Argh! I'm becoming one of THEM!

You are going to get a myriad of answers but basically for road components it goes like this. How do the hoods fit yor hands and which shifting mechanism do you like. All three road group manufacturers make outstanding products, anybody that tells you one is far superior to the other doesn't know what the hell they are talking about. I've been doing this road thing for quit a while, I prefer Shimano simply because the hoods fit my hands the best and I like the shifting mechanism. I've ridden all three groups extensively and while I really wanted to go SRAM Red on the new bike the hoods just didn't work for my hands, although I am running the SRAM crank which I liked better. I simply don't like Campy's thumb lever, just feels wrong no mater how hard I tried to get used to it.
As to which group to go with I'd stick with the top two from SRAM ( RED, Force) and Shimano ( Dura-Ace, Ultegra) and Campy (Chorus, Centaur) I wouldn't bother with Campy Record it's just a poseur group, Chorus is virtually the same group at much less cost. With the top end groups ( Dura-Ace, RED, Chorus) your basically paying for less weight and better durability. If you ride a lot on the road it's worth the extra dough, if not I'd stick with Force or Ultegra, Centaur.

 

3 out of every 4 Tours have been won on Campy Record...that's a lot of poseurs. If Chorus and Record were the same cost, which would you own? That's a rhetorical question.

 

Looks like a Campy Chorus 11 groupset is around $1250 from Starbike, that seems to be pretty bloody cheap compared to Competitive Cyclist who want well over $2k for it.

Record 11 runs around $1800 from ze Germans which is getting a little too high for my liking.

The SRAM Red stuff actually looks pretty cool, but I'm doubting there's anywhere I can get that super cheap

Dammit, the more I look at this stuff the more I see $1500 as "not that unreasonable really"

 

Ya, as if every one of those riders wouldn't have won had they been on Chorus . You are a marketing persons wet dream. And as far as the cost issue, you made my point for me. They aren't the same cost, Record is substantially more expensive...for what (that's also rhetorical) the Record label and a couple of carbon do dads.

 

It's obvious you've got it all figured out, but I'm willing to bet you don't ride a Tiagra equipped road bike.

 

Sounds like its gonna be sweet! I'm not a roadie, but I really like the Fenix frame. Post pics when you get 'er built!

 

Competitive Cyclist has a good video review of the new Campy groupos that explains the differences very well.
In addition to the worthy comments already made, the Shimano and Campy systems have a different shifting feel. The former has a slick and the latter a more deliberate feel. Campy parts a fully rebuildable. If your Shimano shifter fails you just toss it and buy another. That said, the warranty is good and my discipline for avoiding new bike bling always breaks before the parts do. I have not used SRAM so can't comment. Last year I thought the Chorus rivaled the Dura-Ace and the Record just went beyond. I chose Chorus. Next year we'll be comparing electric shifting.

 

One thing to note that has not been mentioned is that if you go with Campy, you'll have to stick with Campy specific wheels and cassettes. They are not compatible with Shimano/SRAM. Just something you should keep in mind when you make your decision.

I run Campy and like the shifting much better than Shimano. I have smallish hands and find the hood and the thumb shifting much easier to use. Plus for the front shifter you have trim adjustment. I can't remember if the Shimano has that or not. I have never tried SRAM so I can't comment on that. I would like to though.

 

If given do overs, I'd take the Shimano wheels that you can run the new tubeless tires on. You can use them as regular clinchers, with tubes, and with Hutchinson tubeless. Several other manufactures are jumping onto the road tubeless band wagon. Rather than the cartridge bearings, these use cup and cone bearings, so the hubs are easily serviced.

I'm a bit of a wheel whore, a marketer's wet dream to quote someone above. I've got several wheelset; Mavic, Zipp, Chris King (hubs w/ Sun rims), and Shimano. They've all been great, but replacing cartridge bearings is a hassle. As for funky spokes, Easton and Spinergy are both a pain to work on, Mavic's big fat spokes on the Ksyrium models are ubiquitous, I can walk into most LBS and have a spoke replaced no problem. I've heard that the Fulcrum wheels are a problem to work on due to the limited distribution and parts availability. Time and market saturation will eventually solve that problem.

