Poxy bloody Campag!!! Never again!
Discussion
I've used and abused various Shimano groupsets for years, and never had a problem.
My new bike earlier this year, on the other hand, came with a Campag Centaur groupset. I've done around 1,300 miles on it so far, and in that time it's gone through a rash of chucking the chain off the small front ring, taking a big chip out of the frame lacquer in the process, and had a seized left shifter which has somehow got lost between the LBS and the Campag UK distributor, so I'm still waiting for a warranty replacement 5 months later, using a spare shifter the LBS had in the meantime.
Then, this morning, just to really f
k me off a treat, 2 miles into my ride to work, whilst crossing a dual-carriageway at a roundabout, it decided to chuck the chain off the rear cogs where it promptly wrapped itself round the hub and snapped 3 spokes in the process. :headbang:
Has anyone else had this sort of crap from Campag? Is it all really a victory of marketing over engineering? One thing I know for certain is that the very first line item on the specs for the next bike I buy will be "no fking Campag kit". 
My new bike earlier this year, on the other hand, came with a Campag Centaur groupset. I've done around 1,300 miles on it so far, and in that time it's gone through a rash of chucking the chain off the small front ring, taking a big chip out of the frame lacquer in the process, and had a seized left shifter which has somehow got lost between the LBS and the Campag UK distributor, so I'm still waiting for a warranty replacement 5 months later, using a spare shifter the LBS had in the meantime.
Then, this morning, just to really f
k me off a treat, 2 miles into my ride to work, whilst crossing a dual-carriageway at a roundabout, it decided to chuck the chain off the rear cogs where it promptly wrapped itself round the hub and snapped 3 spokes in the process. :headbang:Has anyone else had this sort of crap from Campag? Is it all really a victory of marketing over engineering? One thing I know for certain is that the very first line item on the specs for the next bike I buy will be "no f
king Campag kit". My riding buddy uses Campag Record, it's been flawless. Either your rear mech wasn't adjusted correctly, your hanger isn't aligned properly or maybe some road debris got caught up, I can't see how it could overshift past the limit screws otherwise
Has your bike been dropped onto the drive side recently?
Has your bike been dropped onto the drive side recently?
counterofbeans said:
Why don't you try setting it up properly?
You do know how to set mechs up properly, don't you?
It had all been set up properly. It hasn't been dropped. It has just been ridden. I definitely didn't pick up any road debris into it.You do know how to set mechs up properly, don't you?
I've happily used Shimano mechs for years without adjusting them once they've been set up properly unless they have been dropped or otherwise knocked. Why on earth shouldn't I expect the same of Campag?
To borrow an Apple fanboy line and apply it to Shimano, "it just works". Campag seems to produce over-needy primadonna rubbish in comparison.
Plus if you know how to set up a shifter to stop it from jamming up, please do tell.
One thing my mate (who owns 4 bike shops) told me is; never, ever, ever touch the limit screws. Not even a little bit. (which I used to do and kept dropping chains! 
)
Once they're setup they will never need touching. All changes are then done purely through cable tightness. Of course if you fall over then it can bend the rear mech which changes things, but otherwise chains shouldn't ever have reason to fall off the back (inside or outside) if the limit screws are set right.
)Once they're setup they will never need touching. All changes are then done purely through cable tightness. Of course if you fall over then it can bend the rear mech which changes things, but otherwise chains shouldn't ever have reason to fall off the back (inside or outside) if the limit screws are set right.
To have some balance to it - I've got Campag and (once my mate set it up), haven't touched it in over 2000 miles, bar cleaning it.
Oh tell a lie, he once tightened the cable as it was starting to shift slow ever so sligthly, but that was merely cable stretch he tells me.
I must admit though, I've never used shimano so wouldn't be able to offer a balanced view
Oh tell a lie, he once tightened the cable as it was starting to shift slow ever so sligthly, but that was merely cable stretch he tells me.
