Looking to build nice road bike can get these two groupsets for within £50 of each other.

Not sure I need 11 speed so it’s just a question of quality, longevity etc.

Thoughts ?

If it’s only £50 difference then go for Athena.

What Sputnik said. I ride Centaur but I think Athena looks gorgeous. I focus on looks here because I doubt there’d be much noticeable difference in performance other than the Athena being a bit lighter.

It’d be Centaur or Chorus for me. Not convinced by Athena’s position in the range. It seems it’s only raison d’être is that it is 11spd. No lighter than Centaur (in fact might even be heavier), no multi up-shift like on Chorus and Record/Super, and stupidly expensive cassettes and chains!

If you don’t need 11spd, I’d save the money myself. Every time your cassette/chain needs replacing, your wallet will thank you!

Chorus on the other hand would be worth the jump. Feels nigh on as good as Record to me, and offers all the same features for only a marginal weight gain.

Veloce, Centaur and Athena are all closely related, look at the spares book!

All Athena basically is Centaur with a Chorus 11spd Cassette.

I would go for Athena simply because I think it looks nicer being silver, but accept that when it comes to new cassettes it will hurt. Could always try BBB or similar who make cheap compatible cassettes.

Chorus/Record/Super Record use a different shifter mechanism, with the ability to shift more sprockets in one hit.

I could of course get the bike ready built with Veloce.

I have no experience of modern Campag groupsets, but the last comment makes me wonder if the upgrade to either Centaur or Athena is worth it.

Anyone used all 3 ?

Just make sure that the chainset isn’t Power Torque.

I have a 2009 Athena groupset which has been ridden every weekend from spring to autumn since then and still on the original chain and cassette.

Never misses a shift, very crisp and reliable and the reduced jump in the gear range definitely helps you find the right gear. Brakes are really powerful too

Centaur on my winter bike is also ace but overall I prefer the Athena.

http://www.campagnolo.com/repository/documenti/en/SPARES2014-PART_A-11-12-13.pdf

i would go Veloce or Athena, and if i had the money use Chorus Ergos, even if it meant “down grading” the brakes to Veloce.

Definitely make sure you get an Ultra-Torque chainset as they’re much better than the PowerTorque.
My main road bike has Chorus11 which is great, my other bikes have 07 Centaur, 05 Record/ Chorus and 09 Centaur, all 10spd. Of them all the 09 Centaur is the worst. All of the other stuff is fantastic.
If I was you I’d go 11spd, you can get other cassettes to save the pain of real Campag cassettes – my cx bikes have miche cassettes – very reliable, absolutely no problems and 1/3rd the cost.