For what it's worth, I've seen the Shimano wheels at the cyclocross races on some of the faster guys bikes and they hold up great. I run Ksyrium SLs and they've been bomb proof too. I'm running Zipps tubular this year and hope make it a season without breaking a rim.

I hope this inspires you to stay away from carbon wheelsets.

 

Two words for you.. Campy chorus. I've used them since the early 90's when they first came out with the ergo levers and have not looked anywhere else, not even at Record. Have not had any problems. Even ran the levers with a Mavic rear deur. for a while without any compatibility issues, though things may be different with their more recent models.

 

Also, with Campy's rear shifter, you can dump up to all 10 cogs at a time, unique to Campy.

 

Maybe he doesn't, but I do. I also see no reason to change my 9-speed Tiagra setup for something else because of the high cost for marginal improvements. Campy Record might be better, but 5-10 times better? That's really doubtful.

 

Please don't take my statement as a slight. Quite the opposite. Make no mistake, I'd ride a Sora equipped bike if that's what I had. I was just trying to illustrate that we don't NEED high end stuff at all, but if it's within our means and we CHOOSE to buy it, then why not indulge in the best we can afford. I know this is not a foreign opinion, especially in this forum.

 

Ok, so amongst existing, proven wheelsets, these looks to be pretty sweet and all about the same price;

Mavic Ksyrium SL (Wheel world has them for $850)
DT Swiss RR 1850 (about the same price from starbike)
Shimano Dura Ace WH 7850 SL (bit pricer than the other two, but I'm sure Bike Attack will deal )

I'm tempted to go with the DT Swiss wheels, since they look beefier than the Mavic and Shimano wheels. Although the Mavic's are pretty sexy too, anyone know if they'll handle a 250-260 lb guy or are they just for the lightweight buggers?

Still making my mind up on the groupset

Thanks all.

 

I've seen the Mavic Ksyrium ES's on tandems. Personally, I'd check weight limits for any lightweight wheelsets, although, I checked weight limits on the Mavic before I started racing cyclocross with them, there weren't any. However, verify, verify, and verify. Same goes with carbon bars, stems, seatposts, and pedals. Lots of zoot stuff will have a 180 lb weight limit.

 

Thanks Johnny, I'll make some calls.

I checked with Intense about the weight limits on the Fenix before I bought it, thanks to it being somewhat oversized they say I should be good at 250-260.

Seatpost and stem will definitely be aluminum (Thompson ftw :bang, handlebars will probably be Easton EA90s, but I might be tempted by EC90s, I hope I don't regret that .

I'm staying away from carbon wheelsets if I can, the Ksyriums have a couple of carbon bits on them but they're apparently mostly aluminum, the carbon looks like it's confined to largely non structural parts like the hub housing (ie. the parts with the biggest loads are all aluminum).

The DT Swiss 1850s are definitely all aluminum, reviews I've seen say they're bombproof, but they're a good pound heavier than the Mavics. Anything under 1400g is probably out of the question.

One thing that does concern me about super rigid wheels is that they'll transmit more force directly to the frame, which is going to be a lot more expensive to replace than a wheel is.

:?:

 

I think I'm going to go with a SRAM Red groupset, it ought to look pretty sexy with the Red/Black/White frame and the DT Swiss wheels

I'll be sure to check the ergos before I buy, I wasn't aware they were different, so thanks everyone for the heads up on that.

 

Oh oh....me too me too....I ride on the road for training too now!

And just because their mom cut them off breast milk early it does not mean their parents hate them.:-k:lol:

As far as the parts goes I think campy is sexiest! Shimano is the old faithful and SRAM is the new kid on the block. Although the Red group seems nice. Depends on the budget just get the best groupo you can afford....ebay offers great groupos.

 

now that's a great decision

 

In my opinion, for wheels you should just get something standard like Mavic Open Pro rims laced to some decent hubs. 28 spoke front, 32 spoke rear. Don't get any of the weird proprietary wheelsets like Ksyriums that have funky bladed spokes (no real benefit) or require special tools. If you actually want to spend money on wheels, they go straight to Zipp 404 tubulars or similar. The aero benefit of this type of wheel outweighs the minor weight penalty.