Is campagnolo's Centaur Groupset worth it over a Mirage Set?

Question

I commute to work daily about 15 mi round trip on a stripped down 1973 schwinn varsity (still weighs in excess of 40 lbs ;P ) and I am in the process of building up a new bike because the schwinn is getting expensive to keep running and parts are wearing out. The only thing i am stuck on is which groupset to purchase It has to be campagnolo because i have already bought the wheels and because i want the name. shoul i go mid low end Mirage or high mid range centaur. I personally am aming at the higher one but i am curious if it is worth the extra cost

Answer 1

Not on a Schwinn Varsity..........you are primarily paying extra for less weight.   Although the Centaur is jump up to the "close to racing...good enough for most of us" road stuff.

Answer 2

I've done all my riding on Shimano, and did the "low end should be good enough" components on my first bike (Tiagra/105 which is similar in quality to Mirage).  The first time I test rode a bike with Ultegra/Dura Ace I was floored!  It's not just "kind of" better, it's a world of difference better.  Going from "I hope my bike shifts correctly" to "I tapped my finger and moved to a new gear" is so great.

Shifting is something you do so often while riding that being able to put it "out of mind" and just know that it will work, smoothly, quickly and every time is wonderful.

When we were shopping for a bike for my wife I had her ride a bike with low end components first.  Then she hopped on  the bike we ended up purchasing (Ultegra equipped) and she was floored at how much faster/easier shifting is.  Her happiness was worth every penny.