When Tony at my local bike shop phoned me to tell me my Campagnolo Record 10 speed group-set had arrived I felt like all my Christmases and birthdays had all arrived at once. When I got to the shop the sight of those black boxes was enough to bring back memories of the excitement of receiving my first bike.
When you appreciate the better things in life; wine, food, cars and beautiful women, there is only one road group-set you can put on your frame, yes it can only be Campagnolo Record with all those carbon and titanium bits.
What have I bought?
I ordered the group-set with alloy cranks, not the carbon option, why?
Well first the price, they are about double the price of alloy, OK so they look nice and they are lighter, but why do some of the pro-riders not use them?
Why does Campagnolo's biggest competitor, Shimano not make them? Is it stiffness or maybe reliability? I don't know, but I didn't want to take any chances, so it was the cheaper option I went for.
The rest of the group-set is a fine mixture of carbon, alloy and titanium with a very small amount of steel.
The derailleurs
What can I say, the rear derailleur is a little gem, you could wear it as a fashion accessory, titanium bolts and a carbon outer cage plate, the parallel arms are alloy, but the outer face looks like carbon and has that magic word "titanium".
I can only say I don't care if it works well, it looks beautiful and weighs nothing.
Read how to adjust a rear derailleur here
The front mechanism is again a mixture of alloy, carbon and titanium, what you can see on the outside is the carbon and that magic word again
Record "titanium".
On the inside there are metal inserts to protect the exclusive carbon outer plate and along with the titanium bolts it could float on air. I ordered the braze-on mechanism even though I will need a clip on for my frame, why?
Well you can buy different clips, so if you change frame you will always have the correct front gear, instead of being stuck with possibly the wrong size or with a braze-on.
Got problems with the front gear?
Read our step by step guide on how to adjust front gears...
Ergopower gear/brake levers
You can never have enough carbon and the levers prove it, the main brake lever is carbon, but the small gear lever behind is resin (plastic) with a carbon insert at the end.
The body is also resin, but don’t worry this is strong stuff, you would have to give it a good hard thump to break them.
The feel of the lever is light and comfortable and fits your hands, when they are on the bars, you don't have to reach to far for the brake/gear lever, all is just right and climbing out the saddle there really is something substantial to hold onto for an attacking grip.
The brake-set
The front brake stirrup has a dual pivot for extra power, the rear is single pivot, as you don't need the same subtly with the rear brake, this gives a feeling of symmetry to your braking performance.
There are some very nice touches on the brakes, as well as the cable adjusters there are spring tension adjusters to tune in the feel of your braking and the angle of the brake pads can be adjusted for better more even braking.
More alloy and titanium bolts keep the weight down, no carbon, but in the brake department you want strength and there is plenty here.
Chain and cassette
There are two Record 10 speed chain options, there is the standard chain or the super light, personally I opted for the standard chain as price was a consideration, also light chains normally wear out quicker and stretch sooner.
If you have ever snapped a chain you'll never want to do it again, specially if you were climbing a steep hill at the time.
My choice for the cassette is a 12 to 25 tooth, it is hilly in my area and the 25 is a must. The sprockets are a mixture of alloy and titanium, strength; durability and lightness are very important here, but you don't want to wear them out too quickly.
The alloy chainset and bottom bracket
The bottom bracket is not too light, but this is a place where you want strength, steel spindle with alloy cups and a carbon protection sleeve, sealed roller bearings make for a smooth running system.
The chainset as I've said is alloy, smooth sleek lines and very shiny, I've gone for the 170mm cranks with a 39/52 tooth chainring combination.
The 39 is a must round here and I'm not getting any younger so its goodbye to the 53 tooth I always used to use, 52 by 12 should be big enough and 39 by 25.
How to replace a bicycle cassette? Read it here.
I hope will be small enough if I can keep a bit of fitness!
The group-set from heaven
I've been riding Campagnolo Chorus for the last few years, before that I had Record, but in those days it was heavy, not much titanium and no carbon, so now I'm looking forward to build up this group-set.
The frame I will be using is a Time Edge Translink carbon along with a set of Campagnolo Electron wheels and I can't wait to get it on the road and to tell you how it all works together.
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