Giacomo 1 

I'm shopping for a Campy RD, and I found a very nice Veloce model. The seller say's that it is good for a 8/9/10 speed set-up. Is that possible? I thought that a RD was made for just one set-up, either an 8 speed, a 9 speed, or 10 speed specifically.

On cranks, when a crankset is advertised as a 10 speed what exactly does that mean? I thought a crank didn't care how many gears were in the back? So my question here is, can a crankset advertised as a 10 speed crank, also be used on a 8 or 9 speed set-up?

Thanks for the help guys!

Drew Eckhardt 

Possible but with caveats. A 2001 and newer rear 9 speed derailleur will work with all of them. 9 speed use requires a 2001 and newer 9 speed index cam (which was briefly manufactured for first generation levers). A 9 or 10 speed chain is required as appropriate. With 10 speed use the inner cage plate will be closer to the spokes when you're using the largest cog than if you used the correct jockey wheels and pulley bolts. A 2000 and older derailleur will not.

Campagnolo has revised their rear derailleurs three times:

8 speed and old 9-speed (conventional B-tension adjustment, 2000 and older) share one ratio. The derailleur moves 1.4X as far as the cable. Officially incompatible with the new 10 speed and 2001+ 9-speed ratio shifters.

10 speed and new 9-speed (lower pivot tension adjustment, conventional sized jockey pulleys, 2001-2010) have a higher actuation ratio so the rear derailleur has enough travel to get to the 10 speed big cog which overhangs the end of the freehub. The deraillauer moves 1.5X as far as the cable. This is officially usable with 8 cogs (provided you use a 9 speed chain which fits) but not compatible with the 2000 and older 9 speed shifters. Without modifying the cable attachment to drop the actuation ratio one won't shift all the way to the big cog in 11 speed setups.

11 speed and new 10 speed (jumbo Jockey wheels, 2011 and newer for 10 speed) although it's unclear if the 10 speed derailleurs got the ratio change. 11 speed derailleurs work with 10 speed shifters (the error is too far as opposed to not far enough). The 11 speed big cog hangs farther off the end of the freehub and needs even more travel than 10 speed.

The big ring sits .4mm farther inboard than on a 9 speed crank which theoretically makes chain skate less likely on a down-shift with the narrower chain. When used with a wider 9 speed chain you might have rub on the big ring unless you shim it out - I had no silent overlapping gear ratios between my rings until I adjusted the spacing on my FSA "9 and 10 speed compatible" crank back to Campagnolo 9 speed spacing when I paired it with a C9 chain. Le Tour and Wheels Manufacturing make thin spacers for this purpose that aren't too expensive. This may be less likely with other types of chains because many have flush pins although C9 chains were still made conventionally.

Giacomo 1 

Thanks for that answer Drew.

This derailleur appears to be newer than 2001, due to the location of the adjustment screw. I'm likely to go with 9 speed, so I'm thinking I should be OK with this derailleur, as long as I go with 2001 or newer Ergo shifters, is that correct?

And I should go with a 9 speed crank to be sure of proper spacing?

cs1

Campy front shifters are basically friction shifters. You can use any kind of crank or front derailleur. Spacing shouldn't matter. Good luck.

FBinNY 

The 2001+ derailleur will work fine with current generation levers, and index according to the lever as Drew explained above. You can recognize 2001+ because the right is marked with the number of speeds, is 9s, 10s or 11s, whereas the older ones weren't.

There's no issue on the cranksets, but using a 10s crankset with a 9s chain may (not necessarily) reduce the available choices of outer cassette positions with the inner because of the narrower spacing. You probably don't ride crossed outer to inner anyway, but you might want to ride inner with second outer, an option you might lose depending on chainline and chainstay length.

thirdgenbird

The spacing between the chainrings will manner if you expect perfect performance. From experience I can tell you that a 5.9mm 10spd chain won't shift near as well on an older chainrings than it will on 10spd rings. I was using 8spd c-record cranks with 10spd and the front shifting was very disappointing. I swapped the rings out for 10spd rings and there was a night as day difference. Besides, I can't see campy adding another machining process to chainrings if it really was not needed.

DaveSSS 

One little known fact is that the problem with older cranks and chainrings, combined with newer, narrower chains is really not the tooth-tooth spacing, but differences in the shifting ramps and pins.

