Advice: SRAM or Campag?

I've used all three, and currently have bikes with both SRAM and Shimano.

My next bike will more than likely be SRAM. Never had a problem with reliability on SRAM (unlike Shimano).

The downshifts work flawlessly even when you "run out" of lower gears on something stupidly steep, and I find the lever shape and shifting mechanism is much more hand friendly than Campag.

Used SRAM since 2009. SRAM stuff has yet to let me down. Have both Rival and Apex. Both work fine, never gone out of adjustment. Apex with compact front and a 32 -12 rear gets you up any hill. Dead easy to use too. One quick tap to go to the smaller cogs and just like going up hill, a bigger effort to go to a bigger cog.

Ignore everything written here and go out and try them. They both work very well all the way through the range. It comes down to personal preference, the only way to know is for YOU to try them.

I'm honestly baffled by the habit of blind buying based on the opinions of strangers....

I would say stay with Campag. If you're used to the shifting mechanism (I prefer it) and general feel to it, Centaur and Veloce are good sets (especially 2015 Veloce).

As you already have Campag, I would stick with it if you like it as you will be able to use wheels, chains, cassettes, tools, cables and any technical know how you have picked up along the way on all of your bikes. I'm migrating my whole stable to Campag because I like it, thanks to the wisdom of my friend, Old Cranky, who has been doing the same with Shimano for years. We could argue all night about which is *the best* but if you like something you might as well stick with it and benefit from the interchangeability of parts and your own personal knowledge.

The dreaded groupset wars...

Quite frankly bringing Shimano's low end thumb shift groups as a reference point against campag is ridiculous.

SRAM and Campy shift the same speed - campy feels smoother and wears in better.

Campag shifters feel more comfortable for me and many people - this is personal.

SRAM will need more TLC and I don't trust it to last over the years like I can Campag. However, SRAM does offer the best cost to weight ratio.

One benefit on campag chorus, record and super record is that you can execute multiple downshifts with the thumb shiftier. This is a unique feature.

I personally have Force 22 on one bike, and Veloce/Centaur on another.

I've ridden 10 spd Centaur and now have 10 spd Rival. It's true that Campag' equipment is the better engineered and the more durable. Rival is very good, although the 10 spd versions front mech' is a criminally poor piece of kit that was replaced by a Shimano one almost immediately. The ability of the Sram rear mech' to take an 11-32 cassette persuaded me to take the plunge, matched to a compact double hills are much easier. If you've managed with the ratios available with Campag' I'd stay with it, if you'd like help on the hills I'd go for Rival.

I have Campag and SRAM, I would chose Campag everytime, though my next bike will be 105, just so I have em all!

I used SRAM once and hated it. The gears seem to change on the release of the lever instead of the push which I found counter intuitive and resulted in some bad changes. Sure I could have got used to it in time (it was only a 5 mile jaunt) but was glad to be back on Campag.

P.s to those who have tried Shimano Sora & its thumb lever, Campag is much better & more ergonomic.

Whatever you go for check out Dolan bikes, they have some great deals at the moment and you can go for Campag, SRAM or Shimano. I've not ridden Campag but have used thumb shifters on Shimano and just didn't like them.

I've got SRAM on all my bikes right now and find it a comfortable grip and as easy to maintain as Shimano

Campag centaur is really good, had it on my 2nd bike for a long time (8 years i think), the best bit about campag is that you can replace springs, ratchets etc. when they wear out, instead of having to replace a whole unit with sram and shimano.

I've got the pro carbon RIVAL, had it for nearly year, and the SRAM double tap is very intuitive, and very responsive!
Push the lever a bit and it shifts up, push it a bit further and it shifts down, or the other way round, lol
Easy setup if you need to change cables etc, no probs.

I've not had shimano or campag, so cant comment on how they compare, but really like how SRAM behaves,
and more importantly you get a 11-32 cassette, which defo helps when climbing!
Go for it!
And I'd go Planet X over Ribble, more bang for ya buck defo!

