Centaur build

[sokyroadie]

I am trying to complete a Centaur grey build and having trouble finding a reasonable price on shifters here are my options:

2006 Centaur grey shifters $189.88 + shipping
2007 QS Veloce Black shifters $109.54 free ship
2007 QS Centaur Carbon shifters $178.40 free ship

All include cables. The black/carbon would look ok on the bike they are going on.

Opinions?

Thanks,

Jeff

[Alan]

I have been told by very reliable people that the 2007 QS shifters should be avoided though I have not used them myself. Once I learned about QS I bought some 06 Centaur ergos like you are doing. They work great.

I did just but some grey hubs from Nashbar at a very reasonable price. I use qbike.com to search on-line US sites and it is quite helpful.

Good luck.

Alan

[mflaherty37]

I just got a set of these this AM, 19 left. 140+10 shipping for silver Centaur new with cables.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=350003817447&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=022

[Dave]

Avoid the 2007 Centaur or Veloce ergo levers. They both use the escape mechanism, which is a distinct downgrade. There are reports of early failures due to wear in the index gear.

[DarrenCT]

Avoid the 2007 Centaur or Veloce ergo levers. They both use the escape mechanism, which is a distinct downgrade. There are reports of early failures due to wear in the index gear.

interesting thought. can anyone else back this up??

[Avispa]

I am trying to complete a Centaur grey build and having trouble finding a reasonable price on shifters here are my options:

2006 Centaur grey shifters $189.88 + shipping
2007 QS Veloce Black shifters $109.54 free ship
2007 QS Centaur Carbon shifters $178.40 free ship

All include cables. The black/carbon would look ok on the bike they are going on.

Opinions?

Thanks,

Jeff

Jeff,

What is "reasonable" for you? I can get you a pair of brand new 2008 QS Centaur carbon shifters (with cables) for $150, shipped. It will take me a bout ten days to get them to you, as they will be coming from Europe. Just PM me.

..A..

[72gmc]

interesting thought. can anyone else back this up??

Yep. I've been riding QS Centaur since May, at least five days a week in all conditions, and I may be adding a failure report sometime in early 2012.

[Dave]

interesting thought. can anyone else back this up??

Here's more info on how the escape levers work. You can decide for yourself if this sounds like a downgrade.

The Centaur and lower level shifter use the "escape" mechanism, previously only used on the lowest level Xenon shifters. The right thumb button only shifts one cog at a time, instead of having unlimited travel. That means every time you shift to the little ring, you have to hit the thumb button 2-3 times to shift to smaller cogs, instead of just one push through 2-3 cogs.

On the left side, a single push of the thumb button makes a Shimano-like ping and drops the chain from the big ring to the little ring. With Record and Chorus shifters, the thumb button is pushed all the way down, through 3-4 clicks to make this shift. A trim shift to the right, with the finger lever, works the same.

Trimming to the left from the big ring is a bit awkward. Here's part of a previous post on the subject:

First, move the finger lever over to the right to take up the system slack. Then trip the thumb button, and finally release the tension on the finger lever. The derailleur cage moves to a position that is higher than either of the two intermediate clicks found when going from the bottom up.

For someone who uses a triple crank this would be a no-brainer. The escape mechanism would be a pain.


As for the failures, I got the info from a person working in a Michigan shop. Here's what he wrote:

By far, the #1 part most failing part is EC-CE060, which is common to escape levers. The material was either incorrectly speced or the design is flawed in this part. The EC-CE060 part controls the stop in the return ratchet. The teeth on EC-CE060 become dull, and the entire mechanism begins to slip multiple stops/gears. This part should have been made out of something harder to prevent the wear.

What's amazing, is that Campy had manufactured replacement parts, but manufactured them incorrectly. They molded the shape, but did not cut the teeth. The result is that they shipped out a bunch of parts to QBP that would not work, so finding spares in the US, at the time, was impossible. That was as of October. I've not followed the situation since then.

[Erik.Lazdins]

Here's more info on how the escape levers work. You can decide for yourself if this sounds like a downgrade.

The Centaur and lower level shifter use the "escape" mechanism, previously only used on the lowest level Xenon shifters. The right thumb button only shifts one cog at a time, instead of having unlimited travel. That means every time you shift to the little ring, you have to hit the thumb button 2-3 times to shift to smaller cogs, instead of just one push through 2-3 cogs.

On the left side, a single push of the thumb button makes a Shimano-like ping and drops the chain from the big ring to the little ring. With Record and Chorus shifters, the thumb button is pushed all the way down, through 3-4 clicks to make this shift. A trim shift to the right, with the finger lever, works the same.

Trimming to the left from the big ring is a bit awkward. Here's part of a previous post on the subject:

First, move the finger lever over to the right to take up the system slack. Then trip the thumb button, and finally release the tension on the finger lever. The derailleur cage moves to a position that is higher than either of the two intermediate clicks found when going from the bottom up.


As for the failures, I got the info from a person working in a Michigan shop. Here's what he wrote:

By far, the #1 part most failing part is EC-CE060, which is common to escape levers. The material was either incorrectly speced or the design is flawed in this part. The EC-CE060 part controls the stop in the return ratchet. The teeth on EC-CE060 become dull, and the entire mechanism begins to slip multiple stops/gears. This part should have been made out of something harder to prevent the wear.

What's amazing, is that Campy had manufactured replacement parts, but manufactured them incorrectly. They molded the shape, but did not cut the teeth. The result is that they shipped out a bunch of parts to QBP that would not work, so finding spares in the US, at the time, was impossible. That was as of October. I've not followed the situation since then.


Dave,
Great post - thanks for the info. I'm considering a new group and this information is exactly what I look for when making my decisions. The group will be campy - just need to nail down what level. I'm looking for strength. durablity, and performance first, bang for the buck second, and weight a distant third.

Erik

[sokyroadie]

Thanks for all the reply's, I have decided to go with the 2006 Centaur Grey shifters.

Jeff