As for the Campy thumb shifters not being crisp, it seems strange that someone who works in a bike shop would ride such an obviously poorly maintained drivetrain. My Centaur setup shifts up crisp, quick and solid. Much easier and more accurate than the Shimano system. Shifting one lever inboard for up and two inboard for down (or is it the reverse) is just so dumb. Thumb shifters are much better in my vaunted opinion.