Campy Centaur



Eric22

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Jul 29, 2004
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I got a question about Campy Centaur. I'm not very familiar with Campy components, only Shimano so I was wondering where the Centaur set stands between Shimano component sets. I'm guessing it is like the equivelant of Ultegra but I know you really can't compare them.
 
For Shimano it goes 105, Ultegra and Dura Ace.

For Campy it goes Centaur, Chorus and Record.

There is a prevailing opinion that anything Campy is better than anything Shimano. From my understanding, you can replace/upgrade any "low-end" Campy component with any higher end component. That is, you can slap a Record deraileur into a Centaur group no problem. I don't know that you can do the same with Shimano. But then again, I'm no mechanic.

Personally, I ride 9 speed Dura Ace. It's awesome and smooth and sure. I've ridden the 10 Dura Ace but the damn hoods are longer and I don't care for the feel. I really like the Campy but the shifting is far different from Dura Ace. Thumbs and clicking and feel are all different. Not better or worse, just very different.

Ride what you like, but above all, just ride baby.
 
Eric22 said:
I got a question about Campy Centaur. I'm not very familiar with Campy components, only Shimano so I was wondering where the Centaur set stands between Shimano component sets. I'm guessing it is like the equivelant of Ultegra but I know you really can't compare them.
Hi,

I think the general consensus is that Centaur is (as you say) basically equivalent to Ultegra. That said, the newer 10-speed Ultegra has taken on a lot of the better aspects of Dura Ace, which makes it a strong performer. I ride a mixture of Daytona and Centaur (Daytona is the old name for Centaur before Campagnolo had to change it due to a trademark dispute) and I really can't fault it's performance at all. If I won the lottery I would buy Chorus or Record, but that wouldn't make me any faster ;)

Cheers,
J.
 
Other than weight...is there any real difference between Veloce and Centuar? I'm building up a rain bike with Veloce I think... maybe centuar hubs. Have record on the nice bike...and its rediculously sweet.
 
Jakey said:
Other than weight...is there any real difference between Veloce and Centuar? I'm building up a rain bike with Veloce I think... maybe centuar hubs. Have record on the nice bike...and its rediculously sweet.
Hi,

I think the short answer is no, there is no significant difference between Veloce and Centaur. Campy's marketing peeps would hate this to be widely realized, but there it is. Apart from the bottom bracket (the new 2005 Centaur BB is an improvement) the rest of the components are essentially identical. The weight difference between Veloce and Centaur (based on FD, RD, Crankset, BB, Ergo levers and brake calipers) is well under 100 grams, if you believe the weights published on the Campy website. That's just too close.

I have Daytona and Centaur on one bike and will buy Veloce for a second bike I'm building up. I can't justify the price difference between veloce and Centaur (except for the bling factor, and I don't care about that).

Cheers,
J.
 
JackTheLadd said:
Hi,

I think the short answer is no, there is no significant difference between Veloce and Centaur. Campy's marketing peeps would hate this to be widely realized, but there it is. Apart from the bottom bracket (the new 2005 Centaur BB is an improvement) the rest of the components are essentially identical.
There is a big improvement in the hub bearings going up from Veloce to Centaur. The rest is just a little bit of weight savings and that sexy gray finish.
 
The lowest model of Campy stuff is way better than any Shimano High end stuff. IMO Shimano sucks. I ride Campy Centaur on one bike and Chorus on the other. After using both brands (Campy vs. Shimano), I'll never ride Shimano again.
 
snyper0311 said:
The lowest model of Campy stuff is way better than any Shimano High end stuff. IMO Shimano sucks. I ride Campy Centaur on one bike and Chorus on the other. After using both brands (Campy vs. Shimano), I'll never ride Shimano again.
Agreed... well I wouldnt say sucks. I have 10spd Dura-Ace. The best way I can put it is... Shimano breaks-down, and Campy breaks-in. I can't wait for my Shimano to **** out so I have a good reason to buy Campy.
 
snyper0311 said:
The lowest model of Campy stuff is way better than any Shimano High end stuff. IMO Shimano sucks. I ride Campy Centaur on one bike and Chorus on the other. After using both brands (Campy vs. Shimano), I'll never ride Shimano again.

I have a bike with Record 10 and one with Ultegra 9. I know that's not an "apples-to-apples" comparison, but I really enjoy the Campy much more. I like the shape of the hoods more, the trim stops on the front derailleur (although it takes a longer throw to change chain rings on the campy) and the multiple shift capabilities of the rear thumb shifter. I also think the braking is better. I just need to touch the campy levers and the brakes engage, where the Shimano requires more of a squeeze. I would like to see Campy come out with a BB/crank design that uses the outboard bearings like Shimano. If there is an achillies heel in the design, it would be that the square taper bb is old school, and mine seems to require frequent tightenings..
 
artmichalek said:
There is a big improvement in the hub bearings going up from Veloce to Centaur. The rest is just a little bit of weight savings and that sexy gray finish.
Oops, good catch. Forgot about the hubs! Apart from the hubs and BB, though, I think Centaur and Veloce are essentially a match (especially for us "gentlemen/women cyclists").

Cheers,
J.
 
joloughl said:
Oops, good catch. Forgot about the hubs! Apart from the hubs and BB, though, I think Centaur and Veloce are essentially a match (especially for us "gentlemen/women cyclists").

Cheers,
J.
You're right. The total weight savings is about 300g for the group. 200g of which is in the hubs. I'm not sure exactly how much a plate of nachos weighs, but it's more than that.
 
I purchased a Scott CR1 with centaur components. What I was told at the bike shop and makes sense to me is that going by metals used in both campy and shimano. Record is the best with all the carbon used, chorus and dura ace are equal using titanium, and centaur and ultegra are equal using aluminum. However the edge goes to shimano with the stronger bottom braket design, that is and probably is the only place shimano has campy beat, the rest is up to the purchaser, what he/she feels is the best. I chose campy because shimano hoods were not comfortable for me, I couldn't get used to the feel, ergo shifters felt better. The centaur bike was also $500 cheaper than the ultegra bike, I couldn't see shimano's bottom braket making that much of a difference. My bike is a 10 speed, for whatever reason shimano's 10 speed is really expensive, that was the reason for the price jump on the shimano equiped bike.
 
OTG42 said:
I purchased a Scott CR1 with centaur components. What I was told at the bike shop and makes sense to me is that going by metals used in both campy and shimano. Record is the best with all the carbon used, chorus and dura ace are equal using titanium, and centaur and ultegra are equal using aluminum. However the edge goes to shimano with the stronger bottom braket design, that is and probably is the only place shimano has campy beat, the rest is up to the purchaser, what he/she feels is the best. I chose campy because shimano hoods were not comfortable for me, I couldn't get used to the feel, ergo shifters felt better. The centaur bike was also $500 cheaper than the ultegra bike, I couldn't see shimano's bottom braket making that much of a difference. My bike is a 10 speed, for whatever reason shimano's 10 speed is really expensive, that was the reason for the price jump on the shimano equiped bike.
I got the same bike with a double crank. Recently added the new 2006 Centaur Alloy Compact Crank (only $159) because I live in the mountains and I needed a few more climbing gears. What a SWEET bike. The Centaur gear is smooth and quiet. Its such a sweet ride, it must makes me wanna ride more.
 

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