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My initial impressions on Campagnolo 11

maverick_1

maverick_1

Warming-Up
Aug 24, 2008
52
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just to share with you guys..

moving on from D/Ace 7800 series to Campy Record 10, and now Campy 11s.

the new levers are outstanding.
well, i would say Campy did learn a lesson or two from Shimano in terms of ergonomics. In addition, Campy actually did another round of enhancement by 'fine-tuning' the shape of the hoods, taking into consideration how our fingers/hands rest on it during actual riding.:cool:

the upper hoods which protrudes up/inwards towards the center was designed to allow us to ride on a hoods in a more comfortable position.

from a technical perspective, i realise is that the new Ultrashift levers no longer allow a full downshift from the largest cassette to the smallest one, unlike the 10speed version (well, no one actually shifts from largest to smallest in a single throw, but it's good to know the difference). the new Ultrashift only allows up to 5 downshifts to a smaller cassette using the thumb levers.

in term of smoothness in shifting, IMHO Shimano D/Ace is the best so far, Campy feels a little chunky.
the new 11s shift levers has a slightly softer feel comparing with the 10s.

feel free to comment;).

cheers.
 
abnormal noises on the drivetrain

some info sharing on Campy 11 drivetrain.

after degreasing the chain and re-lube(thin coat), the drivetrain sounded awful and i had quite a time dealing with this. the problem only occurs on specific cogs, 3rd, 4th while the on the large chainring. shifiting was basically spot on but the noises on the drivetrain drove me nuts.

initially thought it was due to some misadjustment on the R/D etc.

i checked the body alignment screw (H screw, as per Campagnolo's instruction). Note that the position of the upper pulley with respect to the cog has to be 7mm. i adjusted mine from 6 to 7mm.

then check on the upper/lower limit screws on the R/D. readjusted but the drivetrain noises seemed not improving.
next, i checked the R/D barrel adjuster to confirm the tension. in addition, pull and adjust the R/D cables on the downtube to confirm if it is due to cable tension. no difference.
here's what i have done:
1. check Rear Derailleur upper/lower limit set screws
2. check F/Derailleur upper/lower limit set screws
3. H screws (body alignment) adjusted from 6 to 7mm
4. R/D barrel - tension adjusted

then, out of curiousity, i had a look at the cassettes. well..guess what.:eek:
the plastic spacers on the cassettes were causing the abnormal noises. what happens is that when the chain shifts to the cog which is located in between the plastic spacers, the noise occurs.

following to that, i re-lube the entire drivetrain with a thick coat of Pedros Ice Wax. i then tested the drivetain with a 3km ride around the apartment. the drivetrain noises reduced significantly.
 
I see you have been over here http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=165792&highlight=campy+11+speed+shifting

Who did the install of the components? Sluggish shifting would indicate too much friction between your hand and the bottom pulley. Kink in the housing? Is the lock nut on the cassette shut tight, those plastic bits shouldn't be doing anything except sitting there. maybe if you are confident using a chainwhip and wrenches, remove the rear cassette check that everything lines and aligns up as per the instruction sheet and re tighten the lock nut. care to post a pic of the rear cluster and derailleur? I have been riding Campy since pre Ergo days. One more pic looking forward towards the cluster with the chain on about the 5th cog if possible.
 
kiwisimon said:
I see you have been over here http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=165792&highlight=campy+11+speed+shifting

Who did the install of the components? Sluggish shifting would indicate too much friction between your hand and the bottom pulley. Kink in the housing? Is the lock nut on the cassette shut tight, those plastic bits shouldn't be doing anything except sitting there. maybe if you are confident using a chainwhip and wrenches, remove the rear cassette check that everything lines and aligns up as per the instruction sheet and re tighten the lock nut. care to post a pic of the rear cluster and derailleur? I have been riding Campy since pre Ergo days. One more pic looking forward towards the cluster with the chain on about the 5th cog if possible.
Click to expand...

hi kiwisimon,

thanks for checking me out:rolleyes:
yep..i've been having some issues with the Campy 11.
getting tired with those issues actually.
my shifts were perfect on the 10s but definitely not on the 11s.
it's either too noisy or having delays in shifting towards the smaller cogs.

thanks for the advice on the rear cluster..:)

if you notice, there is another Campagnolo thread on "r/d adjustment with 09 centaur"
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=161794
i guess my problem has some similarity although the thread mention 10s Centaur.

