Campy Centaur vs. SRAM Rival... thoughts?

I've just been given a wonderful gift, a friend gave me his old
Cannondale Optimo frame, and a few parts... so, now I need a build
kit! My current bike (Calfee Luna Pro) is a bit of a frankenstein's
monster, it has a mishmash of 8 speed Chorus and Athena components.
Sooo, I'm trying to educate myself a bit. I've narrowed down my
search to Campy Centaur vs. SRAM Rival... I've always been a Campy
guy, but the SRAM stuff seems to get good reviews. At this price
point, I'm sure you've deduced that I'm not a racer, on a budget, and
while weight IS a consideration, I don't count every gram. I'm not
really familiar with either gruppo, The SRAM stuff I really only
know from the reviews I've read online.

How do the two groups compare in function, reliability, and
appearance? They're both basically the same price, is either one a
clear cut winner in value over the other one?

Are there any specific components in either gruppo that when upgraded
to the next level are worth it? Perhaps a rear derailleur gives a big
jump in performance between Rival and Force, for instance.
Conversely, are there any that when downgraded you save some money and
lose nothing more than some finish, or 5 grams or so?

Thanks for any advice anyone wants to throw out there!
Ted

On Mar 10, 9:29*pm, wrote:
I've just been given a wonderful gift, a friend gave me his old
Cannondale Optimo frame, and a few parts... so, now I need a build
kit! *My current bike (Calfee Luna Pro) is a bit of a frankenstein's
monster, it has a mishmash of 8 speed Chorus and Athena components.
Sooo, I'm trying to educate myself a bit. *I've narrowed down my
search to Campy Centaur vs. SRAM Rival... *I've always been a Campy
guy, but the SRAM stuff seems to get good reviews. *At this price
point, I'm sure you've deduced that I'm not a racer, on a budget, and
while weight IS a consideration, I don't count every gram. *I'm not
really familiar with either gruppo, * The SRAM stuff I really only
know from the reviews I've read online.

How do the two groups compare in function, reliability, and
appearance? *They're both basically the same price, is either one a
clear cut winner in value over the other one?

Are there any specific components in either gruppo that when upgraded
to the next level are worth it? *Perhaps a rear derailleur gives a big
jump in performance between Rival and Force, for instance.
Conversely, are there any that when downgraded you save some money and
lose nothing more than some finish, or 5 grams or so?

Thanks for any advice anyone wants to throw out there!
Ted

I've recently moved from Campy to SRAM on my road and cross bikes. I
bought new parts on eBay at a good savings and decided on Force
shifters and Rival derailleurs. What I recall is that there was a big
price jump to the Force RD that didn't seem worth. The FDs were near
the same price and seemed to be about the same. I don't remember what
my rational was for the Force shifters but I've been very happy with
them.

Bret

On Mar 10, 9:29*pm, wrote:
I've just been given a wonderful gift, a friend gave me his old
Cannondale Optimo frame, and a few parts... so, now I need a build
kit! *My current bike (Calfee Luna Pro) is a bit of a frankenstein's
monster, it has a mishmash of 8 speed Chorus and Athena components.
Sooo, I'm trying to educate myself a bit. *I've narrowed down my
search to Campy Centaur vs. SRAM Rival... *I've always been a Campy
guy, but the SRAM stuff seems to get good reviews. *At this price
point, I'm sure you've deduced that I'm not a racer, on a budget, and
while weight IS a consideration, I don't count every gram. *I'm not
really familiar with either gruppo, * The SRAM stuff I really only
know from the reviews I've read online.

How do the two groups compare in function, reliability, and
appearance? *They're both basically the same price, is either one a
clear cut winner in value over the other one?

Function? Campagnolo with a 'ratcheting friction' LH lever(multi
postion for the FD) and multiple gear up and down the cogset for the
RH lever. Repairability?Campagnolo altho the insides are dramatically
different in 2009(assuming you are talking about 2009 stuff) and look
to have little or nothing that can break or wear out. BUT if tey do,
all inside innards are available as small parts. EASY to take apart
and fix, easlier than the previous years.

Appearance in subjective 100%

Are there any specific components in either gruppo that when upgraded
to the next level are worth it? *Perhaps a rear derailleur gives a big
jump in performance between Rival and Force, for instance.
Conversely, are there any that when downgraded you save some money and
lose nothing more than some finish, or 5 grams or so?

Veloce components are almost exactly like Centaur but black. Almost
the same price as well.

Thanks for any advice anyone wants to throw out there!
Ted

What I always say is ride a bike with each. Use the lever that feels
the best in your hand. If you don't care, I wold recommend either
Campagnolo or shimano.
Lots of testing hype out there about Sram. Deep pockets mean a lot of
freebie groups get given to testers. I think you have to take some of
them with a grain of salt.

wrote in message
...

How do the two groups compare in function, reliability, and
appearance? They're both basically the same price, is either one a
clear cut winner in value over the other one?

Are there any specific components in either gruppo that when upgraded
to the next level are worth it? Perhaps a rear derailleur gives a big
jump in performance between Rival and Force, for instance.
Conversely, are there any that when downgraded you save some money and
lose nothing more than some finish, or 5 grams or so?

Thanks for any advice anyone wants to throw out there!

