chaulky61

A friend of mine sent me the following e-mail:

I'm trying to decide between Shimano 105 and Campagnola Centaur. Both are new to me. My current bike still has 7-speed downtube shifters.

At the bike shop, I tried both on a trainer. I think that overall, I liked the Centaur better except that I found the reel wheel cassette very noisy (like a ratchet). I'm told that quiet Shimano wheel set/cassette is not compatible with the Campy components but if I upgrade the wheel set they could put an adaptor. It would still be a bit noisy but not nearly as loud as the original Campy wheel. They can also pack the wheel with grease to keep the noise down.

105 - reliable, faster down shifting, quiet but if the parts break, you have to replace them (i.e., hard to repair).
centaur - cleaner look, more comfortable, easy to repair, noisy cassette, more $$ (approx. 600$ for upgraded wheels and centaur)

Any advice?

I have never tried Campy.....Any thoughts**********??

JoelS

Probably poorly adjusted. My Chorus and Mirage groups (Campy on 5 bikes) are all pretty quiet.

roccobike

Both my Campy bikes are noisy, but then the Mavic Ksyriums I put on my Giant with 105 is noisy too. To me the noise is just something you deal with. Sometimes it's nice to have because it tells another rider you're close by.
I wouldn't let the noise be a factor in your decision.

AEO

that shimano wheelset must have a silent clutch freehub, while the campy wheelset does not...

wait... are we talking about the coasting noise or drive train noise under power?

JoelS

Oh, get whichever group had the most comfortable hoods. For me, it's Campy.

RacerOne

Tell him to get Rival, or at least look at it.

liquefied

Some Campy hubs are obnoxiously loud. I have an old Eurus 20 wheelset that's almost as loud as a lawnmower when I'm coasting.

RacerOne

You should hear my Bontrager, more like a chainsaw. It's funny though, I don't really notice it when riding alone since I rarely coast. On group rides I get pretty self concious about it.

embankmentlb

You can fix the G spring in a campy shifter, but shifters often break in other more $$$ ways that make Compete shifter replacement a less costly option. If you like centaur, go for it but it will not outlive the 105.

GreenDean

This is true. My old Bianchi with Campy would advertise itself in the middle of the night for miles around.
I am a 105 guy. They have never let me down.

Reality is, if you put the time into tuning your bike... both are exceptional.

s4one

campy all the way!

zerocool33

I enjoy Campy, just can't afford it.

DaveSSS 

2009+ Campy ultrashift ergo levers have no G-springs to need repair. The entire mechanism is new, with fewer parts that should wear out. If a problem arises, Campy sells a kit to replace all of the guts for about $40. The new shifters are also much easier to disassemble and reassemble.

The cassette should not be noisy, but genuine Campy freewheel mechanisms are noisy when coasting. You can cut the noise with the use of more and thicker grease around the pawls, but it will never be as quiet as some. The Mavic freewheel mechanism is quiet, but the pawls and springs are wimpy and prone to problems. I'd rather have more positive engagement.

BarracksSi

105 with Fulcrum wheels (Campy's Shimano-compatible brand name) is just as loud.

I haven't ridden far enough to break anything, but although I like 105 well enough, I think that Campy is pretty neat. I like how each function is separated into different controls (don't have to worry about applying the brakes while shifting like I do with Shimano), dumping half the cassette with one shove of the thumb lever (this was Chorus; does Centaur do it, too?), and good leverage from the brake levers.

I like SRAM, too.

One difference I consider is that Campy and SRAM are easier for me to use if the saddle-to-bar reach is a little shorter. They work well when my hands are on the hoods. With previous-gen Shimano, the hoods aren't comfortable by themselves, so I put my hands where they meet the handlebar -- which is easier to accomplish if the bars are a little further away from the saddle.

Does that last part make sense? Campy/SRAM fits like a pistol grip, Shimano fits with most of the shifter above my hand. I'd take pictures sometime if I could.

teterider

Yeah, I'm joining the camp that thinks the noise was from the Centaur group just being out of adjustment by a hair (or the wheelset difference).
Both my Campy bikes, including a Centaur one, are smooth. However, I'd say its slightly louder than my former Ultegra on the work stand when you are close to it, but not discernible while actually riding.

BarracksSi

I hope people are understanding that you don't pack a cassette with grease to keep the noise down. The OP's friend was actually talking about the freehub, and freehub noise is fairly agnostic when it comes to Campy/Shimano/SRAM (my Easton freehub is only a tiny bit quieter than my Fulcrum's, and both could be even quieter with different grease).

Read it carefully this time:

Kimmo

IMO STI levers leave a lot to be desired, as do Campy rear hubs. I'd be happy with a Campag gruppo except for Shimano hub, or Shimano gruppo except for Ergolevers.

But SRAM seems to have *****slapped em both... lighter, cheaper, and not much in the way of complaints from folks riding it.

I can't wait to get my hands on the SRAM gear.

DaveSSS 

Still whining about Campy hubs with no specific info to back up the whining. You don't read many posts about Campy hub problems.

Some SRAM parts are cheaper and some aren't. Campy ergos are cheaper than any other brands, at least where I buy mine. They are also easily and cheaply repaired. The other brands you toss if they break.

Shimagnolo

My Centaur-equipped bike is just as quiet as my Shimano-equipped bike.
The biggest difference the the FD shifts *much* better.