# Infinito Centaur Racing3



## imitsus (Aug 16, 2010)

*Infinito / Centaur / Racing3*

I m so happy I d like to share some not well taken photos, ok, it is the subject that counts... 

Life gave me a yeti in white, but I had to have a turquoise bike

Built it all italian stuff, except for pedals, tires and stem

in my opinion It is better to built it as you wish than getin a standard version...I just love it... 

Wheelset at 1600g, think it matches much better than the cheap racing 7, or 5

ciao!


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## adjtogo (Nov 18, 2006)

Looks exaclty like my Infinito except I went with the Shimano Ultegra 6700 group set. I had enough money to pay cash for the bike. I didn't want to put not even a dime on a credit card. How do you like the Centaur 3 group set? You must have a 2011 model. I didn't see the Centaur 3 on any of the Infinito models on Bianchi's website. I heard they are not offering the Athena group set this year and have replaced it with what you have.

Sharp looking bike!!


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## imitsus (Aug 16, 2010)

I only bought the frameset from bianchi, all other components were bought separatelly

I have shimano on yeti, it s ok, I also like campagnolo. As for infinito, couldnt have only but an all italian bike...

So far all components are great except than fsa seatpost that tends to change the seat slope under pressure. Great looks , but would not recomend it.

Obviously you are confused, sorry, there is no centaur 3, but there is campagnolo centaur carbon groupset , and my wheelset is fulcrum racing 3 which is better than the stock racing 7 that are used with a complete bike.

Mine is 7640grams as you see it, what is your bikes weight?


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## adjtogo (Nov 18, 2006)

I don't know what my bike weight is. The bike was pre-built by Bianchi. In fact, I was under the impression that the Ultegra 6700 only came on the red/white and blue/white frame set. My LBS was out of stock in both of those. I was told I could have a bike built up just like you did, but the Campy Veloce group was going to be more than the pre-built one on Bianchi's website, while building a Campy Athena was going to be a few hundred dollars less. I had a total budget of $3200. So the LBS owner called his rep in California and found out that Bianchi had just started building the Celeste/white frameset with the Ultegra 6700. I decided to order one and paid $3195 out the door, which included tax. The LBS owner gave me a discount for paying cash. 

I now have just over 250 miles on it in less than 2 1/2 weeks of pedaling. Not bad for a 50 year old man that just had foot surgery in May and has not ridden a road bike since 2008.


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## Salsa_Lover (Jul 6, 2008)

beautiful !

this is how a bike should be, ( needs larger rings though  )


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## imitsus (Aug 16, 2010)

*larger rings?*



Salsa_Lover said:


> beautiful !
> ( needs larger rings though  )


Thank you for your comment, but I really - really dont see ANY advantage except than looks for a standard crankset. Ok at least for my feet.

The only reason someone should put a 53 ring, is when he can cadence more than 50/11=4.54 which is all I could ever need... By the way 53/12=4.42 is lower...
What gearing do you use at your bike?


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

imitsus said:


> What gearing do you use at your bike?


Don't get him started.


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## imitsus (Aug 16, 2010)

*oups!*



spade2you said:


> Don't get him started.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDjCqjzbvJY&feature=related
"no it isnt"... ok then!


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

Long story short, he loves to state that compact users are wimps. Being a racer and mostly a climbing specialist, I've earned a reputation in the hills. A lot of this is from my training and very light build, but I attribute a significant advantage to the gearing and cadence. Simply put, it's much easier to make attacks and accellerations in the hills when you're not overgeared. At a steady tempo, there's still an advantage to staying in your ideal cadence zone on a climb, too.


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## kbwh (May 28, 2010)

Nice, imitsus! I've ridden my Infinito some 200 km now, and I simply love the ride. Never mind salsa, he just likes pulling legs...

These are the first pictures I've seen of the new 10 speed Centaur 2011. I think Campagnolo wants to go head to head with SRAM and Shimano in the OEM market with it.

Have you used a torque wrench on the seat clamp? I found that I had to torque my Campagnolo Record composite seat clamp to the maximum allowed 22 Nm to get a proper grip on the steel rails on my Selle SMP Evolution.


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## imitsus (Aug 16, 2010)

spade2you said:


> Long story short, he loves to state that compact users are wimps. Being a racer and mostly a climbing specialist, I've earned a reputation in the hills. A lot of this is from my training and very light build, but I attribute a significant advantage to the gearing and cadence. Simply put, it's much easier to make attacks and accellerations in the hills when you're not overgeared. At a steady tempo, there's still an advantage to staying in your ideal cadence zone on a climb, too.


Couldnt agree more...

Anyway there are some positives about the standard cranks, but just dont start this, because it will never ends. I like "argument clinic" best...



kbwh said:


> Nice, imitsus! I've ridden my Infinito some 200 km now, and I simply love the ride. Never mind salsa, he just likes pulling legs...
> 
> These are the first pictures I've seen of the new 10 speed Centaur 2011. I think Campagnolo wants to go head to head with SRAM and Shimano in the OEM market with it.
> 
> Have you used a torque wrench on the seat clamp? I found that I had to torque my Campagnolo Record composite seat clamp to the maximum allowed 22 Nm to get a proper grip on the steel rails on my Selle SMP Evolution.


It is an "old" centaur crank, 2007-2008 i think, and not the 2011 model since these are not available this time. But anyway, I would have taken the ultra torque crank, and not the new pattern... Especially since it only cost me 129 euros! 

