Campag shifters

chadders81
chadders81 Posts: 744
edited November 2011 in Road beginners
Just a quickie...

How do they work? They seem to have one paddle on behind the brake lever and then a thumb shifter a la Shimano Sora.

Will I be able to change down while on the drops if I go ahead and buy a bike with Campag?

Sorry if it's a stupid question but I don't know anybody who runs it so I've not been able to have a play.

Comments

  • nochekmate
    nochekmate Posts: 3,460
    Correct to say that they have a thumb shifter but the comparison with Sora probably ends there. Of course you can shift from the drops.

    All a matter of taste and plenty of threads on SRAM v Shimano v Campag
  • furrag
    furrag Posts: 481
    I was in a similar position to you.

    Shimano Sora have the same design. They are shit. Shit, shit, shit! You can't reach them on the drops at all. Ridiculous. I think they were produced to put people off ever going to Campagnolo.

    Campagnolo thumb shifters = perfectly placed. Change in the drops dead easy during a sprint, and I have very small hands.
  • MaxwellBygraves
    MaxwellBygraves Posts: 1,353
    Yeah can't really compare Sora to Campag tbh...
    "That's it! You people have stood in my way long enough. I'm going to clown college! " - Homer
  • chadders81
    chadders81 Posts: 744
    Ha ha - I knew somebody would get offended about me comparing Campag to Sora. I was just talking about the thumb button.

    Looking a second hand Bianchi with Campag Centaur tomorrow and just wanted to check before I made a dick of myself in front of the vendor. I've fancied going Italian for a while now.

    So Tiagra is better than Super Record......
  • Wirral_paul
    Wirral_paul Posts: 2,476
    Chadders81 wrote:

    So Tiagra is better than Super Record......

    Yes - just like a Reliant Robin is better than a Lamborghini :P
  • pilot_pete
    pilot_pete Posts: 2,120
    A word of caution. I have slowly being replacing my Campag Centaur (2009) as I have found it unreliable. The rear shifter just never seemed to index properly, despite being in perfect working order (difficult indexing from the off when brand new). I stripped, cleaned and replaced all the bits (a simple task if you follow the instructions). Nothing seemed to help.

    I replaced the rear hangar and checked the rear mech, again nothing untoward. I changed the cables for a new set of Record, but still no joy. Eventually I gave up and bought a pair of Chorus levers. The difference was instantaneous. Sublime, precise shifting and no indexing problems once installed. I have now changed the rear mech for a Chorus and again, it is sublime. Only downside is that the Chorus levers were not the taller ergonomic ones that the Centaur had, which I really liked the feel of, but ho-hum, well worth that small downside for perfect shifting. Oh, and you can change up when in the drops, but I guess that comes down to handlebar bend and lever positioning on the bend as much as anything else.

    PP
  • hammerite
    hammerite Posts: 3,408
    PP - maybe just bad luck? I've had no probs with my 2009 Centaur, or the 2010 on my TT bike (granted not with Centaur bar end shifters as they don't do them!).
  • furrag
    furrag Posts: 481
    Likewise with my 2010 Centaur. Lovely and crisp to shift on. 2011 Centaur is definitely a downgrade though in terms of lever design to previous models, and Power Torque is absolutely bloody horrible!
  • Mad Roadie
    Mad Roadie Posts: 710
    pilot pete - big fan of Chorus, I had it on my bike before i upgraded to SR, but kept the groupset to allow the ultergra 6700 to be removed from another bike and replaced by the chorus - I found shifting and stability of the indexing far superior to the Ultegra.
  • pilot_pete
    pilot_pete Posts: 2,120
    Not just me....http://forums.roadbikereview.com/campagnolo/rear-derailleur-adjustment-09-centaur-levers-161794-3.html seems it is the rear dérailleur spring tension. So 'buyer beware' of Centaur 09 (possibly rebadged 08) still applies.

    PP
  • g00se
    g00se Posts: 2,221
    The issue with the 2009 levers were probably down to a cable spool issue with the first runs. There was a ratchet fixing kit for these and later models had the new ratchet and cable spool as standard. You can tell the 'version' you may have depending on if the spool is white or black.

    I bought a couple of pairs of 2009 Ultrashift Centaurs and they both came with the updated ratchets/spools. The pair I installed recently work lovely.

    See: http://forums.roadbikereview.com/campagnolo/centaur-10-shifting-issues-resolved-finally-205558.html
  • kingrollo
    kingrollo Posts: 3,198
    I had campag centaur - 2001 - very poor shifting IME. - couldn't wait to get back to ultegra
  • Evil Laugh
    Evil Laugh Posts: 1,412
    Girlfriend runs Campag, had Chorus before and now has Veloce. Both have had to have the RH ratchets fixed within a year of riding. Bit if a ballache if you ask me, she's been off the bike for 2 weeks waiting for the Veloce to be fixed now.
  • Diogenes
    Diogenes Posts: 1,628
    edited November 2011
    I've ridden thousands of miles but never with a top of the range groupset by any manufacturer so maybe I don't know what really good feels like. However the SORA shifters I received with my tourer about 12/13 years ago still operate perfectly well although they are now married up to deore mechs which were fitted as the originals wore out (after at least 5 years).

    My road bike is dressed up in Veloce which is okay, I particularly like the ability to rack through the gears with a single push. I have had no real probelms with the shifting at all. The only fault I have had with the Veloce is a failure of the left crank which cracked through the shoulder, frustrating as I was miles from home at the time.

    Overall they both change gears when I want them to and I am reluctant to part with hundreds of my well earned to gain a few grams,but then I am no racing snake

    D :D
  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    kingrollo wrote:
    I had campag centaur - 2001 - very poor shifting IME. - couldn't wait to get back to ultegra

    At least folk now know to avoid ten year old Campag :lol:

    Taste thing really. My 2010 Centaur setups are great - so far covered about 4000 miles on one bike and 1800 on the other and they function the same as they did when new. I hired a bike this year with Shimano 105 which was perfectly effective too though pretty ghastly to look at in my eyes!

    Obviously, no persons individual unique tale of woe, whether Campag or Shimano oriented, is worth paying any consideration to at all. There are always going to be faulty or abused mechs somewhere but they will be a small minority of cases. As far as I have noticed, the only common complaints have been related to Campag QS and some models of Shimano shifters.
    Faster than a tent.......
  • rafletcher
    rafletcher Posts: 1,235
    Evil Laugh wrote:
    Girlfriend runs Campag, had Chorus before and now has Veloce. Both have had to have the RH ratchets fixed within a year of riding. Bit if a ballache if you ask me, she's been off the bike for 2 weeks waiting for the Veloce to be fixed now.

    But at least they CAN be fixed, unlike Shimano which is a scrap and replace job.

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