Ultegra vs Centaur?
 

I have a frame which is going to be blasted and powder coated next month, and it will need a grouppo. I've been thinking about a change from Shimano to Campagnolo for a while now, my Cannondale CAAD 9 looks to be the right candidate. Its the 2007 Optimo 3 model with Ultegra brifters... Now my question is, will I notice a big performance jump from Ultegra to Centaur on the CAAD 9? I've never ridden Campy, but I've heard its more durable, repairable, shifts more reliably. If I move to Centaur on the Cannondale, then I'll use the 105/Ultegra parts for the other frame which needs powder coating...

If I move to Campy, I will be using the American Classic conversion cassette. Is there any drawback to that?

Personally if I'd think to leave my Shimano, I'd go SRAM....SRAM Force if I could afford but Rival is nice too.

I'd go for Rival if I switched, and I'm considering it.

Stick with Campy! Nothing shifts like a Campy.

Have you tried SRAM Red?

in my opinion, you heard right.

You should give this decade's Campy a try.

I recently made the shift to centaur. I like.

You say in the post that you never tried Campagnolo. Then why do you considering it? Odd.

I went from ultegra to chorus. I would never go back to shimano. Doesn't mean you will feel the same. I like the thumb shifting and he hoods fit my hands better. I have never tried sram so I won't comment. Not that you asked but some folks seem inclined to put it in. Even when it's not mentioned.

Go to your local shop or find a buddy with campy. Try it. Then consider what you want to do.

+1

I've got Centaur on my bike, and I LOVE it.

Going from Ultegra to Chorus a is a fair jump up though, not really a fair comparison. Centaur and Ultegra are more in the same league, so people say.

Really? Ultegra is a group below DA. Chorus is below record. Don't make it a price thing. Thats not the point. It's the second tier group in both lines. Till 2009 that is. So chorus to ultgra is a good comparison. Function wise chorus/centaur are not far off anyway.

In all fairness, these are two sides of the same coin. Both are great groups (Rival is great, too), and it all depends on what fits you best.

I will say that the difference in interface feel between 2008 Centaur/Chorus/Record Ergopower levers and their new 2009 brethren is substantial. I tried a bike equipped with the new 11-speed Chorus this afternoon and the new hood-top design is a big improvement for those who wish there were more positioning options for Campy-equipped bikes. They're not quite as small-hand friendly, but the extra position options are really great.

And the 11-speed shifts like butter, too - expected, given the narrow tolerances.

how do you campy guys up shift from the drops ?

with your thumb, quite easily.

Oh, You reach up with your thumbs ? Huh..... Never ridden campy sorry for my ignorance. :)

Translation from jerk to english.

I don't like how campy uses thumb shifting.

lol thumb shifting does seem kinda weird... I'd actually like to try one out one of these days.

Anybody with short fingers having problem with the thumb triggers?

The conventional wisdom (and my own limited experience) is that the two groups don't line up exactly side-by-side; you move the Campy side up a notch, which puts Record in a class by itself. Hence Chorus is comparable to Dura Ace, and Centaur is comparable to Ultegra (though in my own experience Centaur is much better than Ultegra).

I have small hands. No problem shifting. I don't race and i'm not in the drops a ton. Again, I prefer the shifters over shimano. I can't say the OP will till he gives them a test run.

I plan on going to a shop closer to September to try a bike with Campy. Don't think shifting from the drops will be a problem for me, because like 80% of us, I do of my shifting from the hoods.

WRT the conversion between Dura-Ace, Record, and Chorus - I feel like Record and Dura-Ace are pretty evenly matched in quality. To me, Centaur is like Chorus without multiple upshifts in one throw - i.e.: has the escape mechanism. Looking at the obvious specs between Centaur and Chorus tell the story - both have carbon levers, carbon outer parallelogram on the RD, skeleton calipers, carbon cranks...

When I look at Dura-Ace vs Ultegra, its obvious that the quality of basic finishes are better on Dura-Ace, so I can only imagine how much better the internals of Dura-Ace STI levers are over ultegra. Heck, even the Dura-Ace rear dérailléur is leaps and bounds over the ultegra one in design and quality.

The only time I played with SRAM was on a stationary bike with Force, and I don't have much confidence in the lever throw... it seems that there's too much room for error.

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I should say - after my ride tonight, I'm really hoping that Campy gives more shifting feedback than Shimano. I'm constantly second guessing my ultegra downshifts, because there's nary a hint of feedback...

Having ridden all three gruppos and even older and defunct ones I can tell you my opinion...and it's just that...is that Campy stuff is just better. I like the way it shifts, feels, works, and it's repairable...though I have yet to need to. I prefer non-record (all aluminum) vs. the carbon group. I ride carbon now but still prefer the mechanics to be metal. I ride Chorus.

If you don't like the idea of the escape mech then get chorus shifters with centaur R/F and caps. Or get 06 pre QS shifters. I got them (150 w/ cables NOS on ebay)cause I didn't want carbon levers on a lugged steel frame. They work just as good as my 08 chorus.

http://img353.imageshack.us/img353/1930/dscn3214mo8.jpg

I have '06 Centaur, like the poster above. I like it very much, especially because the aluminum alloy levers have survived two direct hits very admirably. If you're setting it up yourself, and you learned how to set up a drivetrain with Shimano components, you might be a bit thrown off at the beginning, but I think the payoff is worth it.