I'd personally put it somewhere between 105 and the new Ultegra 10 speed.
It does come in a pretty sexy silver/blueish color. Very nice.
It's definitely better than 105, but I'm not quite sure it's at the same level as the new Ultegra.
The real kicker is, what kind of bike will it be on?

If I were to compare the Centaur 10 to the new Ultegra 10, I'd give the edge to Ultegra.

If Campy needed a defense, it would be that the bike I was riding with Centaur had a shimano freehub with the Mavic 10-speed cassette...so it was not a campy cassette.

The ultegra feels like it is a little bit quicker and smoother shifting. I had no problems with the Centaur and have yet to have a problem with the Ultegra.

---

Brandon Marsh - Website | @BrandonMarshTX | RokaSports | 1stEndurance | ATC Bikeshop |

I've ridden both, and I can't tell a difference. I have Centaur on my road bike (which doubles as my tri bike), and I love it. I like the Centaur because of the Campy factor. Also, Centaur is less expensive than Ultegra 10 speed. Centaur may be, dollar for dollar, the best groupset out there.

RP

I have Centaur, Record, Dura 9 and Dura 10 on different bikes. They are all good. Shimano has a lighter touch. Campy is stiffer but can dump or grab 4-5 gears in one movement. I put Centaur and Ultegra pretty close and for the money spent, both in the best buy dept. Not sure where you are, but Campy is showing up a lot more on the roadie scene than a couple years ago. I think you could buy either and need not to worry about one shifting "better" as they are both in the "good stuff" lines.

i have the centaur now and really like it...total confidence in its performance--and out here in these hills the front gets alot action. granted my shimano set wasn't too sophisticated, but i had alot of problems with the front shifting. at this level though, both are good, but i would choose campy always, just a personal preference (read: my lbs has brainwashed me...lol)

I'm in the market for a new training bike that I'll also use in some road races. I was originally shopping for a bike with full Ultegra and I found the Soloist Centaur. I've never riden anything other than Shimano and I don't know how it compares to it.

I'll be doing long hard grueling rides on the thing so I need something that is good training/racing quality but at a decent price for a training bike. Keeping everything clean and in working order is not a problem for me. I'm picky about everything being fine tune. ;)

The Soloist Centaur is a nice bike. Go for it.

ditto what Zgopher said. I ride an older Soloist which I really like. One of the guys in the group rides a new Centaur equiped model which in my view is incredible value. Cant go wrong, unless you really want carbon!

---

__________________________________________________
Simple Simon
Where's the Fried Chicken??

I have the new soloist centauer and i come from ultegra.
I had no problems switching. Pro Campa: you can shift 4-5 gears up, i like the steer handels better, cabbles are gone.
The first thing i wanted to do is to remove campa and replace it with ultegra, bot now a few weeks later i am gonna keep the campa, i only do not like the fsa components on the soloist centaur. to cheap to deal with my powerfull legs!

Centaur is absolutely heads and shoulders above 105. The comparison between Ultegra and Centaur is certainly a valid one, and comes down to many more things that simply weight/performance etc. The most important difference is ergonomics. I have approximately 1500-2000 km's on Ultegra 10, and many, many thousand (2 years) on Centaur. Although for approx. the first 350km's i was very impressed with the shifting and stiffness of the ultegra, as well as the crispness of shifting. However, following that the shifting degraded to the point that while still being smooth, was around the same "feel" of the old 9speed 105. As for centaur, it has maintained its feel. After last fall racing cross on it, i rebuilt the shifter, and it was virtually as crisp as original. I run the shop at large retailer and currently have about 25 bikes out on the road with new ultegra on it, and have had about 10 back for warranty tune ups etc, and all show similar signs of degradation as i noted above. Basically, the way i feel is that for a TT bike, 9speed ultegra is the way to go, or 10speed if 9 isn 't avail. If you're lookin' at a road bike then i'd go with centaur for sure, with the exception of the cranks, which i'd say you should upgrade to chorus (i've ridden centaur, chorus, and record, and chorus alu. strikes the best comprimise as far as i'm concerned). As always, thats one mans opinion, watch out for the ergonomics though, as some people can't handle the shimano, and some can't handle the campy, which is the most important of all!!

Cheers,
Graham

Does anyone else have an opinion on this? I'm leaning towards centaur based on other replies.

Thanks.

---

____________________________________________________________
"I'm happy when life's good,
and when it's bad I cry.
I've got values but I don't know how or why."
- The Who

I looked at three Soloists- the 9 speed ultegra, Centaur, and this year's 10 speed Ultegra.

I ended up going with Ultegra 10 - but in my case it came down to the feel of the hoods. I just couldn't get used to the feel of Campy, without the big, tall knob of Shimano on the end. I always felt like I was going to hit a pothole while sitting on the hoods and that my hands would slide off the front.

I'm probably crazy.

So I went with Ultegra- I was used to it from my cross bike, and it's been excellent. In terms of quality, Ultegra 10 is outstanding. The Centaur was nice - much better than I expected, and an excellent value. It's really a matter of personal perference for shifting method and hood shape. I like being able to shift up and down from the drops, and I like riding on the hoods. You may value being able to shift multiple gears in one push..

Price wise, Centaur is great. If it suits you, definitely get it with no reservations.

[reply]
I ended up going with Ultegra 10 - but in my case it came down to the feel of the hoods. I just couldn't get used to the feel of Campy, without the big, tall knob of Shimano on the end. I always felt like I was going to hit a pothole while sitting on the hoods and that my hands would slide off the front.


....
I like being able to shift up and down from the drops, and I like riding on the hoods. You may value being able to shift multiple gears in one push..
[/reply]

I have the soloist centaur.
I bought it last summer and then blew out my knee within a few weeks, so it's got few miles on it, but can say a few things.

first, you _can_ shift up and down from the drops. i was worried about that when i got it, because you have to reach your thumb up a little bit, but it's really not a big concern.

second, when i was riding last summer, my single biggest complaint was the hoods. Not the shape, just that they're super slippery. but word is that campy hoods become less slippery as they break in. the general wisdom seems to be that shimano stuff wears down, while campy stuff breaks in. I've seen nothing yet to disprove that.

i'm back "riding" the bike, but only on the trainer, so it's not a good measure. my only concern now is that i have a hard time getting up to the big ring in the front, but i suspect that's just because the cable needs to be adjusted.

You know how I feel on this matter. Dont forget, you can get spare parts for Campy should you break anything...Shimano...no spare nothing.

---

----------------------------------------------------------

What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?

I have Dura 10, Ultegra 9, Record, Chorus 10 and Centaur on different bikes. They all work as well as each other, but feel is way different. I personally like the Ultegra/Dura 9 speed better than their new 10 speed stuff. I like the solid feel of gears changing ala Campy, and the thicker hoods of the Shimano 9 stuff. I wouldn't worry about quality as I think Ultegra and Centaur work and last just as well as the more expensive stuff. I do think Campy has a real edge in cyclocross shifting with mud and grass in the derails chain and drive train.

My cross bike (one is a single speed so it don't count) is Centaur and when it is cleaned up it runs just as well as my Record roadie.

I have had Ultegra/Centaur/Record on my bike in the last couple of years and I can't really tell much difference in the shifting quality between any of them. I prefer campy for the ergonomics of the levers and the cleaner front end. I wouldn't consider it a comprimise to go with centaur instead of ultegra. It really is a matter of which is more comfortable.