Campagnolo 10 Speed Shifters - Record or 'New' Centaur?

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Fixie82
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Joined: Mon Mar 18, 2013 3:45 am

by Fixie82

So I managed to get a ridiculous deal on a secondhand BMC SLX01 equipped with SRAM Force, and am getting it geared up for the summer crit season. I have a custom frame in the works but that won;t be ready for a while so this is more of a stop gap measure. I am pretty excited as I have always loved the looks of these frames. The shifters have developed a bit of play in the lever area and I have never really 'gelled' with the older hood shape (rode SRAM Red for 18 months) so was going to replace with the newer 10 speed version in either Red or Force to gain the improved ergonomics, however in my research I have been informed that I can also run 10 Speed Campagnolo shifters. I have found I can buy new shifters for a very reasonable price but am wondering if I will see a performance benefit from the Record shifters over the Centaur? The Record are approx 50 grams lighter for the set but the Centaur have the newer hood shape and ergonomics, coupled with being substantially cheaper I am leaning towards this option. The Black and Red colour way should match the frame pretty well, which as we know is vitally important :D

Is there a reason to get the Record version? Apart from having Record on the levers?

Cheers

by Weenie


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highdraw

by highdraw

You need to identify the model year of the Record and Centaur shifters for a meaningful comparison.

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bikerjulio
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Location: Welland, Ontario

by bikerjulio

I was skeptical, but then I see Lennard Zinn did it, so it must be OK

http://velonews.competitor.com/2008/03/bikes-and-tech/can-you-run-campy-shifters-with-a-sram-drivetrain-sure-why-not_73404

OP, by my count there have been 4 different flavors of Centaur shifters over the past 8 years. All 10-speed, some Ultra-shift and some powershift (escape type).

If you buy a 2014 Centaur shifter set they will be Powershift and will have the current shape of course. ! upshift per click.

Record 10-speed are the older, pre=2009 hood shape, and are all Ultra-shift - multiple upshifts possible. Current Record since 2009 have been 11-speed but the older design is still available.

Centaur is being phased out and no longer around in 2015, replaced by Veloce. Veloce have the same internals as Centaur anyway, so if you want the best value Campy 10-speed - it's Veloce.
There's sometimes a buggy.
How many drivers does a buggy have?

One.

So let's just say I'm drivin' this buggy...
and if you fix your attitude you can ride along with me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GekiIMh4ZkM


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Miller
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by Miller

Powershift works just fine and the new hood shape is way better than the old so I would say Centaur.

bm0p700f
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by bm0p700f

Record shifters are fully rebuilable when the wear out the centaur ones are not (I think that true). Having both Veloce power shift and record 10 speed I know which I prefer and it not the veloce although they are pretty good. I get on with both hood shapes you see.

highdraw

by highdraw

What Miller said. Newer Centaur over old Record hands down...whether Centaur is Powershift or Ultrashift....Centaur changed to Powershift in 2011. Modern ergos are far superior for one but second reason is durability. Yes earlier Campy was rebuildable but the reality is they needed to be. By contrast modern Campy shifters are extremely robust...go huge miles without rebuilding plus they are more simple to take apart.

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bikerjulio
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Location: Welland, Ontario

by bikerjulio

Just a reminder

currently Veloce = Centaur

and how much shifting are you doing in a crit anyway?

plus some people actually prefer the single click shift in the heat of racing.
There's sometimes a buggy.
How many drivers does a buggy have?

One.

So let's just say I'm drivin' this buggy...
and if you fix your attitude you can ride along with me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GekiIMh4ZkM

wasfast
Posts: 336
Joined: Tue Sep 26, 2006 1:03 am
Location: San Diego California

by wasfast

Durability on the Powershift-Centaur 10spd of the current variety is sorely lacking. I got 3K miles out of a set before the right was worn out. They have a plastic gear that wears. They also aren't serviceable in the manner of the original 10 spd shifters with small parts. You get to buy a full shifter body, sans brake lever.

I've gotten 25-30K miles out of the original 10spd so that's quite a difference.

There are some of the first generation (new shape) Ultrashift shifters (pre 2010) available for 10 spd. I opted for those and haven't had any issues.

dogg
Posts: 291
Joined: Fri Jan 03, 2014 7:37 am

by dogg

i also got just barley over 3000mi before my powershift centaur levers were worn out. no spare parts being available is a big bummer.

it is a real shame because i love LOVE the ergonomics and 1upshift per click.

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bikerjulio
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Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2009 10:38 pm
Location: Welland, Ontario

by bikerjulio

Yet again guys.

OP wants something for a season or two of crit racing...........
There's sometimes a buggy.
How many drivers does a buggy have?

One.

So let's just say I'm drivin' this buggy...
and if you fix your attitude you can ride along with me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GekiIMh4ZkM

highdraw

by highdraw

I would like to throw out a question to fellow Campy fans:
Is there really a disparity between modern Powershift (single shift) and Ultrashift (multiple shift) in terms of durability?
If so, what is the physical difference in Powershift that causes it to prematurely fail?
Anybody have modern 11s Athena here with 10K miles on the right shifter without a rebuild?
Thanks
PS: I have 10K miles on my 2010 Centaur shifters (Ultrashift) and they still shift perfectly.

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bikerjulio
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Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2009 10:38 pm
Location: Welland, Ontario

by bikerjulio

From reading the forums I have yet to hear anyone who has claimed to have worn out a current Ultrashift mech. That's 5 years now.

As you see here there are people who have worn out Powershift. Perhaps it depends on the amount of shifting that happens on your terrain. I'm very happy with both types, but then I'm not doing that much shifting.

The difference? Just different internal mechs.

Knowing them both I can agree that PS is more susceptible to wear. But also pretty darn cheap too.
There's sometimes a buggy.
How many drivers does a buggy have?

One.

So let's just say I'm drivin' this buggy...
and if you fix your attitude you can ride along with me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GekiIMh4ZkM

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Fixie82
Posts: 348
Joined: Mon Mar 18, 2013 3:45 am

by Fixie82

Wow - thanks for the info guys! Much appreciated, some sorely lacking info, Centaur is 2013/2014 and is about half the price of the Record. Record is I believe the last year of being 10 speed so sad someone suggests 2009/2010?. The Centaur is about half the cost of Record and it was the way I was leaning but the reports of 3000 miles is a little scary, if I race and train on this they might make a year or year and a half? That's not very durable at all. Still it's only for racing and in crits I really only shift the rear and at that a couple of shifts into and out of a corner at most.

So it really comes down to improved ergonomics, durability and price?

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
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dogg
Posts: 291
Joined: Fri Jan 03, 2014 7:37 am

by dogg

i was in the same predicament as you (centaur vs record) and went with centaur, and it was a bad idea. (see my previous post) they lasted me 6 months! unacceptable, no matter the price imo.

I'm still riding my worn out and barely functioning shifters until i can afford some chorus pieces.

imo spend the extra money and get record (or chorus) and save yourself the probable headache down the road. or maybe track down some pre-powershift centaur.

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