# Anybody ride Athena yet



## Thad Matthews (Aug 3, 2007)

Athena is availble in the UK, not sure about America, but has any riden it yet? is the performance as good as Chorus, Record, or SR?


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## SystemShock (Jun 14, 2008)

Wow... _nobody_? Not a one? 
.


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## Sojourneyman (Jun 22, 2007)

What even is Athena???

It sounds like it'd be a groupset for women, but that doesn't make any sense...


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## SystemShock (Jun 14, 2008)

Sojourneyman said:


> What even is Athena???
> 
> It sounds like it'd be a groupset for women, but that doesn't make any sense...


 Wow, you're really not up on your Campy groups, are ya?

Google it. Athena was a road group for Campy in the '90s. Now they're bringing it back as an affordable 11-speed option.
.


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## smokva (Jul 21, 2004)

I don't understand why would Campagnolo, Italian based company, name a groupset after greek goddess


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## hobgoblin (Jun 26, 2009)

smokva said:


> I don't understand why would Campagnolo, Italian based company, name a groupset after greek goddess


Because Minerva doesn't sound as cool?


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## Doctor Who (Feb 22, 2005)

Why would Campy name a group after a mythical half man/half horse? Why would Campy name a group after a part of a song? Why would Campy name a group after a town in Florida? Why would Campy name a group after something you see in the desert?

Naming a group after a Greek goddess makes a little more sense, yeah?


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## tom_h (May 6, 2008)

Doctor Who said:


> Why would Campy name a group after a mythical half man/half horse? Why would Campy name a group after a part of a song? Why would Campy name a group after a town in Florida? Why would Campy name a group after something you see in the desert? Naming a group after a Greek goddess makes a little more sense, yeah?


Centaur
Chorus
Mirage

But you've got me on "town in Florida" ... what is that?


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## SystemShock (Jun 14, 2008)

tom_h said:


> Centaur
> Chorus
> Mirage
> 
> But you've got me on "town in Florida" ... what is that?


Daytona.
.


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## metaphor11 (Aug 15, 2008)

Just a bump to see if anyone has any real world experience with the new Athena group yet. Am interested to know if it's as good as Chorus - just heavier.


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## charlieboy (Sep 10, 2003)

*athena user on the way*

I have athena front and rear derailleurs on a 10 speed setup - works great. spring in rd is way stronger than previous centaur rd, front rd shifts very quick even with old chorus 10sp ergos

in process of downgrading athena 11sp shifters to 10sp and will let you know how they work out.

too much invested in 10 sp on this and other bikes to make the complete 11 leap just yet.

finish is OK/good, carbon layer on brake levers is really just a glued on, thin sheet of cf cloth - not sure how long that will last! alloy finish elsewhere is good but of course nothing like the real polished alloy from the good old (pre-anodised!) days


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## ClassicSteel71 (Mar 5, 2009)

charlieboy said:


> *I have athena front and rear derailleurs on a 10 speed setup - works great. spring in rd is way stronger than previous centaur rd, front rd shifts very quick even with old chorus 10sp ergos
> 
> in process of downgrading athena 11sp shifters to 10sp and will let you know how they work out.
> *
> ...


First you say it works great with 10 speed shifters then in the next paragraph it says "in the process" and will let us know how it works out?? Which is it? I would pick up those Derailleurs if they worked w/ 10 speed for a new steel build.


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## charlieboy (Sep 10, 2003)

ClassicSteel71 said:


> First you say it works great with 10 speed shifters then in the next paragraph it says "in the process" and will let us know how it works out?? Which is it? I would pick up those Derailleurs if they worked w/ 10 speed for a new steel build.


try reading what i wrote! I said the Athena derailleurs work great with my old 10 speed chorus ergos and I'll let you know how it goes with the athena shifters (set up for 10sp) when I get to it (waiting for parts from uk campy support)


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## ClassicSteel71 (Mar 5, 2009)

charlieboy said:


> try reading what i wrote! I said the Athena derailleurs work great with my old 10 speed chorus ergos and I'll let you know how it goes with the athena shifters (set up for 10sp) when I get to it (waiting for parts from uk campy support)


Thats not how it reads. Even if I read it 5 times.


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## natedg200202 (Sep 2, 2008)

It's disapointing that for Athena shifters, they chose to tack on a layer of carbon cloth for no reason whatsoever. They could achieve the same thing (possibly lighter) with only aluminum. Just seems like foolish engineering. I guess it's a marketing ploy to differentiate between the groups.


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## ClassicSteel71 (Mar 5, 2009)

natedg200202 said:


> It's disapointing that for Athena shifters, they chose to tack on a layer of carbon cloth for no reason whatsoever. They could achieve the same thing (possibly lighter) with only aluminum. Just seems like foolish engineering. I guess it's a marketing ploy to differentiate between the groups.


I wonder what it would take to retrofit the new centaurs to 11 speed.


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## jpdigital (Dec 1, 2006)

charlieboy said:


> in process of downgrading athena 11sp shifters to 10sp and will let you know how they work out.
> 
> too much invested in 10 sp on this and other bikes to make the complete 11 leap just yet.
> 
> finish is OK/good, carbon layer on brake levers is really just a glued on, thin sheet of cf cloth - not sure how long that will last! alloy finish elsewhere is good but of course nothing like the real polished alloy from the good old (pre-anodised!) days


Why not just get the 09 Centaur shifters in alloy?