I must admit though, I've never used shimano so wouldn't be able to offer a balanced view
TonyHetherington said:
One thing my mate (who owns 4 bike shops) told me is; never, ever, ever touch the limit screws. Not even a little bit. (which I used to do and kept dropping chains! )
Once they're setup they will never need touching. All changes are then done purely through cable tightness. Of course if you fall over then it can bend the rear mech which changes things, but otherwise chains shouldn't ever have reason to fall off the back (inside or outside) if the limit screws are set right.
That has always been my experience with Shimano too. This thing, though, has just been a litany of failure. It hasn't been knocked, has been well looked after, and had me wondering if it doesn't need glue applying to all the screws or something! It's as though everything is loosening off over time. )Once they're setup they will never need touching. All changes are then done purely through cable tightness. Of course if you fall over then it can bend the rear mech which changes things, but otherwise chains shouldn't ever have reason to fall off the back (inside or outside) if the limit screws are set right.
TonyHetherington said:
One thing my mate (who owns 4 bike shops) told me is; never, ever, ever touch the limit screws. Not even a little bit.
You would need to adjust them if you change cassette. They are perfectly safe and easy to adjust, you only need to align them so the jockey wheels fall directly in line with the sprockets on the cassetteKermit power said:
It's as though everything is loosening off over time.
I had to tune the rear barrel adjuster on the RD every couple of days on my old bike until I thread locked it into position. I now just use the adjuster on the shifter every now and then. I go over a nasty bumpy stretch twice a day that rattles everything on the bike and put it down to it getting rattled loose. It may not actually be what was happening but I can see it being a possibility.
Can I take you back to the question asked earlier by Counterofbeans:
As said previously, the mech - front or rear - should never be able to throw the chain beyond the limits of the stop screws.
I've ridden Campag, Shimano, Zeus etc over the last 35 years or so. I've always set them up myself (since I was about 11 years old) and I've never thrown a chain where it wasn't the fault of how the mech was set up. I think the last time I threw a chain like this was when I was about 12 or 13 years old and had tried using an old mech without the springs under the stop screws - this allowed the Low Stop to loosen off a bit and I threw the chain into the spokes. Not sure if modern mechs still use springs in this way though...
If I were you I'd have a word with someone you can trust who really knows what they're doing and learn how to do all this stuff yourself.
counterofbeans said:
You do know how to set mechs up properly, don't you?
You didn't really answer this properly. What you said in reply was that Kermit power said:
It had all been set up properly.
I'm thinking that maybe the LBS set it up for you and that you (quite rightly) believe that this was done correctly. However, from the sound of things, it wasn't.As said previously, the mech - front or rear - should never be able to throw the chain beyond the limits of the stop screws.
I've ridden Campag, Shimano, Zeus etc over the last 35 years or so. I've always set them up myself (since I was about 11 years old) and I've never thrown a chain where it wasn't the fault of how the mech was set up. I think the last time I threw a chain like this was when I was about 12 or 13 years old and had tried using an old mech without the springs under the stop screws - this allowed the Low Stop to loosen off a bit and I threw the chain into the spokes. Not sure if modern mechs still use springs in this way though...
If I were you I'd have a word with someone you can trust who really knows what they're doing and learn how to do all this stuff yourself.
counterofbeans said:
itsnotarace said:
My riding buddy uses Campag Record, it's been flawless.
I have 4 bikes with Campag, one Veloce, one Centaur and two Record - all are flawless because all are set up properly.I also have two Shimano, they're flawless too...
My shimano equipped bike is giving more grief than I ever had with Campag on previous bikes. Noisy chains, jamming chain when shifting between large and middle ring, involving stopping and physically prying it off. No visible damage seen on the rings ( all under 500 miles old). I have just bought a sram chain to swop it, incase the chain is the issue.
I would hazard a guess that when it first chucked the chain, for whatever reason, the chain got twisted and/or a chain ring got warped out of line... if it's any consolation, I had just this issue with a Cube cyclocross bike on Shimano after a very muddy ride where everything got clogged. Went through a couple of mechs, several mech-hangers and a fair few spokes before I sussed the chain had a twist to it 
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