| Road tester John Stevens checked in
on December 26 with these last thoughts on the Chorus 10-speed gruppo
after a year of testing:
Hello all, this is the final letter for the Campagnolo Chorus 2000 group. The group now has just over 4000 miles on it. My overall impression is very favorable. If I were to buy another group I would not hesitate on bying any of the 10 speed groups. I will give the negative first then the positives then things I would swap out. Negatives . . . 1. The chain seemed to wear out fairly quickly and the shifting quality suffered from this. And I still do not like that Perma-link, and yes I bought the tool.2. The pedals are still a love/dislike relationship, just keep them lubed and don't use them if you ride a lot in the city. 3. The bottom bracket started creaking a lot so I readjusted it, put Teflon tape on the threads, and retightened crank bolts, chain ring bolts everything. The noise soon returned after a long ride up some good climbs. On inspection I found a crack all the way around the drive side cup. I got a replacement in a very timely manner from Tim Laflin and BRANFORD BIKE. I have had no problems since and have around 2000 mi on the new cup. That's it for the negative, and as far as the chain when I replaced it the shifting returned to normal Campy quality. The new chain seems to be lasting longer but I clean and lube it (Tri-flo) after almost every ride now. Positives . . . 1. The shifting is as precise as the day I pulled the group out of the box. 2. The brakes are smooth and linear, and the brake pads show hardly any wear. 3. I have not had to make hardly any adjustments since installation. 4. The finish may not be as shiny as the old but it has held up well and has not tarnished or faded. 5. On a scale of 1 to 10 I would give the Chorus Group a 8.8 Things I would change are more for my riding style and cool factor. I would go to the 13-29 and swap out the 13 with a 12. Next the Record carbon long cage which is a beautiful work of art would go on. The single pivot rear brake caliper not so much for lightness but it looks cool like the old stuff. That's it, well if Sachs comes out with a 10 speed chain I will be trying it I have one on my 98 Chorus with no problems. I rode in all kinds of conditions from rain, gravel/dirt roads and smooth pavement. I meet a lot of interesting people and many people mentioned how they liked the new Campy parts and were glad that someone could tell them about the parts without being a salesman. I have tried to objective as possible and hope this test helped everyone in deciding which Campy Group to buy. A big THANK YOU to Tim Laflin our Tech Rep, Eric Norris our web master who likes climbing as much as I do, and BRANFORD BIKE for supplying the Groups. --John Stevens
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