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Anyone using Campag Centaur?

I need a new Groupset for my best bike. My winter/commuter has Veloce and I like it a lot so I am thinking of standardising on Campag 10 speed. I'd like to know if Centaur is worth the extra money. Is anyone using Centaur? What do you think?

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13 comments

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russyparkin | 9 years ago
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another centaur user here, its great. the carbon cranks are particually lighter than the alloy ones for not a massive amount more cash

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GREGJONES | 9 years ago
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I've got centaur, it s great grupset especially the levers.

However I have had issues with the bottom bracket creaking, I'd personally get another brand BB, that PT bottom bracket is a bloody nightmare.

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Simmo72 | 9 years ago
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veloce and centaur ergolever internals are the same, same exterior shape. its just comes down to whether you want a carbon look lever for a lot more £ with no weight saving.

I don't feel any difference in shifting between the 2, and even chorus is not noticeably better - maybe more durable -. All good stuff. Currently debating the whole 11 speed thing. I think centaur and veloce will all be 11 speed next year (105 is leading the way). I don't personally feel the need for another cog and a more expensive chain. 10 speed is ample..........marketing gobshite or progress?

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mrmo replied to | 9 years ago
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Simmo72 wrote:

veloce and centaur ergolever internals are the same, same exterior shape. its just comes down to whether you want a carbon look lever for a lot more £ with no weight saving.

This is something that confuses me a little, if you read the Campag spares book the mechanisms are the same, but the campag website is also clear that Centaur has bearings as an upgrade over Veloce.

As for 10spd v 11spd, I went 10 for the simple fact that an 11spd cassette costs a LOT more than a 10spd. That you can still get 9spd campag cassettes suggests that 10spd won't be disappearing any time soon.

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userfriendly replied to Simmo72 | 9 years ago
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Simmo72 wrote:

Currently debating the whole 11 speed thing. I think centaur and veloce will all be 11 speed next year (105 is leading the way). I don't personally feel the need for another cog and a more expensive chain. 10 speed is ample..........marketing gobshite or progress?

The big draw for me is doing away with one more gap in between cogs. If I were to buy a new groupset at the moment I would go for an 11-speed just for that. Not to mention compatibility, seeing how 11-speed is starting to trickle down to more and more mid-level groupsets.

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Miles253 | 9 years ago
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Centaur gets you a little less, especially with the carbon levers and cranks but it s probably not worth the cash difference. The feel of the shifts is better though, so I can recommend Centaur, I bought most of my group off of eBay.

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edster99 | 9 years ago
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My Ridley has Centaur 10, and its a little bit crisper / shorter shifting than my Veloce winter bike. VFM, Veloce might be better. Overall performance, Centaur is maybe 5% better?

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mrmo | 9 years ago
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veloce and centaur are pretty much the same thing, there are a few minor differences. I have just replaced the driver train on my bike with veloce and upgraded to centaur for the shifters.

All works.

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mike the bike | 9 years ago
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It seems that most of us agree; Centaur works just a little bit better than Veloce. I too have the Black and Red version and, to me, it looks a little better as well. In fact several people have congratulated me for upgrading to the red bolts. I just nod shyly and don't tell them it's all part of the package.
Like you, Mr Clanger, I am sticking at 10-speed, for at least as long as I can buy the bits. If I can't get there with ten, what hope is there for eleven?

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stuke | 9 years ago
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I agree with @md6, I use both Veloce and Centaur black/red and while the Veloce is brilliant there a slightly more 'polished' feeling to the shifting on the Centaur, a little bit smoother at the levers and a lighter touch to it. Its only a small difference mind but marginal gains and all that  4

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md6 | 9 years ago
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I have recently done similar and upgraded from Veloce to Centaur (black and Red) and there is a difference. I find shifting smoother and feels better. That could also be that my old gears needed a bit of tuning, or it could be that the new ones are better. The levers are slightly different too, i prefer them to the Veloce ones, its a very minor difference, slightly more tapered which suits as i have small hands. I will say that in the 5 years i had it, my veloce was always really good, dependable and never had any real issues with it at all. Hopefully in a few years i will be able to say the same for the centaur

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pedalingparamedic | 9 years ago
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Not able to comment about the difference between Centaur and Veloce but if you really want to stay at 10 speed, don't pick Athena because it's 11!

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Jimmy Ray Will | 9 years ago
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I'd probably say no.

Veloce never fails to amaze me at its quality/cost equation... its great for the money. Centaur is also great don't get me wrong, but I just don't see what you get over Veloce.

Depending on budgets, I'd take the slightly bigger leap up to Athena... Depending on where you get it, the price difference is surprisingly small.

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