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

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octav
Posts: 299
Joined: Thu Aug 27, 2009 12:40 pm
Location: Bucharest

by octav

I have 10 speed Record levers sincer 2009 and I wouldn't change to 11 yet ;) They work like in the first moment.
I would go with Record 10 , but if you really find the new shape nicer go for the Centaur.
I have the new shape on the other bike, but can't say that it's much better.

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bikerjulio
Posts: 1900
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2009 10:38 pm
Location: Welland, Ontario

by bikerjulio

The internet is not full of stories about Powershift failures. Campy's "escape" mech has been around a very long time. Certainly they should be warrantied if they go after 3,000 miles.

Currently Ribble has Veloce at $100 and older Record 10-spd at $300. Since both include a $30 cableset, that makes the Record about 4X more expensive.

Veloce uses the same p/n for the shifter body and is basically identical to the discontinued Centaur.
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

by Weenie


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highdraw

by highdraw

bikerjulio wrote: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.

bj,
Do you happen to know which 'plastic' wheel internal to Powershift is prone to wear? Ultrashift doesn't have such a wheel internally based upon what I have seen...all mechanism parts are metal. Mechanisms are quite a contrast. Intuitively, one would thing the simpler mechanism aka Powershift would be more robust but apparently the opposite is true. I wonder if Graeme can get ahold of the little wheels that tend to fail on Powershift versus having to purchase the Powershift mechanism sub assembly?

Exploded view comparison below:

Image

Image
Last edited by highdraw on Sun Sep 21, 2014 11:45 am, edited 1 time in total.

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bikerjulio
Posts: 1900
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2009 10:38 pm
Location: Welland, Ontario

by bikerjulio

Scroll down to p52 that's where mechanical shifters start. The drawings don't indicate materials though.

http://www.campagnolo.com/media/files/035_146_Catalogue_spare_parts_tools_Campagnolo_2014_part_A.pdf
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

bj,
I posted an exploded view of both mechanisms above.
I was hoping to find a Powershift shifter disassembly video on youtube but can't find one to see if the 'weak' plastic cogged wheel could be identified.. There is an excellent youtube disassembly video for Ultrashift however.

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bikerjulio
Posts: 1900
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2009 10:38 pm
Location: Welland, Ontario

by bikerjulio

I'd be interested to see if Graeme wants to comment on the longevity issue.

Even with metal parts it's possible to damage a pawl and ratchet mechanism through user error as I found out with an older ergo shifter trying to force a shift.

Can't say much more except that Campy have been making shifters a long time, and don't have a rep for poor quality.
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

Me too. If anybody would know the Powershift vs. Ultrashift durability difference if any it would be Graeme who sees a broader cross-section of Campy parts working with them everyday.
Graeme, if you see this thread, please weigh in if you would...

ferrarista
Posts: 1202
Joined: Tue Sep 28, 2004 7:39 am
Location: Canada

by ferrarista

@fixie82: Personally I would not go with powershift if your racing. Since the powershift has plastic internal parts, it is less durable than ergo or ultrashift. If you can find some ultrashift centaur from 2009-2010 those are pretty good. I've had my record 10 shifters since 2005 and only rebuilt them twice. I've only had to change the G springs and the spring holder.

Powershift won't last more than a season if your lucky. A gentle rider that only trains could possibly do 2 seasons or more depending on the conditions and mileage. Either way the warranty is there to cover the body mechanism for 3 years. They will replace it. The good thing is that if you crash and need to replace the body, it is less expensive for sure. You can get the powershift body with mechanism for around 60$ online so thats great.
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Fixie82
Posts: 348
Joined: Mon Mar 18, 2013 3:45 am

by Fixie82

@ferrarista, it's an interesting problem - go for durability at a higher cost or a cheaper replacement price. I'd say at this stage with racing I might go for the lower replacement cost as I imagine that would be the most likely cause of failure. Half the price is making it very hard to resist.

ferrarista
Posts: 1202
Joined: Tue Sep 28, 2004 7:39 am
Location: Canada

by ferrarista

I think if your on a budget, the centaur will do the trick. Either way if you crash it will hurt less than record. If they fail early they will replace them at no cost.
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strobbekoen
Posts: 4426
Joined: Wed May 18, 2005 6:24 pm
Location: BELGIUM

by strobbekoen

I have some (I believe) 2010 Centaur shifters - they do have the multi up/down shift same as Record. and the new hood shape. I find these the best 10spd shifters. I also have a 2014 Centaur on another bike and the shifters don't seem to be the same quality. So if you can find the pre-2011 Centaur shifters, they are good.

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

by Fixie82

Well here's the beast, not bad for the coin. Hubs need a little tlc, everything else is in great condition. First thing to address is that massive spacer tower, it's close to 50mm. Excuse the bad pic, just got it back to the office.

Image

sawyer
Posts: 4485
Joined: Fri Dec 15, 2006 7:45 pm
Location: Natovi Landing

by sawyer

Centaur

Old Record 10 are really nice on the downshift (to larger sprocket) but the ergonomics and flaky upshift (to smaller sprocket) ... are way behind single click, single shift Centaur 10 speed

I've done 10s of thousands of KMs on both systems, and explicitly chose Centaur over Record 10 having used both

I am talking here about Powershift, single click (non-escape) Centaur ergos (I put maybe 10,000km on the previous Ultrashift version also but it has the unreliable upshift issue)

Funny thing is that the most basic Sora-like ergos are actually the most reliable mechanical ergos.

Snobs recoil in horror. I can afford any of it and choose that!
----------------------------------------
Stiff, Light, Aero - Pick Three!! :thumbup:

PJCM
Posts: 198
Joined: Sun Apr 15, 2007 6:44 am

by PJCM

Graeme did comment over on another forum that Campag made a running change in Feb this year to the plastic/lube in Powershift mechanisms which has helped a lot:

https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=82225.25

On the basis of that advice I've just ordered a set of 2015 Veloce levers to replace some first generation 2009 Centaur ones with the vague rear shifting problem. If they're no good then I will just get the Ultrashift replacement body for the Centaurs which comes with improved indexing and ball bearings rather than bushings.

The current model Centaur levers didn't seem to justify the price premium over Veloce when the only difference is the carbon (wrapped) lever blades.

highdraw

by highdraw

Thanks PJCM for that bit of info. I am actually interested in 2015 Athena 11s and good to know that reliability of Powershift shifters has been improved.
Where did you order your 2015 Veloce shifters from? I haven't seen them available anywhere yet...

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

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