Over the years, the mounting lug thickness on Campy chainrings has been reduced by .4 and .6mm, for a total of 1mm, but the tooth spacing is not 1mm closer.

thirdgenbird

Either way, a 10spd chain does not work near as well on 8spd rings as an 8spd chain. If you have an 8spd crankset you can try it with 10spd and see what you think. If you are buying, just go straight to 10 if that is what you plan to use. The price difference is negotiable.

Giacomo 1 

Down below, I linked the crank and RD that I scored on e-bay. Both are Veloce and both are post 2001. The crank is 9-speed and the seller of the rear deraileur says that the RD can be used for 8/9/10 speeds, so I'm going to go with the 9 speed to match the crank. 9 speed chain should work well then? Please feel free to let me know what you think so far!

By-the-way, check out the detailed desription of the crank by the seller. Great info there I think!

FBinNY-thanks for the tip on how to tell the post 2001 ergo shifters from earlier models. I'm still on the hunt for something decent.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/271021707240?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

https://www.ebay.com/itm/180937154719...84.m1439.l2649

Here's the link to the Centaur brakeset I purchased in case you wanted to see. They are perfect and beautifully crafted pieces!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/110913525429...84.m1439.l2649

Thanks guys!

songfta

The RD is a much more recent vintage - 2010 or thereabouts.

The crankset is older, with the square-taper BB interface, but should work fie with 9 or 10 speed setups.

The brakes are lovely - I have the same ones on one of my bikes.

Giacomo 1 

Wow, you don't know how happy you made me with the above post!

I've been researching what Campy parts work with what, and asking alot of questions, (thanks for everyones patience!)and it's nice to hear I got it right! In all honesty, it hasn't been easy! I've always been a Shimano guy, which seem's to be much more compatible and just easier to mix and match and work with. Campy seems far more complicated with all of the generational differences and incompatabilies. But I will say the Campy stuff is just plain gorgeous to look at and admire and worth the extra effort - and money! Hopefully I will be also be rewarded with a great ride for all this effort!

thirdgenbird

Shimano has incompatabilities of its own. dur-ace used to have its own cable pull, 10spd road and 10spd mtb are different, front shifting is indexed and not as universal as campy's, shimano went through several bottom bracket standards, they had their short lived alloy freehub spline, shimano used to use their own shifter boss, road brakes have changed cable pull ratios several times, high normal and low normal derailleurs, and they are about to change it up again with 11spd.

I am not saying campy is easier, I am just saying it is all what you know. what I can say is that campy is easy to convert. Most ergo, bar end, and, downtubes from the early 90s to 2008 can be converted between 8, 9, and 10spd. Freehub bodies on 8spd wheels can be swapped to 9/10/11spd. Brakes and brake levers can matched to your hearts content. Cranksets can be upgraded by swapping the large chain ring. Many internal parts and wear parts are the same (or compatible) nearly all the way down the line. Campy has also done a great job at slowly evolving their appearance. A set of veloce monoplanars from the early 90s will match a brand new athena 11spd RD, record alloy cranks from the 10spd era, and a chorus post from the 80s. Shimano's design and finish has been all over the map.


The parts you got are a perfect example. They are from different groups and generations but they will all look and function well together.

jefscolnago

Agreeing with thirdgenbird's last post, I think you'll find that Campy stuff is much easier to mix and match than you think. You can also "upgrade" a lot of components just by switching a few parts. Try rebuilding Shimano Shifter/brake levers and then try it on Campy. The first time I tried to rebuild my Chorus shifters, it took me over an hour - because I didn't have a clue - last time, in under fifteen minutes, because I finally GOT IT!!! I've been told that the Shimano versions are virtually UN-rebuildable... Look here:

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...-Lube-Shifters

Look at post # 21 in response to one of my posts.

Kimmo

vvv

Giacomo 1 

You guys are making me feel better about going Campy. I'm alot more comfortable now with their compatibility and the heirarchy of their line-up from top to bottom now, thanks to all of you guys for that. If their stuff works as well as it looks, it should make for quite a nice ride!

I just ordered the BB, a Veloce, to go with the Veloce crank and RD. So, so far it's a Record headset, Veloce running gear and a Centaur brakeset. Ive got a bead on some shifters I like and I'm on the prowl for a FD, cable stops and chain next. Then it's onto a wheelset, which scares me abit! Again, I'll have to do my homework on that one, as it could be the most expensive part of the build and I'll want to really get it right...