About the torque wrench, yes of course I used it, at max (only) 8.8Nm. But this was not the problem since the two surfaces do not match exactly and I can see a gap between them .... which was filled with a small piece of rubber from a tube... and the saddle stays where i place it. It worked so far, but since i see that low quality on the fsa, I m afraid about the stock fsa headset...:mad2: 

Today, was another fast 40km ride. I LOVE my bianchi. Standing still or riding it
-------

Thank you all for your comments

Thought it would be nice to show this built, since is unique, and not stock.

Mine is a 59cm, and weights 7640gr, how much other builts weight? Just wondering...


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

Racers don't have a problem with compacts. I'll leave it at that.  I have no plans on ever changing my gearing unless I suddenly find myself spinning out on my 50/11. If that ever happens, I'll skip a 53 and go straight for the 55!


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## imitsus (Aug 16, 2010)

spade2you said:


> Racers don't have a problem with compacts. I'll leave it at that.  I have no plans on ever changing my gearing unless I suddenly find myself spinning out on my 50/11. If that ever happens, I'll skip a 53 and go straight for the 55!


yeah, I know, and a small custom 10 rear sprocket...  

in fact I know someone that uses 56-11!!!!!http://www.cyclist-friends.gr/showthread.php?t=11851


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

imitsus said:


> yeah, I know, and a small custom 10 rear sprocket...
> 
> in fact I know someone that uses 56-11!!!!!http://www.cyclist-friends.gr/showthread.php?t=11851


LOL, if I ever need a 56, I'd hope I'm in the pro ranks! 

I thought I heard somewhere that once you get bigger than 53t, you often need a carbon disc to reinforce it, given the tension and diameter. 

Truth be told, I'm rarely in a position where I even use the 53-11 in a TT and the 50-11 is more than enough for me in a road race.


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## Cruisinscoot (Feb 21, 2010)

Nice.

I have a factory Infinito Athena. The "Porker Fulcrum 7's" (1930 grams) are soon to become strictly training wheels because of Campagnola Neutron Ultras (1470 grams) arriving tomorrow. I am also changing out the stock Fizik Aliante (239 grams) saddle for a Fizik Antares Carbon (145 grams). Factor in new 70 gram tubes and Vittoria Open Corsa EVO CX 320 TPI Clinchers as well, then the net loss will be about 675 grams. All of this should bring the total weight down to about 6969 grams. 

Yep. Now I'm excited.


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## Cruisinscoot (Feb 21, 2010)

Oh... Of course I will be posting before and after pics.


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## ellipsis212 (Aug 24, 2010)

Cruisinscoot said:


> Nice.
> 
> I have a factory Infinito Athena. The "Porker Fulcrum 7's" (1930 grams) are soon to become strictly training wheels because of Campagnola Neutron Ultras (1470 grams) arriving tomorrow. I am also changing out the stock Fizik Aliante (239 grams) saddle for a Fizik Antares Carbon (145 grams). Factor in new 70 gram tubes and Vittoria Open Corsa EVO CX 320 TPI Clinchers as well, then the net loss will be about 675 grams. All of this should bring the total weight down to about 6969 grams.
> 
> Yep. Now I'm excited.


how do you cram all that gram?


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## Cruisinscoot (Feb 21, 2010)

Cruisinscoot said:


> Nice.
> 
> I have a factory Infinito Athena. The "Porker Fulcrum 7's" (1930 grams) are soon to become strictly training wheels because of Campagnola Neutron Ultras (1470 grams) arriving tomorrow. I am also changing out the stock Fizik Aliante (239 grams) saddle for a Fizik Antares Carbon (145 grams). Factor in new 70 gram tubes and Vittoria Open Corsa EVO CX 320 TPI Clinchers as well, then the net loss will be about 675 grams. All of this should bring the total weight down to about 6969 grams.
> 
> Yep. Now I'm excited.


OK... I need to make a correction to my math which was based on a weigh in at my local shop and advertised weights of the components. Apparently the shop scale was off and all of the components turned out to be a little heavier when I checked them on my scale.

Without getting into all the gory details, are listed facts of my Infinito diet after a honest and scrutinizing weigh in session on my newly acquired digital scale.

My bike was apparently 8048 grams and not 7644 grams as I was led to believe. 
The net weight of all the new components was 75 grams more than advertised. 
I did drop the current weight of my bike by 600 grams from what it was. 
The current weight is 7408 grams.

Sorry for the confusion. I do have it right now.


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## imitsus (Aug 16, 2010)

*bike review*

after 3 months of use, 900 km, and 9.5km total ascend, I can tell you, I like my bike even more...

the most I like about it is that it feels and looks so good, that makes me want to ride it more, which is the point...      

thank you all for you comments


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## jpdigital (Dec 1, 2006)

If you're looking to up the "Italianess" factor, consider a set of Veloflex tires (handmade in Italy). I've tried to put everything Italian on my Infinito, and I went from Michelin Pro3's to Veloflex. 

So far the only thing not from an Italian manufacturer on my bike are the pedals and innertubes (well, I built my wheels myself using DTSwiss rims & spokes, _but_ they _are_ laced to Record hubs). I even replaced the CaneCreek headset with a Record headset.

Still, you have a gorgeous bike, and it shows you put a lot of thought into it!!


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