Are current gruppos ugly?

[thirdgenbird]

Originally Posted by R3awak3n

I think Ekkar is campys greatest effort since 11 speed was released. Its a good one and I think will be very successful for them.

I am going to argue that it’s since record 10. In the 10spd era, Campagnolo was lighter and at least I thought shifted noticeably better than 7900-era parts. It should also be noted that era of Shimano was far uglier than what we have today. Record 10 was also a lot more durable than sram 10. I’m not picking on sram because it’s in vogue, They had a lot of shifter failures in that era. The bolts were also very soft in my experience.

I think it’s reasonable to say record 10 had clear advantages were 11spd became more about preference and ergonomics. Ekar is similar to record 10. It offers a pretty compelling package that others don’t quite match.

Originally Posted by rain dogs

Bikes are ugly "currently".... so groupsets are obliged to follow in order to fit the aesthetic.

I agree with where you are going here but I can appreciate both appearances. I love my silver Campagnolo bits but they would look odd on a modern gravel or all-road bike.

I think both my bikes posted on page 2 look pretty good. Switching the components, while possible, would look silly.

[rain dogs]

Originally Posted by thirdgenbird

I agree with where you are going here but I can appreciate both appearances. I love my silver Campagnolo bits but they would look odd on a modern gravel or all-road bike.

I think both my bikes posted on page 2 look pretty good. Switching the components, while possible, would look silly.

Right? Both your bikes look "pretty good" I agree. But one of those bike frames is in the conversation of a beautiful bike and the other certainly is not and we both know which ones I am talking about.

That's my point. Are carbon fiber components ever going to be beautiful? No. Or at least no one has made any to date. But they're also not definitely "UGLY", at least a lot of the Campagnolo ones aren't. Campagnolo Record level carbon levers are very nice, but they're not beautiful.

Those carbon components will never be beautiful in a C-Record sense, but at least they're not stupid, which is what putting heavy chunks of polished aluminum would be on a 2021 carbon fiber pro-team bike. If we want things to function over a massive range cassette moving like an ultra-lightweight, multi-articulation, mechanical "arm" or "hand"... it's going to look like that.

Horses for courses.

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by rain dogs

Bikes are ugly "currently".... so groupsets are obliged to follow in order to fit the aesthetic.

Only the ugly ones are ugly.

[thirdgenbird]

Originally Posted by rain dogs

Right? Both your bikes look "pretty good" I agree. But one of those bike frames is in the conversation of a beautiful bike and the other certainly is not and we both know which ones I am talking about.

Agreed. I would never call the yeti beautiful. I like the way it looks, but it’s not “pretty” or “beautiful.” Something can look good without being those other things.

[indy.cyclist]

...

[joevers]

Originally Posted by indy.cyclist

Bikes (and their components) are like women.

Stop saying **** like this. Seriously, it's gross.

[R3awak3n]

Originally Posted by thirdgenbird

I am going to argue that it’s since record 10. In the 10spd era, Campagnolo was lighter and at least I thought shifted noticeably better than 7900-era parts. It should also be noted that era of Shimano was far uglier than what we have today. Record 10 was also a lot more durable than sram 10. I’m not picking on sram because it’s in vogue, They had a lot of shifter failures in that era. The bolts were also very soft in my experience.

I think it’s reasonable to say record 10 had clear advantages were 11spd became more about preference and ergonomics. Ekar is similar to record 10. It offers a pretty compelling package that others don’t quite match.



I agree with where you are going here but I can appreciate both appearances. I love my silver Campagnolo bits but they would look odd on a modern gravel or all-road bike.

I think both my bikes posted on page 2 look pretty good. Switching the components, while possible, would look silly.

I mean, what does ekar offer that others don't? an extra speed? I think ekar is great but lets not pretend its something above and beyond something else available. Its an extra speed and thats it.