Having tried mechanical Sram, Shimano and Campag on my own bikes, I prefer the double tap Sram system, then Shimano and lastly Campag with it's daft little thumb shifters. But that's just my personal preference and no doubt other people's preferences would be the reverse of mine. These days they're all going to be light weight and shift smoothly, so it comes down to your shifter preference and price more than anything. The old-farts who run my LBS and build custom bikes get all hot and steamy for the Italian brand just because that's what was cool back when they were younger, but basing your choice on what others think of a particular brand is not a good idea.

Campag, if you know Campag. There are some fabulous deals around ATM for Athena, especially from European shops because of the weak Euro.

Oh, and you can pick up a new 52-36 Campag Chorus 2014 carbon crank on Ebay for £134 at the moment from seller rad-fuchs if you want to accessorise your Athena

I rode Campag Centaur on my Wilier Izoard for 5 years and found it brilliant. My cyclists brain told me at that time that I was a Campag man forever and ever. The thing is, when the Wilier finally went to the big LBS in the sky and countless fantastic hours reading bike reviews passed, I decided that a SuperSix Evo was the next bike for me. Shimano is all they do and I ended up getting the Ultegra di2 version. I am now even more happy than I was with Campag (probably more to do with electronic shifting than anything else, and I know this wasn't your experience at all). But anyway it taught me that it's probably a good thing that I didn't limit myself to any system, and from what I can tell they're all great.

I have no experience of Double Tap, but on a 3 day tour last year a friend and I were doing a near 20 degree climb side by side, nearly stalling since we were going that slow. As we caught our breath at the top he told me through a throaty wheeze that Double Tap was a big problem on the climb because when you're already in your lowest gear, and you press the shifter just to check if there's another lower gear (something you do on steep climbs!) the shifter only goes in 1 click (since it can't go 2 clicks due to the absence of a lower gear) and therefore makes you go UP a gear... which a big problem when you're already struggling to pedal!

Can't comment on campag as I've never used it. I have a pro carbon with SRAM Rival 20. I prefer double-tap over Shimano (I prefer the feedback and it is easier to operate with my winter gloves), gear changes could be described as "clunky" but this is more the levers having a nice reassuring "click" when used but the actual changes are just as good as the Shimano on my other bike (only Claris though, maybe 105/Ultegra would be better)

Are you near a PlanetX shop? If you are, I would recommend getting down to the shop and trying a few bikes. When i got mine they put the bike on the turbo for me so I could have a go with the various gear as well as try the bikes for size and fit. Tell them you're not sure about Campag or SRAM as they may let you try both brands.

Go with Campag.

As I understand it, Centaur was only blinged up Veloce, so it's a parallel move for you, not a downgrade.

SRAM are using a pivoting front mech in their 22 sets. The jury is out as to how much difference this will actually make as far as cross chaining is concerned, is it a gimmick and not much more? Don't know yet, we'll see.

Sturmey Archer anyone?

Campag*! Obviously..

*I say this with absolutely no experience of SRAM, by the way!

If you've tried Centaur and have no problem with it - why does it have to feel like an upgrade? I've had Veloce for many years and still find the shifting good (same F/R mech, brifters since 2010..)

Ive had my pro carbon with sram rival 22 for about 2 weeks now. Im not an experienced road rider and have only just made the switch from mountain bike. Ive always used shimano on my mountain bikes but didnt get along with the shimano road shifters and hated the way you moved the brake to shift it just didnt work very well with my small hands.

im absolutely in love with sram double tap its a brilliant shift method, fast and precise and leaves you in no doubt that you have shifted.I adapted to it straight away its very intuitive.

I never liked sram on mountain bikes always going with saint or xt but on road bikes im definatly the other way round, ive never tried campag though so I cant compare.

Btw you are gonna love the pro carbon cant get enough of riding mine

What one do you like to use? That's all you need to know.