Been searching around the 'net for some deals on Centaur rear der. and shifters for my CX rig, and/or possibly some Chorus parts too. Anyone know of any "blowouts" or specials? I usually go to my LBS, but he's gone insane with his prices lately.

Last Campy stuff I bought was Record 10 and Shamal & Nucleon wheels back in 2000 from Lickton's, and I sure do miss that set-up. :(

www.greenfishadventuresports.com

Thanks for the link, Juan. :)

I had never heard of those guys but Wow! - their Campy prices truly are INSANE! They must have some stuff leftover that they had bought before the dollar went south with the exchange rate to 'Yurp.(?) I had a good deal from Lickton's where he was matching the best prices I had found, but now I'm going to have to change my order.

I don't think Bob's gonna be real happy, but hey...

You should take note that all the pictures of their Chorus parts looks to be 2003, not 2004 stuff. Don't know about what they deliver though.

That's right, but AFAIK there is no difference between '03 and '04 Centaur & Chorus R. ders and shifters, other than carbon for Chorus and Century Grey for Centaur.

AJS: Not as good as those Greenfish prices BUT, the web page says they will beat any advertised Campagnolo price!!! Worth a try. Its a strange web page but I ordered my cranks and levers through them last year.

www.hammerpilot.com

Thanks for the link, Acent, I'll check 'em out when they open tomorrow.

BTW - I've gotten Lickton's to come down twice on his prices to match Greenfish, but he can only go so far. I hate to not give Bob L. my biz because he's always been good to me not only with price but with returns/replacements, delivery times, special ordering, etc.

BTW BTW - how do you like your Campy stuff?, (dumb question I know because about 99.8% who buy Campy love it). What'd you get for crankset & shifters: Centaur, Record, Veloce, Chorus, a mixture?

I think I'm going to try to curb my lust for now on cranks and wait for the noo CT's to hit. A 50/36 Cent/Chorus carbon would be the tits.

Heck I'll chime in :) I love my Campy stuff. I have nothing against Shimano they make great fishing reels :eek: Actually I have all XT on my mountain bike and Shimano is great. I went with Campy for two reasons, first I like the shifting of the Campy stuff over Shimano (personal preference only). Second, I wanted all Italian on the bike all the way down to Veloflex tires. I came pretty close except the rims and headset and forks but they were too good of deals to pass up.

I think Record and Chorus in the carbon stuff is very cool but VERY $$$ I decided to go with Centaur and Chorus mix. I've got no complaints, the Centaur line is entry level high end of Campagnolo which for a weekend warrior like myself is more than suffiecent.

If you are not 100% sure, I'd go with Chorus or Record just because it is easier to sell if you want to go to Shimano. Also check around you might be able to find the aluminum Chorus stuff on closeout and save some cash.

Also one other place to check (I've ordered brakes through) glorycycles.com

Well, I know about the various Campy groups, but I just wondered how you're liking the Cent/Chorus stuff you bought, since I haven't been riding Campy for a couple of years after I sold my Record 10/Litespeed roadie. (divorce can sometimes do that to ya :( )

For myself, I can't see a reason to go back to Shimano after I get this CX frame set with Campy. That's the reason I'm replacing the OEM group on this current bike - to return to Campy as soon as I could afford buying the new components. Bought this bike originally as an inexpensive, all-around solution until I can save for another custom-geom frame. Then the Campy parts will go on the new frame.

But I've come to like this K2 frame so much. It fits me very well, handles great, and isn't a boat-anchor. What, me worry!?

I also can't see a hugely compelling reason to spend the cash on Chorus/Record in general over this year's Centaur, as far as the derailleurs, shifters, and cogsets are concerned. The Centaur R. Der is about +20 gm. over the Al Chorus but functionally they're exactly the same AFAIK. The Cent shifters are +45gm. or so and have bushings instead of bearings but so what - they last just as long and shift just as well once broken in. No great diff between the cogs & FDs either. I'm not using Campy cranks yet so the BB is no issue now. If I end up with the new CT cranks coming out as I hope, I'll look at the updated Centaur BB that's supposed to be in the "new releases" pipe now.

Anyway, I checked around and couldn't get a better price than what I got on a '04 Centaur short-cage, 12-25 cassette, and levers. (Couldn't get a Veloce cassette, Greenfish is out of them) Then with the Ultra-Drive chain and '03 Zonda's thrown in it was a helluva deal at $683., no tax/no shipping from Greenfish. (I stopped in and picked up my order; Sam's not an actual brick n' mortar so he could sell without charging NY state sales tax...I guess. :eek: )

It's on the bike now and running - you guessed it - perfectly and quietly. I can go at least 1 cog higher, sometimes 2, in most situations on familiar routes with the same approximate effort than I could with the Ult./105/WTB set-up I had.

Which of course means: Faster. Easier. Better. Isn't that what it's all about?