Nothing speaks louder than numbers and cold, hard facts so I’ve decided to go across the board and do a comparison of the top of the line component groups of the three major component companies and look at their road bike line. There are some technologies and aspects of the groups that are shared characteristics and others that are not.
I won’t be putting weights in for two reasons: 1. Weight might not always refer to your specific combination of components; and 2. Campagnolo actually wrote a disclaimer on their website saying that weight can differ due to the immense quantity of grease used on the different components so though they have weights listed, the site already pre-determines that there could be a discrepancy. So in order to be fair, I’ve listed each of the components to compare them side by side, plus their power/wattage capabilities as well as if they have electric versions.
I'm a little crap at putting together a spread sheet but bear with me here.
A couple of things that jump out at me are the wattage-focus that Campy and Sram have put into one of their components (whereas Shimano hasn't visibly done anything to this end) and the four-armed spider crank that all three companies have put into their flagship groups. The mechanic vs electric components are also an interesting comparison.
I'll be uploading other comparatives so hold tight.