Campagnolo Veloce ErgoPower

Price Paid:  $0.00 at El Toro Cyclery

Favorite Ride:
65 plus miles

Bike Setup:
99'trek 5000 oclv cf, campy veloce 9 spd, koobi AU enduro seat, campy scirroco wheelset.

Summary:
bought this bike back in 99' and came equipped with campy veloce 9spd. shifted flawless till this year, just a couple of weeks ago. i would have to push a little harder to go to a bigger cog around the middle. since then i dropped lubed thru the cable housings, shifter pivots, derailers and let it sit for a week. lately i been logging in 60-70 miles in the wknd. i ride my mtn bike once or twice in the wkdays. back to my road bike, i have over 6700 miles on the computer since i bought it and never once replaced the chain or any part of the drivetrain. i just replace the veloce(wheelset) which we're heavy and the nipples had green corrosion. i now have campy scirroco which are a lot lighter and more stylish black dish wheelset. i was gonna replace the chain, but campy chainset cost like $40! so decided to wait till it brakes and change the whole rings, cogs and chain. still waiting.

Strengths:
durable, reliable and the thumbdownshifters for going to small cogs on the right-hand and going down for the chainrings on the left-hand. this is unigue and what i prefer compare to shimano which uses only the levers.

Weaknesses:
campy price! and availability

Price Paid:  $0.00 at repartocorse.com

Favorite Ride:
The one I'm on

Bike Setup:
Basso coral w/Campy Veloce group, Fir net97 rims, Schwalbe blizzard sport tires, FSA OrbitX headset am.Classic post and San Marco Ozono race gel saddle.

Summary:
Got these with the Veloce group. Nice feel, now. A bit stiff a first, but properly setting them up and then a good tuning got them feeling great. Had a tendency to overshift until I learned how to adjust them.

Strengths:
Quick shifts, wide hoods are supportive and feel great!

Weaknesses:
cable housing that's too long can cause sloppy shifting.

Similar Products Used:
downtube shifters from Suntour, Shimano rsx & 105

Price Paid:  $110.00 at Excel Sports

Favorite Ride:
Summer Skool/OTC

Bike Setup:
Leader LD715, Bonty Race Lite wheels, Kenesis alloy fork, 105 brakes, Ultegra crank, SRAM R9 cassette

Summary:
These babies very recently replaced a pair of Ultegras that kicked the bucket after less than one year of service. . I've tried Daytona shifters once before, but didn't like the small feel of the hoods in my hands. I like a roomy brake hood. Coming back to Campy now, my opinion has changed somewhat. Maybe I'm just justifying my purchase, but now I find the hoods to be quite comfortable. I really like the suppleness of the rubber (heh-heh) that Campy uses. As for shifting precision, I've had no problems at all using a Shimano cassette. At the risk of using a tired cliche, shifts sound and feel crisp going up and down the range. I'll admit that it takes more effort than Shimano to move both shift levers, but I've heard that it gets easier with time. Also, like the other reviewers, I've noticed that I have to throw the left shifter quite a distance to get into the big ring.

Strengths:
Crisp-feeling shifting, comfy hoods.

Weaknesses:
Initially takes a little more effort to move shift levers. A little slow going into the big ring.

Similar Products Used:
Shimano RSX 7sp (very reliable), 105 9sp (stinks), 600 8sp (the bomb), 6510 9sp (trash).

Favorite Ride:
back from the pub on the train

Bike Setup:
just a beater for now whilst I get a diploma, or til I can afford some more campag stuff.

Summary:
This is a much better system, quality wise, than shimano 105 or even (Especially) Ultegra. I've destroyed two ultegra set -ups myself and seen/read of many failures of the shifter brake lever mechanism. This is, theoretically, a step down from Ultegra in the campag range of things, but it works in a much more reliable fashion. I havn't had a single problem with the system since I purchased it second hand from a guy a worked with. I rode through the dirty streets of stinky London for a month before I returned to Canada and did not have a single incident of ghost shifting or lack of indexing. This units are loud, clunky and have a very positive "click" when they're brand new, but this gets better with age. A shimano shifter is at its best the day you buy it; from there on in its down hill in quality and reliability, but not with these. I suggest any Campag product over its Shimano equivalent, it may have a higher sticker price but, you have to believe me it's worth the money ten times in the ammount of hassel you will avoid.
bottom line: it works, its cheap, its made by italians who workship cycling as a pastime.

Strengths:
Clinky positive shift indexing.

Weaknesses:
None as of yet

Similar Products Used:
105, Ultegra, Chorus, Record, demoed D/A

Favorite Ride:
anywhere!

Bike Setup:
Stelvio 7005 Race Bike, full Veloce groupset

Summary:
Although I have very little road-bike experience (apart from the old Peugeot I borrowed from my dad) I am impressed with the smoothness and overall design of the Campag system.

I don't think the system is too heavy (although obviously not as light as the Record/Daytona).

I have a 9 speed system and everything seems great. Unless you can afford a higher system - buy the Veloce!

Strengths:
Easy to operate shifters, good name, not too heavy

Weaknesses:
The smaller lever is sometimes in the way

Similar Products Used:
Old Shimano RX100 group on a Peugeot Optima