If you're worried about reliability as you should be then Campy is
definitely the one to buy. And Centaur is a good group. SRAM may turn out to
be a good group (I have some cranks that are definitely good stuff) but
there hasn't been enough time yet to test it all sufficiently if you're on a
budget.

On Mar 10, 10:29 pm, wrote:
I've just been given a wonderful gift, a friend gave me his old
Cannondale Optimo frame, and a few parts... so, now I need a build
kit! My current bike (Calfee Luna Pro) is a bit of a frankenstein's
monster, it has a mishmash of 8 speed Chorus and Athena components.

If it has 8 speed components, use them. If you have a cogset matched
to your riding style, it's plenty. Set up right, any modernish group
will shift great--there's no reason to obsess about it. This is road
riding--if you were hucking the thing around in the woods, that's
where design differences might reveal themselves. As it is--might just
be smart to complete what you've got.

If going new--and you're on a budget, nothing beats the cheapness of
running a Shimano 8speed drivetrain with a set of inexpensive Ergo 10
shifters. You're not racing. It's all ya *need*. 8spd components are
cheap and reliable.

If you're merely fibbing about being on a budget, then get the levers
you find more comfy, as that's where you'll be interfacing with the
bike for miles and miles. SRAM's been around for a long time, and the
consumables are as common as Shimano stuff.

There's no magic answer--but I venture it's more important to put
aside bux for a saddle, bars, and tires that you like, instead of
overanalyzing drivetrain bits.

On Mar 10, 10:29*pm, wrote:

Thanks for any advice anyone wants to throw out there!

Why "Frankenstein"? Sounds like smart scrounging to me! Pick the parts
that have the features you want at the best price you can get,
especially Campy-- I have Record (and old C Record), Chorus, Centaur,
Veloce, and I think a little Daytona in the mix in my fleet of five.

Craigslist, ebay, "specials tables", even a little retail all mixed in
there. No problems with siblings functioning together.

Why no Shimano? I've ridden Campy for years but have recently done a
few short test rides on Ultegra and Dura Ace. The absence of a thumb
button makes for a much more comfortable grip on the hoods. The action
is different, but you'd have to get used to SRAM, too.

Didn't SRAM drop one line of gear and come out with "all-new,
improved"? IOW, are we still beta testing for SRAM?

Not trying to spend more of your money, but IME when you have more
than one (road) bike, it's convenient to be able to swap wheels
readily, and have the same pedal/cleat setup on all, too. --D-y

On Mar 11, 9:37 am, "Tom Kunich" cyclintom@yahoo. com wrote:
wrote in message

...



How do the two groups compare in function, reliability, and
appearance? They're both basically the same price, is either one a
clear cut winner in value over the other one?

Are there any specific components in either gruppo that when upgraded
to the next level are worth it? Perhaps a rear derailleur gives a big
jump in performance between Rival and Force, for instance.
Conversely, are there any that when downgraded you save some money and
lose nothing more than some finish, or 5 grams or so?

Thanks for any advice anyone wants to throw out there!

If you're worried about reliability as you should be then Campy is
definitely the one to buy.

No--if you're worried about reliablity, get an Acera flatbar
setup. ;-) If you like the feel of Campy, get it. There's no
empirical evidence that Campy is more reliable, just that you can
rebuild the brifters if needed. Shimano bits other than brifters are
cheap, mass market, and good.

On Mar 11, 6:09*am, "P. Chisholm" wrote:


What I always say is ride a bike with each. Use the lever that feels
the best in your hand. If you don't care, I wold recommend either
Campagnolo or shimano.




Dumbass -


Campy or Shimano eh?

I guess people's attitudes can change with time.


thanks,

K. Gringioni.

On Mar 11, 8:48*am, landotter wrote:
On Mar 10, 10:29 pm, wrote:

I've just been given a wonderful gift, a friend gave me his old
Cannondale Optimo frame, and a few parts... so, now I need a build
kit! *My current bike (Calfee Luna Pro) is a bit of a frankenstein's
monster, it has a mishmash of 8 speed Chorus and Athena components.

If it has 8 speed components, use them.

From the OP-"I've just been given a wonderful gift, a friend gave me
his old
Cannondale Optimo frame, and a few parts... so, now I need a build
kit!"

Got no group, needs a group, wondering which group. Calfee has the 8s
stuff on it.

If you have a cogset matched
to your riding style, it's plenty. Set up right, any modernish group
will shift great--there's no reason to obsess about it. This is road
riding--if you were hucking the thing around in the woods, that's
where design differences might reveal themselves. As it is--might just
be smart to complete what you've got.

If going new--and you're on a budget, nothing beats the cheapness of
running a Shimano 8speed drivetrain with a set of inexpensive Ergo 10
shifters. You're not racing. It's all ya *need*. 8spd components are
cheap and reliable.

If you're merely fibbing about being on a budget, then get the levers
you find more comfy, as that's where you'll be interfacing with the
bike for miles and miles. SRAM's been around for a long time, and the
consumables are as common as Shimano stuff.

There's no magic answer--but I venture it's more important to put
aside bux for a saddle, bars, and tires that you like, instead of
overanalyzing drivetrain bits.

On Mar 11, 7:48*am, landotter wrote:


If going new--and you're on a budget, nothing beats the cheapness of
running a Shimano 8speed drivetrain with a set of inexpensive Ergo 10
shifters.

Does this Ergo idea work just with newer shimano stuff, or would it
work with 7403 etc DA derailleurs?