Campagnolo or Shimano on a Bianchi?

[Apollonius]

Many dealers will build you a Bianchi to your own specification. Mrs A wanted a Chorus CV in celeste and the only one available in her size was Ultegra. Peak Cycle Sport gladly stripped all the Shimano off it for her and put Campagnolo on it throughout. They would do the reverse, if that is what you want, for certain.

 

[T4tomo]

An excellent question. And as you say, "celeste" is italian for "sky blue". Perhaps Mr Bianchi, or you and me, were/are colour blind. We need to be told.

Its more blue than green to my eyes, but each unto their own.

 

[BenajminC]

I actually went from a Specialized to a Bianchi Oltre XR4. Because when I was looking for a new frame, I wanted something that wasn't black. The matte Celeste paint looks stunning on an Oltre. And I love how it's unique
I ended up buying the Oltre frameset and changing the wheels and groupset over from my Specialized as that was the most cost efficient, it would be stupid to bin my Ultegra Di2 and buy Campag EPS instead. There's nothing wrong with my Ultegra and when you pass other bikes, nobody can tell (or cares) what groupset you have !!!
As for not being made in Italy... how many things are made in the Far East these days? From phones, to laptops, to cars. I reckon the majority of my home contents is made in a factory abroad.

 

[pawl]

I have always used Campagnolo up to a month or so, I switched from record to Di2, Campag do not supply a big enough range of cassettes. and they are more expensive than Shimano. I would have stayed with Campag if there electronic system was on par with shimano. I still prefer campag mechanical shifting to shimano,the lower end campag can be a bit clunky. And as for Bianchi bikes there is a lot better out there for less money.Bianchi is well overpriced. Living on there laurels.

I belive that the latest Campag cassette goes up to 34 teeth but you need the latest model.

I wanted a 28 tooth low finally found one at Ribble My lbs told me that they have long delivery times on some Campag components.
.
On my #1i have Shimano Ultegra,shifting is so smooth.I admit my other bike is Campy Mirage .I don’t like the button that is pressed to go down the cassette.

I realise every one has their preferences and haven’t any experience of the higher end Campy mechs.When the time comes to upgrade it will be Shimano.

 

[Apollonius]

I belive that the latest Campag cassette goes up to 34 teeth but you need the latest model.

Point of information, again. The latest Campagnolo groupset is called Potenza and is capable of handling a 32 maximum sprocket on the back. It is a clear attempt to match the success of the Ultegra as a cheap and highly effective groupset. It even sort of goes click. I believe it is a bit lighter than the Ultegra too. As always, the big advantage is the ease of use for smaller hands. For women riders, in particular, this can often be a huge advantage.

 

[pawl]

Point of information, again. The latest Campagnolo groupset is called Potenza and is capable of handling a 32 maximum sprocket on the back. It is a clear attempt to match the success of the Ultegra as a cheap and highly effective groupset. It even sort of goes click. I believe it is a bit lighter than the Ultegra too. As always, the big advantage is the ease of use for smaller hands. For women riders, in particular, this can often be a huge advantage.

Thanks for that Apollonius

Back in the day when Methuselah was a lad simplex and Benelux was the rear mech bikes came with but Campy was the the mech most of us inspired to. As a 77 year old I do need the lower bottom gear that Shimano offers..

In some ways I feel Campag have fallen behind the other big names.
‘

 

[Apollonius]

@pawl I can so identify with that. As a teenager cycling in the 1960s, there was Campagnolo and all the other stuff that didn't work or broke. Indeed, you can still buy decent working order Campagnolo stuff of that era from jumbles and the like. Put it on a bike and away you go. Did exactly this when I built my Viking Severn Valley a couple of years ago - yes, that old cliché of the bike I dreamed of as a kid.
In terms of how they work, there is little to choose between Campagnolo and Shimano - except for the small hands thing, of course.

By the way, a person of similar vintage to myself discovered that his Chorus set up would happily work with the 32 max Potenza cassette. Just as in the old days of the Gran Sport, Campagnolo are very conservative about pushing the limits of the kit's capacity. I suppose they do expect it to last 50 years or so.

 

[themosquitoking]

I've only ever used Campag on one bike and that was only for a week or so but that was more than enough. Never again and if a bike is "supposed" to have it i wouldnt consider buying the bike.

 

[booze and cake]

Thanks for that Apollonius
.....In some ways I feel Campag have fallen behind the other big names.
‘

I agree, I'm a fan of form and function and always disliked the plasticy looking Ultegra and Dura Ace chainsets, especially that hideous grey colour that just looked like a cheap 'dork disc' made from wheelie bin plastic. But I think the look of the modern Campagnolo chainsets is a real step backwards looks wise and for the first time in decades I actually prefer the look of the Shimano offerings.

I have found some of the cheap Campagnolo stuff to be a bit ropey and not as long lasting and avoid all the stuff below Centaur. For me Chorus is the best, essentially functions the same as Record but nowhere near as spendy and without the obsession with low weight they are probably more durable I think. I prefer the old shiny alloy stuff anyway, and I now have 4 road bikes kitted out with mostly 10 speed Chorus with a few Record bits (the most pretty in my book but an arse to clean, I have to clean the skeleton brakes with ear buds!) and they have all worked flawlessly for years while coping with pretty high mileage. I have'nt bought any of my Campagnolo kit new, getting it all on eBay so have managed to do it relatively cheaply. I also love the fact that spares are still available for most of Campagnolo kit, any probs with Shimano and its in the bin, which just seems very wasteful to me. Campagnolo in theory it can just keep on going forever, but be prepared to openly laugh/cry at some of the prices for spares, I recently purchased a 26mm cassette lock ring for an old Shamal wheel (rather than the more recent 27mm ones) and it cost £30, for a lock ring!!!! And a set of 5 Campag ultra torque crank bolts were over £30 last time I looked. And post Brexit I imagine this is only going to get worse.

Personally I'm not bothered at all by what people ride on their bikes, there's too much snobbery in cycling, ride whatever you want, kitted out with whatever, but I have 2 Italian bikes and I could'nt bring myself to put Shimano on them

 

[JhnBssll]

I tried a Celeste Bianchi with Campag and then ordered one with Ultegra That's no reflection on the groupset, I want to share wheels with another bike that already has Shimano kit. I found the campag quite nice to use but no better or worse than anything I'd used before. Let's be honest there's not a lot between any of them these days

 

[bpsmith]

My Sempre Pro runs Ultegra. Just to really confuse things, I Ride it with Campag wheels...with a Shimano freehub of course.

 

[Tin Pot]

This thread is from 2016.

...is better.

 

[MasterDabber]

I'm always reminded that Pantani's fastest climb up Alpe d'huez in 1997 was on a Wilier with Dura-Ace.

 

[Maenchi]

Back in the day when Methuselah was a lad simplex and Benelux was the rear mech bikes came with but Campy was the the mech most of us inspired to. As a 77 year old I do need the lower bottom gear that Shimano offers..

In some ways I feel Campag have fallen behind the other big names.
‘[/QUOTE]
I'm 19yrs younger than you but my first racing bike was a Sun Tour bike with Benelux and Simplex gearing, it was 1970 I was 11 and my dad got me the bike second hand, so definitely a 1960s bike..Campagnolo gear came later and on a different bike..

 

[Cycleops]

I'm always reminded that Pantani's fastest climb up Alpe d'huez in 1997 was on a Wilier with Dura-Ace.

Unfortunately we’re not all Pantanis.