# Campy Centaur vs Centaur CT?



## Camilo (Jun 23, 2007)

I'm looking to get a compact crankset (50/34 type) for an 8 speed, downtube shifter Campy drivetrain I am putting together on a vintage frame. It has to be alloy, preferably shiny silver. I really don't care if they're square taper BB or ultra torque.

I've been looking at used and NOS Centaur 50/34 type cranksets and I've seen two versions - one labeled Centaur CT and the other just Centaur. I see them both in ultra-torque BB. 

What does "CT" mean? Is it intended to be a cyclo cross group? Does it mean compact?

I've looked around a little and can't tell if there's any functional difference - quality, weight, etc. Is it just marketing?

I can't even tell when the last time Centaur was marketed. Now they go Chorus - Athena - Veloce. It kind of seems that Centaur is "better" than Veloce of the same era, maybe = Athena?

Any words of wisdom and/or historic context?

Thanks for any help you can give. Mainly I'm curious, but also trying to figure relative values when I look at this stuff.


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## bikerjulio (Jan 19, 2010)

Campy only just dropped the Centaur name for 2015.

CT is Campy's term for compact.

In shiny silver you have the choice of square taper, UT or PT.

Nice thing about the sq taper Centaur CT was that is was about the only time Campy used a standard 110 BCD ring.

Uses a 111 mm BB which are still available.

Nice thing about Centaur UT is that it's UT.

In terms of value, Centaur was the best from 2000 until 2007 - identical to Record.


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## Camilo (Jun 23, 2007)

Thanks bikerjulio - just what I needed.


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## headloss (Mar 3, 2013)

early Centaur CT UT was the universal 110BCD.. I measured mine recently.


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## bikerjulio (Jan 19, 2010)

I said that.......


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## headloss (Mar 3, 2013)

bikerjulio said:


> I said that.......


No, you didn't. LOL



bikerjulio said:


> Nice thing about the sq taper Centaur CT was that is was about the only time Campy used a standard 110 BCD ring.


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## bikerjulio (Jan 19, 2010)

Veloce silver CT sq taper crank on the 'Bay right now. Cheep. Rings don't look too bad, but as we say, you can always change them out easily.


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## Camilo (Jun 23, 2007)

I got a nice used Centaur UT crank for a nice price. There is a little rubbing of the printing on the arms, but it looks fine for a non-pristine build. The rings look brand spanking new, not only very clean, but virtually no sign of wear. So I'm happy (except see below)



bikerjulio said:


> ....[a bunch of good info on Centaur cranks]
> 
> In terms of value, Centaur was the best from 2000 until 2007 - identical to Record.


How to date the crank? I was told it's 10 speed, and it's Ultra Torque, but other than that I don't know.



headloss said:


> early Centaur CT UT was the universal 110BCD.. I measured mine recently.


When you measure the BDC of a Campy spider compared to a "universal" spider, what will the difference be? Will the Campy be grossly different than 110mm, or will it be close. I have both in the garage right now, but haven't measured them. Just a matter of curiousity mostly because the condition of these rings indicate I won't be in the market for new rings for many, many years (this is one of three bikes I ride regularly, and only a couple thousand miles per year total)

The minor source of unhappiness. The seller touted "smooth bearings". The NDS bearing was obviously gritty - actually felt like grains of sand in there, intermittent grittiness. The DS was smooth as silk.

I was frustrated because it wasn't smooth and I had no experience with Campy and didn't understand how to replace the bearings (since then figured it out and bought a cheap gear puller that will work). I also couldn't find any bearings locally, so that was going to delay the build for a week.

Aaaany way. Wanting to get it installed this weekend, without removing the bearing (didn't know how at that point), I managed to flush the bejeebers out of it, dried it and got grease into it. It feels very good now like a freshly greased bearing - a little tighter than the other side, but smooth and no sign of grit. In the mean time, I've ordered a set of new bearings (courtesy of the seller - good guy) and will install them at the first sign of returning bearing problems.

I'm experienced with almost every BB: old school loose ball BB's, cartridge square taper and octalink bearings, and Sram and Shimano external cups w/ bearings integrated into the cups. So the fact that I had to figure out the UT system and the need to pull the bearing threw me for a loop for about 24 hours, now I'm liking the design since I know how to deal with it. The crank installation will certainly be very simple since I already had the tools for connecting the two spindle parts.


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## ultimobici (Jul 16, 2005)

Camilo said:


> When you measure the BDC of a Campy spider compared to a "universal" spider, what will the difference be? Will the Campy be grossly different than 110mm, or will it be close. I have both in the garage right now, but haven't measured them. Just a matter of curiousity mostly because the condition of these rings indicate I won't be in the market for new rings for many, many years (this is one of three bikes I ride regularly, and only a couple thousand miles per year total)


They're 110mm for the 4 visible bolts and 113mm for the hidden one into the crank.



> Aaaany way. Wanting to get it installed this weekend, without removing the bearing (didn't know how at that point), I managed to flush the bejeebers out of it, dried it and got grease into it. It feels very good now like a freshly greased bearing - a little tighter than the other side, but smooth and no sign of grit. In the mean time, I've ordered a set of new bearings (courtesy of the seller - good guy) and will install them at the first sign of returning bearing problems.
> 
> I'm experienced with almost every BB: old school loose ball BB's, cartridge square taper and octalink bearings, and Sram and Shimano external cups w/ bearings integrated into the cups. So the fact that I had to figure out the UT system and the need to pull the bearing threw me for a loop for about 24 hours, now I'm liking the design since I know how to deal with it. The crank installation will certainly be very simple since I already had the tools for connecting the two spindle parts.


Make sure the frame has been properly faced. If not you'll be chewing through bearings at a rate of knots.


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## bikerjulio (Jan 19, 2010)

I have a UT Centaur CT crank. Came out in 2007 and lasted till 2010. Then was PT. The first year or 2 used machined rings and the latter 2 used stamped rings.


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## headloss (Mar 3, 2013)

Camilo said:


> When you measure the BDC of a Campy spider compared to a "universal" spider, what will the difference be? Will the Campy be grossly different than 110mm, or will it be close. I have both in the garage right now, but haven't measured them. Just a matter of curiousity mostly because the condition of these rings indicate I won't be in the market for new rings for many, many years (this is one of three bikes I ride regularly, and only a couple thousand miles per year total)


Extending an actual 110bcd ring to fit the offset Campy 112bcd is an easy and quick job with a file. You just make the circle an oval. You can tell on the UT cranks based on the unpolished and dished pie-plate rings as opposed to the polished and flat rings on earlier models.


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## Camilo (Jun 23, 2007)

Thanks folks. Helpful information. I'm going to take a closer look at it this evening. Whatever iteration it is, my crank arms look like this (with a little wear in the printing, but no "CT") 









I haven't looked at the rings closely for dishing vs. flat, but I'm pretty sure they're machined, not stamped. They looked very high quality to me. I'll look closely and also measure the actual bolt spacings. 

Really like the looks polished rings (as opposed to anodized gray ones which are fairly common) and the left side arm looks a lot better to me than the Shimano hollowtech type attachment. What can I say, for this quasi-vintage build, I'm a little vain.


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## headloss (Mar 3, 2013)

Honestly, the non polished don't look that bad when built up.. I'll post a photo tomorrow and edit this post.


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## bikerjulio (Jan 19, 2010)

Yes, those are the earlier, machined rings. Same as I have.


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