Shimano 105 vs. Shimano RSX vs. Campy Mirage

[M. Kemal Tuncer]

You might also want to check out http://www.campagnolo.com/index20.html,
this is where you can find info on the Mirage group. All right, it's
Campy's info, but it's info just the same! <smile> I can tell you that
you can get itty-bitty parts for the C brake/shifter levers, and you
cannot for the Sh stuff.

Unfortunately, the guide isn't clear on what the diff is between this
Campy group and, say, the ones just above and below, but it seems that the
below info by Joel is correct. I add that the bearing surfaces get better
as one goes up the line, the use of anodising (read painting) disappears
at the Veloce level, full ally levers also at the V level, things get
lighter, blah, blah. Good looking stuff.

Did that clear anything up?

Kemal

Joel Gallun wrote:

> Traditionally, the difference between different Campy grouppos has
> been mostly cosmetic. I'm not familiar with Mirage, but the main
> difference between my Chorus derailleur and my Racing-T (Athena) seems
> to be that the cage (besides being much longer) on the Racing-T isn't
> polished. The only difference between my Record ErgoPower controls and
> my Chorus controls is the Record has a little cut-out in the downshift
> lever.
>
> HTH,
>
> Joel
> --
> Joel Gallun jo...@tux.org
> Open system and Internet consulting Washington, D.C.

[tar...@ara.usno.navy.mil]

Like the wonderful one-hoss shay, everything on my old bike has worn out
at once, so I'm in the market for a new road/touring bike. From looking
around a bit, it seems that in the price range I'm comfortable with--$700
to $1100--the choices for components are Shimano 105 vs. Campangnolo
Mirage at the upper end of the range, and Shimano RSX at the lower end.

Anybody out there have opinions on those gruppos? I'm most interested in
reliability and durability, since I commute about 2000 mi./yr., summer and
winter. I've heard it said that Campy stuff is just getting broken in by
the time Shimano stuff is wearing out, but is that true of the Mirage
gruppo, which is sorta mid-level? Am I going to see significantly longer
wheel and bottom-bracket lifetimes with the better gruppos, or does it
make sense to go with the RSX?

TIA,

Tom Armstrong
tar...@fornax.usno.navy.mil

[Joel Gallun]

[Kevin Rice]

tar...@ara.usno.navy.mil wrote:

Good questions that I doubt anyone can really answer with good hard data...

So I'll just comment on my own experience.

I have a cannondale with rx-100 on it and 105 shifters which I purchased
separately. Rx-100 is very close to 105 if not the same except for finish.

I believe I put about 10000 miles or more over a three year period... Mostly
everything still works but there's noticeable signs of wear, especially with
the
105 shifters. The brakes are fine, never even replaced the pads. The front
& rear derailleurs seem to continue to work pretty much the same as new but
but there is alot of wear. I've gone through several chains and cogsets and
a 2nd wheelset. In fact, the wheelset went long ago ... they simply refused
to
stay true for long so I replaced them (My replacement wheel set from
Colorado
cyclist has been ROCK SOLID btw...)

In my mind, things are wearing out but it's tough to say how long they will
last. The shifters are no doubt on their way out. Next in line will be the
front
and rear derailleurs... The brakes seem solid.

So broadly speaking your 2k per year would roughly translate to approx. 5 yrs

on my bike.... That's not bad!

Kevin Rice