I'm getting a frame built for me that I plan to build up myself. The drivetrain will be a ten speed Campy Chorus/Centaur mix. I can save a more than $80 if I use better bang for the buck Ultegra hubs and an American Classic conversion cassette rather than Centaur or Chorus parts. With 105, the savings get huge. So, has anyone done this? Is the shifting with the AC conversion cassette comparable to Centaur or Chorus cassettes? Am I destined to misery and frustration as the price of saving a few bucks? I do understand that Campy permalink chains won't work with the conversion cassette, but I plan on using a Wipperman anyway.

Why not use Veloce hubs? They'll shift like a dream with a Chorus cassette, and you don't have the shame of running Shimano parts Don't know how much money you'd save, but if it were me I'd go all-Campy.

Well, for one thing I'm not religious about components. For another, I'm building these wheels and I can't find the hub dimensions for Veloce hubs so I can't calculate spoke length. And finally, I think Ultegra hubs hit a better price/performance ratio than Veloce.

Having overhauled lots of both Shimano and Campy hubs, I'd have to vote for Veloce. Campy doesn't cheat the bearings in their low to mid range hubs. I've replaced more bad cones on Ultegra hubs than Veloce...

Oh, and the Veloces have smaller spoke holes in the flange. Better fit there = less spoke breakage!

Great! I'm building the wheels myself. Do you know where I can find the hub measurements? Campy only seems to publish the specs for Centaur and above on-line. I suppose I could just buy them and get out the caliper, but I'd really like to know before I buy.