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## C-40 (Feb 4, 2004)

*info...*



ClassicSteel71 said:


> I wonder what it would take to retrofit the new centaurs to 11 speed.


I posted that info a long time ago. Here it is again:

There are two parts required to convert a 10 speed lever to 11 speed, the index disc EC-SR013 and the front ratchet, EC-SR062. See page 40 of the PDF.

http://www.campagnolo.com/repository...s09-A-3009.pdf


http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=153213


As for the RD, I also put an 11 speed RD on a 10 speed drivetrain a long time ago. It does have a slightly larger actuation ratio, but the small amount of over travel does not seem noticeable. The opposite setup requires a bit of RD modification:


http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=160601


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## jhamlin38 (Oct 29, 2005)

i upgraded my old victory bike to an athena group back in the 90's on my SL framed Moser. It's nice to see it coming back. I hope it works well and can be a base spec for many of the main brands' lines.


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## waterford853 (Oct 12, 2008)

*Reports from interbike on Athena*

No performance difference between Athena, Chorus, Record or Super Record - only materials and price.


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## wankski (Jul 24, 2005)

This review agrees - in part:

http://glorycycles.blogspot.com/2009/09/campagnolo-athena-11-review.html

Interesting. I got chorus 11 on the way, but with only athena 11 FD. Reviews says its the same as chorus, but the "less" stiff FD is apparently not as good as the "stiffer" chorus...

now... umm.. I specifically got the athena FD cos it is steel cage which i thought is more durable and stiffer than a lighter alloy cage of the chorus...

hopefully the reviewer is smoking the crack pipe. Sure alloy can be made stiff, but i don't see how when its much lighter as well. We'll see when it gets here and i'm ridin' 11. Had no problem with centaur 10sp FDs...


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## ericjacobsen3 (Apr 27, 2007)

Fair question Wankski, but there is a logical answer. Many fders are flat plates on the side of the cage. Make a plate in bending 2x thicker and it gets 8x stiffer in bending. Steel is 3x heavier than aluminum and 3x stiffer.

So, double the steel plate thickness and make aluminum: 8 x 1/3= 2.33x stiffer and 2/3 the weight!


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## wankski (Jul 24, 2005)

yep - i get that, but from what i recall in the last versions they were'nt thicker and apparently the new 11sp derailleurs are all the same m-shape or whatever they're calling it!, i guess i'll know when i get it in my hands to look at...


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## ctam (Apr 21, 2003)

If you're using 11sp derailleurs with a 10sp cassette/shifters/cranks should you use an 11sp or 10sp chain?


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## smokva (Jul 21, 2004)

Yesterday I have just finished building Athena equipped bike for a friend. I haven't tried it on the road yet but on the stand more or less it shifts similar to my Record/SR 11 sp setup but looks way cheaper.

Athena caliper brakes have no ball bearings and that cable adjustment screw is so badly shaped that it is very hard to turn it. My









Aluminum cranks look great, but chainrings look cheap with visible scratches from forging...not polished enoug
Crank bearings have plastic seals on inner side (facing BB). I haven't seen bearings on sub-Record cranks, but I guess the same bearings are on Chorus, Centaur and Veloce UT cranks.

Athena Ergo actually felt better than my Record...right hand finger shift lever is harder and has more distinctive clicks. Fake carbon brake levers look good, but I would prefer polished silver aluminum to complete all silver group.

With derailleurs I didn't notice anything different to my SR front and Record rear but looks.


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## Tinea Pedis (Aug 14, 2009)

Any reports in??


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## smokva (Jul 21, 2004)

I'll quote myself from other thread:



> I ride Record/SR mix for some 6000 km now and have recently set up and ridden Athena bike. Must be honest and say that in a blind test I wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
> While mounting, the only part I was little disappointed about were Athena skeleton brakes, everything else is functional just as is with more expensive groups. Athena skeletons have that annoying adjusting screw that is hard to work with, which is not a big deal but once you know how it works on Record and SR you must have it like that. They also don't have bearings, but I haven't felt any difference there. As I see Chorus Skeletons are identical to Athena, so you gain nothing if you change only that pat with Chorus and you would have to get at least Record but they are black which wouldn't go with the rest.
> So, If you prefer silver alloy parts my recommendation would be to get Athena. Bad thing is that it really does look cheaper than Record and Super Record, but good thing is that it really is cheaper than Record and SR.


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## Tinea Pedis (Aug 14, 2009)

Ta for that.

And the bad point is not quie 'bad' is it? As you can't really expect the finish of Record when it retails for around half the price.


Sounds like it'll be perfect for my steel Merckx. Now...just time to find somewhere good online that sells it at a decent rate....


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## wankski (Jul 24, 2005)

wish list for 2010: athena 11 cassette and tumb end shifters - currently no 11sp thumbies on the market? WTF? i got to change cassettes if i want to swap b/w TT wheels and road wheels?

might as well go shimano *gasp*...


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