Campagnolo Centaur

Price Paid:  $611.00 at Como Bike

Bike Setup:
Bianchi steel, TREK 5200, Litespeed Classic

Summary:
I am reviewing the 2009 Centaur 10 speed with the Ultra Torque compact crank set. In a very few words, just love it. I replaced the 9 speed Veloce on my 2000 Bianchi Veloce steel bike. This new group set is light years ahead of the older group set. Not only is it pleasing to the eye, but the shifting and braking are excellent. Very quick and positive up or down shifting. Brakes are very strong. Installation was a breeze, no problem at all.

Strengths:
Crisp, fast shifting. Effort level to shift is is very light.

Weaknesses:
None that I can see. The only thing is, I am now considering replacing the Ultegra on my other two bikes.

Similar Products Used:
Ultegra triple and Ultegra compact

Price Paid:  $875.00 at ebay

Favorite Ride:
Hwy 101 anywhere

Bike Setup:
Cinelli Spirit with Centaur gruppo, Fulcrum Racing wheels, FSA bars/stem, Thompson Masterpiece, Selle Italia seat, weighs 18lbs.

Summary:
I bought the new 2008 Centaur with Carbon Crank and Skeleton Brakes. It was $500 less then comparable Chorus and according to the Campy website only a few grams heavier. The biggest disadvantage is the one I have read about several times. You can't shift to a smaller cog more then one click at a time. You can upshift to a larger cog 3 gears at a time. Works fine when you hit a hill and need to drop some gears, but not as easy in a sprint. Having said this, it's pretty easy to get use to rapid shifting and you know exactly what gear you are in. I like my Record gruppo better for this reason, but other then this the Centaur is just as good. It is very smooth despite being new, and shifts very precisely. The looks of the carbon crank and skeleton brakes makes it look like it is much more expensive then it was. For my money save the $500 and by the Centaur. If you really don't like the shifters, sell them on ebay and buy the Chorus shifters for $100 more. You will have an amazing gruppo that is just as good as Chorus for $400 less.

Strengths:
good looks, cost, bang for the buck

Weaknesses:
shifters

Similar Products Used:
campy record

Price Paid:  $429.00 at eBay

Favorite Ride:
Where there's no wind

Bike Setup:
Kona '06 Zing Supreme
Centaur Groupo
Khamsin Wheels
Ritchey WCS Pro stem and H-bars
Continental GP-4 Season Tires

Summary:
This is for the 2006 Aluminum series, I got it as a New-Old Stock deal on eBay.

My initial impression when I first started riding was that of confusion. The ergoshifters are very different from the STI's and will take a bit of getting used to.

An ergoshifter has the typical two-part brake lever and then a smaller 'thumb' lever on the inside of the the hood. The thumb lever is used to shift up in gears, while the smaller lever shifts down. The opposite is true for the left-hand shifter that controls your front dérailleur. After taking a couple minutes to familiarize myself with the shifters I must say I definitely do prefer them.

The hoods are a bit smaller, so for some of us it may wind up being a bit uncomfortable I recommend combating this with some gel gloves.

Overall, I really recommend this groupo.

Strengths:
+ Fast, crisp shifting
+ Able to up or down shift multiple gears at once
+ Feel great in the drops
+Looks good

Weaknesses:
- Smaller hoods are a bit uncomfortable
- MSRP on it is pretty darn high
- Compatible wheelsets are a bit rarer and more expensive than Shimano

Similar Products Used:
Just an older Shimano 600 14speed