# New Centaur vs. Used Record?



## 12snap (Apr 2, 2007)

I'm planning a new build for the spring and want to use a Campy groupset. Cost is a concern so I will be slowly acquiring the parts over the winter. Since the shifters are the most important part, I'm willing to spend a little more if it will get me a noticeable performance gain. I can find 10sp Centaur for $150 brand new with cables. Browsing on Ebay, I see that used 10sp Record shifters can be had for approximately $250 with new cables. Record will be lighter but is the shifting that much better? Any other advantage to getting the Record?

I don't race and never will. The bike will be used for after work and weekend rides with friends. Which would you do? Spend the money to the get the higher end shifters or use the money for upgrades on other components?


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## PlatyPius (Feb 1, 2009)

Get the Record. Get Chorus, at least. Everything new below Chorus has crappy-ass 'one-shift-only' thumb levers. The better shifters let you dump the cassette (big cog to small cog). The Ergolevers are the most important part of any Campy group.

Although....
the ergonomics on the newer shifters are much, much better than the old (10 speed) ones.


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## bikerjulio (Jan 19, 2010)

See my 11 speed upgrade thread. http://forums.roadbikereview.com/campagnolo/my-11-speed-upgrade-first-impressions-294771.html IMO If you are thinking long term then it makes sense to go 11 spd.

Chorus shifters with a full cableset were $240 @ Ribble.

Campagnolo Ultrashift Ergopowers Chorus 11Spd with cables, GEARSHIFT STI / ERGO

You'd need to do the same as me with 11 spd RD, Cassette and chain (I can recommend KMC)

If you want to go budget then I just priced out: Chorus shifters, Athena RD, Chorus Cassette, KMC X11L chain, all for $487 with shipping included.

Other than those parts you can assemble the rest of the group from pretty much any Campy 10-speed component group.


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## LookDave (Sep 29, 2007)

PlatyPius said:


> Get the Record. Get Chorus, at least. Everything new below Chorus has crappy-ass 'one-shift-only' thumb levers. The better shifters let you dump the cassette (big cog to small cog). The Ergolevers are the most important part of any Campy group.
> 
> Although....
> the ergonomics on the newer shifters are much, much better than the old (10 speed) ones.


This was the decision I recently faced, and I wound up choosing the Centaur. So much prefer the ergonomics of the newer shifters that I was willing to sacrifice the multicog dump Platy highlights. I like the new Campy shifter ergonomics much more than anything else I've ridden, including older Chorus 10, Shimano, and SRAM. At least for now, I've put an Ambrosio conversion cassette on wheels with Shimano hubs. Studied up before deciding, and haven't read the greatest things about 11 cog conversion cassettes, so going 11 rather than 10 wasn't in my budget and immediate decision process. If using Campy hub wheels, would have done what Bikerjulio did with his new build.

Note that I was coming from Ultegra 6700, so was used to one cog at a time. Had I been coming from older Campy with the multishift thumb levers, well, decision would have been tougher, but I still think that for me ergonomics would have taken precedence over multicog shifting. Purely personal preference.


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## CheapSkate (Feb 26, 2012)

Like others on here I'd say the multiple shifting on the thumb lever is worth something, particularly for leisure riding. you can dump multiple gears eg when leaving an intersection, or a hump bridge, or cresting a hill. Nice, and a talking point with your friends (if that matters?!)

Best of both worlds? I love the new ergonomics, the multiple shifting, but I am a CheapSkate. Until 2010 Campy made Veloce and Centaur levers with the new shape and multiple shifting. You can still get them NOS, for example here. These are Veloce, but I'm sure Velomine or similar will do you Centaur for a bit more money. You need to be sure they are the multiple shifting on the thumb lever (detent disk) version

Many on here will say the old shape Record 10 shifters with g-springs will have a better shift feel than the "new shape" detent disk ergos. The g-spring mechanism gave a much stronger mechanical clack-clack-clack then even the latest detent disk version. Feels like a rifle bolt, or the gearshift on a vintage car, or something. But the downside of those Record shifters will be that their ergonomics are not so nice (IMHO) and they might well need servicing (new g-springs, maybe more) which is not particularly expensive, you can even do it yourself if you are mechanically skilled. NB I don't think this affects the actual shift performance, just how it feels at the levers - CLACK CLACK for the g-springs vs tick tick for the new levers

If you choose my 2010 Veloce shifters I think for optimum performance you need to use the older style (2010) 10s rear der, but opinions seem to vary on this. Something about the spring inside the der being stronger to overcome greater friction in the Ultra Shift detent disks. But that's OK, you can still get them, cheaper than the newer style, the 2010 Centaur one also has a carbon cage for a bit of bling.

The Centaur and Veloce brakes IIRC are identical, just the Veloce are silver and a bit cheaper. IMHO they are excellent brakes, good stopping wet or dry.

Then choose whatever crank you fancy, I still use square taper Centaur cartridges, plus arms and rings I get NOS from ebay. I played with Power Torque but didn't like it. Many on here will say get the 10s Ultra Torque crank, again Campy made these up to 2010, you can still find them NOS, I would guess <£100 UK for a crank plus cups.

Then get Veloce cassette and chain, I can't see any advantage to the higher end components. Or even get a KMC chain, save a few £ & it's easier to install (though I found shifting not so good with KMC, but YMMV)

I can build a whole Veloce/Centaur 10s multiple-shifting gruppo this way for a bit under £400 UK. Light, smooth, ultra-reliable, cheap to maintain. Like you I never race, and it suits me just fine.


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## DrSmile (Jul 22, 2006)

I have the older Centaur shifters that are single gear thumb shift, and the one year of new style Centaur shifters that allowed multiple gear up and down shifts. I ride them both and although it is true that I have to click a few more times with the single click style (cresting a hill), it really makes no practical difference. I realize that from a service point of view the multi-shift levers may be better, but I've had no issues with that either for a decade now so I'd say it also has made no practical difference.

The biggest drawback to Centaur is the stamped chainrings which do not shift to the big ring as well as the machined ones.


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## 12snap (Apr 2, 2007)

It sounds like the new style ergonomics are a big improvement and something I would probably want. I'm coming from Shimano so shifting one cog at a time isn't a big deal to me. I'm not in a rush so I can wait for the best deal to come around. Thanks for the input everybody!


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## bikerjulio (Jan 19, 2010)

12snap said:


> It sounds like the new style ergonomics are a big improvement and something I would probably want. I'm coming from Shimano so shifting one cog at a time isn't a big deal to me. I'm not in a rush so I can wait for the best deal to come around. Thanks for the input everybody!


Just so you know, there's no way you will browse eBay and get anything better than the deal I pointed you at. I've been doing this for many years now. The important bits I mentioned should be new. So, if you not as concerned about multiple shifts, get Athena.

Athena shifters, RD, Chorus cassette, KMC chain, full cableset $407 including shipping.

Sadly, eBay has become mostly a waste of time for newer stuff.


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