07 R10 with 4k miles.

do you really need the extra cog? I don't, but its clear 11sp is the direction

so you might as well jump in the pond with the way things are and are going.

I dont have enough cash to just blow off my 10s groups to upgrade. at some point I will, but they work fine. but, when the situation required a new group, I went ahead and made the jump to 11s for that frame. happy I did.

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by harryblack

one clarification, pd-- the current Veloce & Athena (and up) levers are identical... and I agree I like this current shape more than the old ones.

one more clarification on your post, the current veloce crankset is power torque, the former veloce crankset was ultratorque.

[harryblack]

gotcha, AS-- I meant to type ** I ** have an UT Veloce (2010?) but the newer ones are PT, saving 100 grams (I think) but requiring more tools to take apart.

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

one more clarification on your post, the current veloce crankset is power torque, the former veloce crankset was ultratorque.

[Fishbike]

I have both silver/alloy Veloce and Athena. I can't tell any differenence in performance and can't tell any significant difference in looks. Veloce just works -- really well -- and looks great. It is my go-to group for most classic frames.

For my latest build I thought for a moment that I would splurge and go for Athena, but then I could not come up with a good reason why. Eleven cogs are interesting, but do not impact my riding at all. $300 is worth more than a few grams to me. And with the current Athena you can't dump more than one gear anyway. I do detest that fact that installing the PT crank is so difficult.

I think Shimano is missing the boat by not having a traditional-looking, modern alloy group. But I suppose there are enough modern bikes that look okay with the satellite dish cranks. We round tube folks have to settle for Veloce.

[Lewis Moon]

While I LOVE the newer lever shape, I sold a new set of Veloce levers and moved back to an older set of 10sp Chorus levers. Build quality, general feel and spare parts were my reasons. The Veloce just felt cheap (IMHO).
I wish Campy would make a "CX" group: basically a superior quality group that focused less on weight and more on durability/survivability. Make parts that wear out or break in a crash out of aluminum rather than CF. Is there a reason a brifter blade should cost $150?
I'll take quality over bells and whistles any day.

Originally Posted by pdmtong

for a new purchase, pony up for 11speed. the lever shape is superior.

the shifting action out of the box on my C11 was better than my '07 R10 with 4k miles.

do you really need the extra cog? I don't, but its clear 11sp is the direction

so you might as well jump in the pond with the way things are and are going.

I dont have enough cash to just blow off my 10s groups to upgrade. at some point I will, but they work fine. but, when the situation required a new group, I went ahead and made the jump to 11s for that frame. happy I did.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by Lewis Moon

While I LOVE the newer lever shape, I sold a new set of Veloce levers and moved back to an older set of 10sp Chorus levers. Build quality, general feel and spare parts were my reasons. The Veloce just felt cheap (IMHO).
I wish Campy would make a "CX" group: basically a superior quality group that focused less on weight and more on durability/survivability. Make parts that wear out or break in a crash out of aluminum rather than CF. Is there a reason a brifter blade should cost $150?
I'll take quality over bells and whistles any day.

Veloce , new, is a great CX group.

[Lewis Moon]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

Veloce , new, is a great CX group.

I'll grant that. I'm just a huge quality snob. Really, it's pathalogical. Combine that with a total lack of disposable income.....

I just hate stuff that has been "cost engineered" or has been designed to provide bells and whistles at a certain cost point, at the expense of quality.

I don't mind spending a bit more for good quality, robust gear, I just wish I had that choice. Presently my choices seem to be fragile, finiky, high end expensive parts or cheaper parts that are lower quality.

[54ny77]

Agreed.

I'd suck it up and pony up for a DA in silver alu. in a heartbeat. Well, maybe a few heartbeats (a.k.a. gently used).

Originally Posted by Fishbike

I

I think Shimano is missing the boat by not having a traditional-looking, modern alloy group.

[FlashUNC]

I think you'd be hard pressed to notice the difference, beyond the extra gear for the Athena group.

[AngryScientist]

one other point worth mentioning:

Veloce shifters have a plastic shifter lever, where as Athena has an alloy lever. different look and feel, for sure.