The goodness has arrived!
All packed up and neat like.
In a flat rate box:
After much soul searching and indecision, I finally went ahead and ordered a group from Tom over at GVH Bikes in Oregon.
From what I gather, it's a small shop deals mostly in frames or complete builds. There was also a frame there I was/am interested in, but it was unfortunately Not Figured in Budget(NFIB).
Well, don't keep us waiting Mr. Flat Tire, what the hell did you get?
I am so glad you, the reader, asked!
That's right sports fans!
Double Tap glory!
SRAM Red!
Cleverly disguised as Campagnolo Centaur!
Here's the back story:
First of all, I thought long and hard about going Chorus 11, or maybe even Athena.
Athena was around the same price as the Centaur group, the hang up was the long term effects of my cycling budget.
The eleven speed stuff, the chain and cassettes, were just too expensive to replace.
I could not justify going there, especially when you have to get a special tool just to peen the eleven speed chain pins.
Okay, I really dig tools, but that was going a bit far.
So, I went and did some research on Centaur.
I wanted last years group and not the new stuff.
Apparently Campagnolo decided to "dumb" down this years Centaur and Athena groups, in the shifters and the cranks.
With the new Power Shift uh, shifters, you cannot dump five gears at a time like the old ones, you are limited to one gear at a time.
The older Ultra shift stuff is basically the same as Chorus and Record.
Same as the cranks.
The older cranks are Ultra Torque, with that funky joint in the axle and the new Power Torque stuff is just like Shimano, etc., with the bearings in the outer BB cups.
It seemed like for 2011, Campagnolo decided to cut some costs in their lower end groups.
The cranks weren't that much of a big deal, but for whatever reason, the shifters were.
Unfortunately, the older shifters only came in carbon, but I can live with that.
The front derailleur was only available as a clamp on, so Tom threw in an 09 Chorus braze on instead. I'll probably search the evilness to find one that matches.
I also didn't get a cable set, but for the price I got, I ain't too worried.
I've sent off and email to see what can be done.
I gotta say, I'm pretty excited about all this, but as I just got back from my oil change, I'm sorta not in the mood to be messing with this stuff right now.
I'll probably take off the old stuff and tonight and save assembly for tomorrow.
Right off the bat, I gotta say, the Skeleton brake set is purty!
The shifters are huge compared to my old ones and the carbon look is starting to grow on me.
More pics in the morn.
Now if I can only get in touch with the Maker of the Unobtainable Lightness of Roundness, I'll be a happy camper.
Sort of.
5 comments:
That seems a pretty good choice.
I am so glad that I finally know.
The tension was getting to me and I thought that my eyes were going to explode with the pressure of all the waiting....!!
Impressive indeed!
You would have had to live with the guilt forever if you'd kept Trevor waiting so long that his eyes exploded.
Short of genuine SRAM, you made a wise choice (look at the Yoda figure again), and SRAM might be considered tacky on an Italian bike even by me. The older Centaur is truly superior to the new stuff. Even the carbon shift lever is one of the best places to use carbon because it'll be cool to the touch even if the shifter has had sun shining on it for hours on a warm day.
And those brakes might be exhibited in the MOMA someday. Speaking of which, are you going to sell the old brakes in "the evilness?"
You have taken the bling to 11, sir, if not the actual sprockets. Cool!
Thanks guys!
I pretty much can only do this sort of thing once a year, so I had to make it count.
Steve A., not sure about the Avanti calipers.
You looking for a set?
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