Bicycle Mechanics - Gen 1 Record 10 Shifters vs Ultra 10

I use both and quite honestly haven't really thought about the differences in the Campy "upgrade" other than maybe marketing? I'm building up a new bike and have a chance to get a decent pair of 1st gen at a pretty good price. Does anyone know if there's any real difference between the original Record 10 carbon shifter (circa 2002) and the Ultras (circa 2005-2008)?

The "Ultra" shifter has a drilled out index gear, carbon spring carrier, and teflon coating on the index gear and a teflon washer. It operates a little smoother and slightly lighter.

You can always upgrade older shifters to Ultra buy just buying those parts.

I have three different 10s shifters I've bought over the years (Record, Chorus, Record) and I can't tell the difference.

Oh, I think one of the front shifters (left) shifts a bit quicker? Does that make sense? It's the newest one, a 2008. Rear is the same.

cdr

Oh, I think one of the front shifters (left) shifts a bit quicker? Does that make sense? It's the newest one, a 2008. Rear is the same.

Somewhere around 2007-2008 they upgraded their shifters and front derailleurs to "Quick Shift", which has a QS logo on the left shifter and on the FD.

As I understand it, the only difference in the levers is that they revised the left ratchet gear so that paddle lever engages a little more quickly (i.e. you don't have to push it as far inward towards the stem before you get the first click). They also revised the design of the FD so that it takes less force to move the cage towards the big chainring, at the expense of taking one extra click to traverse the distance. I believe these two features are independent, i.e. either type of FD will work fine with either type of lever. The most recent Campy groups have shuffled things around again so it gets a little more complicated, but I forget the details.

You can supposedly upgrade a non-QS left lever to QS by replacing the ratchet gear, though I don't know if it's worth the effort (the other components nitropowered mentioned come out anyway as part of a routine G-spring rebuild, but the ratchet gear looks like it takes a fair amount of extra disassembly).

The real upgrade is the 2009 Centaur 10 ultrashift. It has the new brake hood design, an entirely new internal mechanism (just like 11 speed) and all the quality of Record at a much lower price, if you buy from a source in the UK like Ribble.

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=154068&highlight=inside+2009+ergopower

The real upgrade is the 2009 Centaur 10 ultrashift. It has the new brake hood design, an entirely new internal mechanism (just like 11 speed) and all the quality of Record at a much lower price, if you buy from a source in the UK like Ribble.

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=154068&highlight=inside+2009+ergopower

I agree, I'm really fond of my 2009 Centaur levers. They are really comfortable and shift very nicely. They're a real bargain, or at least as much a bargain as you can get in the bicycle parts world.

+1 on the 2009 stuff, well worth the money.