I will take a pic of the cluster and post it later.

cheers!
 
maverick_1 said:
hi kiwisimon,

thanks for checking me out:rolleyes:
yep..i've been having some issues with the Campy 11.
getting tired with those issues actually.
my shifts were perfect on the 10s but definitely not on the 11s.
it's either too noisy or having delays in shifting towards the smaller cogs.

thanks for the advice on the rear cluster..:)

if you notice, there is another Campagnolo thread on "r/d adjustment with 09 centaur"
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=161794
i guess my problem has some similarity although the thread mention 10s Centaur.

I will take a pic of the cluster and post it later.

cheers!
Click to expand...
Yeah it can be frustrating but remember inner shift cables are cheap and easily replaced, if it's doing your head in there is no shame in swallowing your pride and taking it to a shop to check out. Better to pay a pro for an hours work than weeks of frustration. You should be enjoying the experience more than it sounds you are. Did you check the chain length? what is fdifferent between the 11sp and 10sp? Same frame? same cranks? bb? same routing of cables? go back and check out the differences from the 10s and see what sticks out. Good luck and bikes always go back together better over a stella.:)
 
kiwisimon said:
Yeah it can be frustrating but remember inner shift cables are cheap and easily replaced, if it's doing your head in there is no shame in swallowing your pride and taking it to a shop to check out. Better to pay a pro for an hours work than weeks of frustration. You should be enjoying the experience more than it sounds you are. Did you check the chain length? what is fdifferent between the 11sp and 10sp? Same frame? same cranks? bb? same routing of cables? go back and check out the differences from the 10s and see what sticks out. Good luck and bikes always go back together better over a stella.:)
Click to expand...

hi kiwisimon,

this is a complete grouppo inclusive of Campagnolo's new ultra low friction cables (11speed only).
crankset, bb, f/d, r/d, cassettes, shifters, 11s chain and calipers.
routing of cables are the same. i can't seemed to find the cause of this issue.

the components were all installed by a mechanic at Seo. Recommended by a friend.
Anyway, i did some adjustment on the body angle. it was approx 6.5mm and i increase it to 7mm. this is the recommeded setting by Campagnolo (according to the manual). im not sure this could help.

thanks
 
maverick_1 said:
hi kiwisimon,


the components were all installed by a mechanic at Seo.

thanks
Click to expand...

Well thats your solution, take it back and let them have the stress.
I presume you paid them to do the job, let them do it. Hope this all works out sooner rather than later.
 
hows it going, I am also a kiwi living in the US, I have spent many years working on bikes, I currently work as the head mechanic for a high end road shop in florida.
I have the new BMC RaceMaster with Chorus 11. The Frame is awsome, the shifting however has all of the problems that you described, I have installed 6 full 11 speed gruppos in the last two months(Chorus to Super Record). , all but one has had the same noisey drive train issues, you cannot compare the tuning of 11sp with 10sp as the new system is totally redesigned and operates quite differently from the 10sp.
We are slowly narrowing the problem down to Rear Der. spring tension and how much wrap the chain has on each cog.
will keep you posted
 
bmcguy said:
hows it going, I am also a kiwi living in the US, I have spent many years working on bikes, I currently work as the head mechanic for a high end road shop in florida.
I have the new BMC RaceMaster with Chorus 11. The Frame is awsome, the shifting however has all of the problems that you described, I have installed 6 full 11 speed gruppos in the last two months(Chorus to Super Record). , all but one has had the same noisey drive train issues, you cannot compare the tuning of 11sp with 10sp as the new system is totally redesigned and operates quite differently from the 10sp.
We are slowly narrowing the problem down to Rear Der. spring tension and how much wrap the chain has on each cog.
will keep you posted
Click to expand...

thanks bmcguy.
sent in the bike for a r/derailleur cable re-routing on the handlebar last week (original routing was on the front, and currently changed to the rear behind the bar to reduce possible cable friction). shall be going for a test ride tomorrow.
will keep you guys posted.

do share with us if you have any suggestions as well.
btw, here's a link which may be of some help to you.

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=161717

cheers
 
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