Condor bikes, and Shimano vs Campagnolo

[Will]

I'm thinking of getting a Condor bike, and would be interested to hear opinions on their bikes & service. I'm also unsure as to compatibility between Shimano, and Campagnolo - and am guessing that there is none - and would appreciate your comments.

So, here's the story to continue from [url=http://addiscombe.org/members/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1727]my sizing thread[/url] the other day...

Having been measured up by Sigma, and fairly confident about my frame size, I took a trip to Evans (because they have lots of reduced bikes) to look for a new commuting road bike.

Among the options I considered were:
[url=http://www.evanscycles.com/product.jsp?style=5235]Trek 1400[/url] (£800, reduced from £1000)
[url=http://www.evanscycles.com/product.jsp?style=5237]Trek 1500[/url] (£950, reduced from £1200)

I tried out a 1500, and altough it looked great, and was well-specced, it didn't really feel that comfortable. I know I should have tried out some different brands, but the shop was really busy, and they didn't have any other bikes I liked in my size. Also, I don't really want to buy a bike from Evans as I think they are a crap chain, and are slowly destroying the London bike shop market by aggressively expanding their empire, and deliberately opening their new stores near to rival shops so as to try to poach customers.

Anyway, ranting aside. When I went to Condor, I was impressed by the bikes in their showroom. I don't want anything too flash, and the [url=http://www.condorcycles.com/showBike.php?id=15]Italia[/url] looked like it would fit my requirements. As well as liking the look of the bike, I was also attracted by the fact that I would get it built from scratch with custom-fitted stem, bars, etc. (I now know from having been measured that I have long ape-like arms. I should of course have noticed by the grazes on my knuckles, but there you go!)

Assuming I go ahead and buy one, I need to decide what groupset to get. The bike comes with a choice of either Campag (Xenon, Mirage, Veloce, Centaur) or Shimano (Tiagra, 105). I have a few 9-speed mountain bikes with Shimano equipment. I would like to be able to keep maintenance across my fleet as simple as possible, using all 9-speed, and as small a set of tools as possible, etc.

So, can anyone help with my questions:
Can Shimano 9-speed chains be used on Campag equipment?
Can Shimano tools be used to take off Campag cassettes and cranks, or would I need new tools?
As I am a newcomer to the world of Campag, at what point do groupsets start becoming decent (e.g. equivalent to 105)?
Is it still the case that campag is not thought to shift as smoothly as Shimano (probably an old-wives tale!)?
Does anyone have any experience of Condor bikes?
Any comments on Condor's service?

[Will]

Oh, and by the way, I'm going to give Dauphin Cycles a call, although I suspect that a complete bike from them might just be out of my price range.

[Ian A4size]

In my experience you will need different tools to take off cassettes ,all shimano 9speed stuff is compatible XT/ XTR/ Dura/ Ult. which is really handy for swapping cassettes around.On the subject of shifting there is not a lot in it- i have both and i must admit i do prefer the campag due to the fact that when you suddenly grab a handle of the brake the lever does not move unlike the sti units.
I would say that centaur is closest to 105 but all campag gruppos are more expensive than their shimano counterparts- i have no real experience of the performance of those grupos as i use XT/ Ult/ Chorus.BTW shimano sti's are easier to change up a gear when on the drops coz the lever is inside the brake lever.

[richv]

(1) I think you can get away with a shimano 9-speed on a campag 9-speed set up (sram 9-speed also work fine and are reasonably priced). It will not work properly on a campag 10-speed set up and there's the rub. Campag 10-speed chains are outrageously expensive and I am not aware of any alternative?
(2) You need a new cassette remover for campag cassettes.
(3) Centaur is on a par (if not slightly better than) 105. If you can afford it I would recommend centaur or chorus although I've got mirage/veloce on one of my bikes and it still works fine after 3 or 4 years with little maintenance or care.
(4) The campag shift is more 'solid' to some that's clunky others would say positive. I have no complaints about it at all and it has the advantage of being able to click up or down 2 or 3 gears at a time if you want.
(5) I have two Condor bikes. In general I think Condor are slightly expensive (they sell to city brokers and lawyers) and whilst I'm generally happy with the bikes they both have minor niggles.
(6) The service is fine. They usually know what they're talking about and as long as you avoid lunchtimes they're pretty helpful.

[Rob]

a campag hub body is a totally different design to shimano, so if you have it set up for campag, youll never use a shimano cassette unless you change the body(£50)
as for the rest, itll all be different(i think), choose one range and stick to it.

shimano is cheaper
shimano 10 speed cranks look better
and finally, the levers are far more comfy as theyre bigger!

try both and decide what you like based on whats more comfortable up top

[Marek]

My opinion for what its worth. I use Campag on my bikes but have used Shimano in the past. I would say that they both do their jobs and both have their ads/disads which you live with.

If you already have Shimano equip on your other bikes then I would say that the benefits of having all your bikes with the same equipment will outwhey the benefits of having Campag over Shimano.

Go for the cheapy Japanese stuff and leave the Quality Italian stuff alone for now. (just to wind up Rob).

Cheers

Marek....

[Ian A4size]

I have to say that the dura ace crank is about the ugliest thing i have ever seen on a bike- plus bigger levers are not great when you have small hands----- quick run incoming-----

[Rob]

[Brett P]

From a racing point of view, campag is far better than shimano. I find on tight circuits like Crystal Palace, braking heavily while cornering on Campag is a lot more stable than the loose feeling shimano lever, especially when on the drops

Also the carbon lever looks much sexier than that plastic shimano stuff AND it's the 21st century........ visible cables, come on now!!!!!!!

Rob I know your views on this so leave it out........

[the muur]

Go Condors, go with Chorous, speak to Grant or Colin, tell them what you want and how mych you have and they won't let you walk out without a decent deal! I was looking for a frame about a year ago to take to Spain and leave there (as a bike, of dourse), enquired in Evans about the size of a Bianchi frame and the lazy bastard wouldn't even get a tape measure out, even though he couldn't tell me the frame size!

So I ended up with in Condors (again!) and got a really nice semi-sloping Columbus Altec2+ frame in silver and black witha Mizuno full carbon 1 1/8th fork, Centaur B/B and black Stronglight integrated headset headset for £360. Don't take as 'written in stone' the prices grant advertises, he learnt a lot from his old man, Monty!