My 2002 9-speed Shimano 105 groupset is still functional (with the help of a new chain and cassette this year), but the levers are starting to rattle (no, it’s not just the brake cable tension), and since buying Campagnolo Eurus wheels, I’ve been hankering to switch to a Campagnolo groupset.

This is partly because, to use the Eurus rear wheel with my 105 cassette, I had to buy a Campagnolo-manufactured Shimano 9-speed compatible freehub body. I should be grateful that such a thing exists at all, but it seems to have been made from recycled lead sinkers. I suspect this is a derisive nod by Campagnolo to the cross-industry interests of their competitor. (You want to change gears with fishing tackle? Here you go.)

I’m also hoping that a shiny new groupset will help motivate me to get out on the bike after this year’s baby handicap.

Given that the 2008 Centaur groupset seems to have so far survived Cookie’s destructive testing, I’ve been considering upgrading to the 2009 Centaur groupset with carbon levers and cranks.

However, now that Chorus and the two higher-level Campagnolo groupsets have gone 11-speed, it occurs to me that 2009 might be the last year that Centaur is 10-speed. (Centaur often inherits features from the previous year’s Chorus.)

Will 11-speed trickle down to Centaur in the foreseeable future, or will the extra cog remain a distinguishing feature of (what I think of as) Campagnolo’s “racing” gruppos (Chorus and up)?