Campagnolo 9 speed questions
07-29-21, 08:04 AM
#1
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Campagnolo 9 speed questions
I'm considering the purchase of a Bianchi Sam Remo with 9 speed Campy. Please give me the run down on replacement costs. I have no idea if any Campy 9 speed will fit, or if you have to use same level components. I am interested in the bike, but my only experience is with Shimano. My concerns are about replacement component costs.
07-29-21, 08:25 AM
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Campagnolo 9 speed, as you've doubtless noticed, isn't in production any more and hasn't been for a while. That means you're going to be looking for NOS replacement parts, for which ebay is probably your best chance.
Chains, cranks, and front derailers are pretty much generic; any 9 speed will work. Campy derailer cables are specific to Campagnolo, though other companies make Campy cable ends; they're widely available. I've been using Shimano hubs with otherwise-Campy system, so I don't know about Campy cassettes. My spare Campy rear derailer should keep me rolling for another 10 years since I just put a new one on a couple years ago.
That leaves the Ergo shifters. I need to rebuild the right shifter every 4-5,000 miles. For the most part that means replacing the G springs, but Branford Bike (my go-to source) is running short of quite a few parts for 9 speed shifters. Last year I spent about $100 on a couple parts that had finally rusted out. Most shifters available at this point are used, or vastly overpriced NOS. Used parts, either you hope the seller knew what s/he was doing and rebuilt them, or you have to plan to rebuild them yourself. At some point I may give up on sourcing spare parts on the 'bay, put a new group on, and my random, leftover spares will be auctioned off.
Chains, cranks, and front derailers are pretty much generic; any 9 speed will work. Campy derailer cables are specific to Campagnolo, though other companies make Campy cable ends; they're widely available. I've been using Shimano hubs with otherwise-Campy system, so I don't know about Campy cassettes. My spare Campy rear derailer should keep me rolling for another 10 years since I just put a new one on a couple years ago.
That leaves the Ergo shifters. I need to rebuild the right shifter every 4-5,000 miles. For the most part that means replacing the G springs, but Branford Bike (my go-to source) is running short of quite a few parts for 9 speed shifters. Last year I spent about $100 on a couple parts that had finally rusted out. Most shifters available at this point are used, or vastly overpriced NOS. Used parts, either you hope the seller knew what s/he was doing and rebuilt them, or you have to plan to rebuild them yourself. At some point I may give up on sourcing spare parts on the 'bay, put a new group on, and my random, leftover spares will be auctioned off.
07-29-21, 08:35 AM
#3
mosquito rancher
Campagnolo's 9-speed generation is about 20 years old at this point, so you'll be relying a lot on ebay and whatever happens to be available at the moment (not so different from the rest of the bike industry at this moment, now that I think about it).
I've got a bike with (mostly) 9-speed Chorus parts, and other than wear parts, I haven't had to replace anything.
Campagnolo-brand chains are expensive, but you don't need to use them. You're kind of stuck with cassettes (the Campy freehub body doesn't fit other cassettes) but Miche and perhaps a few other companies do make compatible cassettes. I do see a Veloce 9-speed cassette for sale at PBK for a reasonable price. For brake pads, I believe you could get Kool-stops.
I've got a bike with (mostly) 9-speed Chorus parts, and other than wear parts, I haven't had to replace anything.
Campagnolo-brand chains are expensive, but you don't need to use them. You're kind of stuck with cassettes (the Campy freehub body doesn't fit other cassettes) but Miche and perhaps a few other companies do make compatible cassettes. I do see a Veloce 9-speed cassette for sale at PBK for a reasonable price. For brake pads, I believe you could get Kool-stops.
__________________
Adam Rice
Adam Rice
07-29-21, 08:43 AM
#4
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Also note, there were two generations of 9 speed that don't work well with each other. Cassettes and chain are the same, but the derailleurs and ergos are different. Basically the older version has all alloy rear derailleurs and the newer version RDs have carbon bodies. The shifters have different index gears. You can use 10 speed RDs with the newer 9 speed ergos. You can replace the index gears in the shifters, making them old 9, new 9 or even 10 speed. Let me add, I find the 9 speed Campy is/was the best shifting system they have/had.
BTW: this ^^^^^^^ goes for Record and Chorus. I'm not familiar with their other levels of components.
BTW: this ^^^^^^^ goes for Record and Chorus. I'm not familiar with their other levels of components.
Last edited by gearbasher; 07-29-21 at 08:48 AM.
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07-29-21, 08:55 AM
#5
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Thread Starter
Originally Posted by adamrice
Campagnolo's 9-speed generation is about 20 years old at this point, so you'll be relying a lot on ebay and whatever happens to be available at the moment (not so different from the rest of the bike industry at this moment, now that I think about it).
I've got a bike with (mostly) 9-speed Chorus parts, and other than wear parts, I haven't had to replace anything.
Campagnolo-brand chains are expensive, but you don't need to use them. You're kind of stuck with cassettes (the Campy freehub body doesn't fit other cassettes) but Miche and perhaps a few other companies do make compatible cassettes. I do see a Veloce 9-speed cassette for sale at PBK for a reasonable price. For brake pads, I believe you could get Kool-stops.
I've got a bike with (mostly) 9-speed Chorus parts, and other than wear parts, I haven't had to replace anything.
Campagnolo-brand chains are expensive, but you don't need to use them. You're kind of stuck with cassettes (the Campy freehub body doesn't fit other cassettes) but Miche and perhaps a few other companies do make compatible cassettes. I do see a Veloce 9-speed cassette for sale at PBK for a reasonable price. For brake pads, I believe you could get Kool-stops.
07-29-21, 10:49 AM
#6
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Originally Posted by RH Clark
I'm considering the purchase of a Bianchi Sam Remo with 9 speed Campy. Please give me the run down on replacement costs. I have no idea if any Campy 9 speed will fit, or if you have to use same level components. I am interested in the bike, but my only experience is with Shimano. My concerns are about replacement component costs.
Just this week I needed to replace the 9sp 13-26 cassette on the bike. The closest shop didn't have one, so I went to Belmont Wheelworks, home of frame builder Peter Mooney. They had two in stock at $65 each. I brought my wheel to the shop so they could install it, since I didn't want to buy a Campy lock ring tool. Hijinks ensued.
Turns out that Campy 9sp lock rings were made in two sizes, 26mm and 27mm, as I have read. I didn't know that and the mechanics didn't know that. The new cassette had a 27mm lock ring, and my hub needed a 26. They spent a long time searching the store for a 26mm before they came back to the front and asked me if I had the original lock ring with me, and I did. Problem solved.
Another note: the San Remo came with a Campy triple crank, limited to a 30T granny, and I changed it to a Shimano triple to get a 24T granny.
My wife likes the bike, the drivetrain shifts flawlessly, it's all good, but I'd never buy another Campy bike. Too much trouble, unless you really want Campy. Good luck.
What color? Ours is emerald green, not Bianchi celeste green. It's good-looking.