Originally Posted by indy.cyclist

Bikes (and their components) are like women.
1. You can only compare within the age group
2. Your shared experiences affect your perception of beauty
3. After you are a certain age, don't bother looking at the latest models

yes, please stop this crap, not only is offensive, not funny, not true and not the mentality we should have is 2021.

[Gibran]

Originally Posted by R3awak3n

I mean, what does ekar offer that others don't? an extra speed? I think ekar is great but lets not pretend its something above and beyond something else available. Its an extra speed and thats it.

Yes Ekar offers an extra gear and lighter weight, which is exactly what Campy has done with every other new group release in the past. But also, IMO, the brakes are above and beyond in performance as compared to any other hydro group and the gearing jumps are set up to have only 1 tooth jumps at the bottom of the cassette for road riding. No other 1x group gets this done as well Ekar currently. And, of course, it’s Campy and gravel specific.

But back to the thread topic - it’s also got much less carbon than the road groups so there could be silver versions in the future.

[R3awak3n]

Originally Posted by Gibran

Yes Ekar offers an extra gear and lighter weight, which is exactly what Campy has done with every other new group release in the past. But also, IMO, the brakes are above and beyond in performance as compared to any other hydro group and the gearing jumps are set up to have only 1 tooth jumps at the bottom of the cassette for road riding. No other 1x group gets this done as well Ekar currently. And, of course, it’s Campy and gravel specific.

But back to the thread topic - it’s also got much less carbon than the road groups so there could be silver versions in the future.

Agree on brake performance, I think the magura... I mean campy hydros are a cut above both shimano and sram. They really are fantastic, but thats not ekar specific so I didnt mention it, hydro campy has been out was before ekar and was released way after shim and sram but did they nail it.

[Ewiser]

The problem is that the grey and black of the carbon parts don’t show off any shape. Like the aluminum parts did. The silver just showed off the shape more. So equipment makers had to think how the cranks looked. A black crank just looks blocky and chunky.

[soulspinner]

Originally Posted by Ewiser

The problem is that the grey and black of the carbon parts don’t show off any shape. Like the aluminum parts did. The silver just showed off the shape more. So equipment makers had to think how the cranks looked. A black crank just looks blocky and chunky.

what he said

[thirdgenbird]

Originally Posted by R3awak3n

I mean, what does ekar offer that others don't? an extra speed? I think ekar is great but lets not pretend its something above and beyond something else available. Its an extra speed and thats it.

Compared to shimano 1x, it’s two cogs. That’s huge for a 1x drop bar bike. As noted above, it’s lighter and offers the best brakes in the industry (reportedly)

That’s all pretty significant given it costs less than a chorus disc group. If the rumors elsewhere are true, we also may not see Shimano 12 speed for drop bar bikes until mid-late 2022. Sram seems to have given up on mechanical drop bar groups. All said, I would say that makes it a pretty unique product in an otherwise mature market.

[tomato coupe]

Originally Posted by indy.cyclist

...

No matter what you write, someone will look for and find offense in it.

[R3awak3n]

Originally Posted by thirdgenbird

Compared to shimano 1x, it’s two cogs. That’s huge for a 1x drop bar bike. As noted above, it’s lighter and offers the best brakes in the industry (reportedly)

That’s all pretty significant given it costs less than a chorus disc group. If the rumors elsewhere are true, we also may not see Shimano 12 speed for drop bar bikes until mid-late 2022. Sram seems to have given up on mechanical drop bar groups. All said, I would say that makes it a pretty unique product in an otherwise mature market.

and thats the thing, shimano does not even need to, they still gonna sell more GRX than campy will sell Ekar. And yeah in 1x even 1 cog matters and ekar is great, I am a fan (minus the thumb button of course )

[R3awak3n]

Originally Posted by tomato coupe

No matter what you write, someone will look for and find offense in it.

yeah, when its offensive people usually do that. We need to do better, comparing bikes and cars to women or that old mentality crap is long due to disapear.