Campy Q's

[Birch]

Hi!

Did anyone notice a change going from pre-QS levers to QS or Red?

Can you have QS components with regular record derailleurs?

Can you change internals to "upgrade" to QS?

Should I just get 2009 Centaur with the modified grip area?

I'm sooooooo confused....

:bike:

[Dave]

QS is simple, all it affects is the left shifter, causing the cable to engage quicker, eliminating some dead travel in the finger lever. You can change the left shifter with one part, the front rachet. It's not expensive, but it requires a complete teardown of the lever.

Red just has stronger springs for those few who actually want a stronger click at each shift.

The 2009 Centaur is a big improvement over the previous design, IMO. It's more comfortable and requires less effort to acutate both finger levers and thumb buttons. Both sides also seem to have less dead travel on the finger lever. The new design eliminates the G-springs so maintenance should be greatly reduced.

The big difference is in the right finger lever. The clicks are so light that they can scarcely be felt or heard. I like it, but some people don't.

My big warning it not to get ripped off by sellers asking high prices. I'm buying all of my parts from Euro sources where the prices have gone up little or none, not the 75% increase seen at places like Excel Sports, Chicagoland or Competitive Cyclist. A price in the $240-260 range is good for the Centaur shifter, but $425 is ridiculous.

I sent Excel an e-mail complaining about the huge prices increases and let them know that I wouldn't be buying any parts from them as those prices, like $80 for a chain the used to be $45-50.

[Avispa]

Did anyone notice a change going from pre-QS levers to QS or Red?
Yes, main difference was the more precise clicks on the FD... The old system, sometimes didn't give one room to play with the position of the FD in relation to which cog the chain was.

Can you have QS components with regular record derailleurs?
No, You must have QS Shifters AND QS derailleur. BTW, QS only works on the FRONT derailleur, not the rear.

Can you change internals to "upgrade" to QS?
Possibly, but the time and effort might not be worth it, especially now when 10sp components may be cheaper because of the arrival of 11sp. Besides, you MUST use a QS front der. There are no parts to upgrade on the FD.

Should I just get 2009 Centaur with the modified grip area?
I would instead of fussing with upgrades of the older stuff, but really unless you MUST have the new grip, the previous Record 10 was/is a very fine product.

Cheers!

..A..

[Dave]

Did anyone notice a change going from pre-QS levers to QS or Red?
Yes, main difference was the more precise clicks on the FD... The old system, sometimes didn't give one room to play with the position of the FD in relation to which cog the chain was.

Can you have QS components with regular record derailleurs?
No, You must have QS Shifters AND QS derailleur. BTW, QS only works on the FRONT derailleur, not the rear.

Can you change internals to "upgrade" to QS?
Possibly, but the time and effort might not be worth it, especially now when 10sp components may be cheaper because of the arrival of 11sp. Besides, you MUST use a QS front der. There are no parts to upgrade on the FD.

Should I just get 2009 Centaur with the modified grip area?
I would instead of fussing with upgrades of the older stuff, but really unless you MUST have the new grip, the previous Record 10 was/is a very fine product.

Cheers!

..A..

Some of your comments are just NOT correct. There is less dead travel on the left finger lever, but that does not affect the clicks, which are governed by the G-springs. You can convert a shifter to QS with a new rachet from AE bike for $6.

http://aebike.com/page.cfm?PageID=30&action=details&sku=LD9920

You do NOT have to use a QS FD with a QS shifter. None of the triple FDs are QS and they work fine with QS shifters. If this was not true, you would need a special shifter for a triple.

The only difference between a QS FD and pre-QS model is the length of the lever arm. The longer are requires one more click (4) instead of 3 and reduces the effort required due to the greater mechanical advantage of the longer arm.