Bicycle Mechanics - Shimano/Campy Compatibility Question

Question: I have a Rear Spinergy Rev-X on my 2000 Specialized Allez Pro, that I am particularly fond of, and am seriously considering making the transition from Shimano Ultegra Group to Campagnolo Record. My problem is the fact that my Rev-X is Shimano compatible, and currently has a Shimano 8 speed cassette. My desire is to either switch over to a 9 or 10 speed cassette, but is such a transition possible in the light of Shimano/Campy compatibility problems??? Any input would be greatly appreciated. THANKS.

Originally posted by mpj
Question: I have a Rear Spinergy Rev-X on my 2000 Specialized Allez Pro, that I am particularly fond of, and am seriously considering making the transition from Shimano Ultegra Group to Campagnolo Record. My problem is the fact that my Rev-X is Shimano compatible, and currently has a Shimano 8 speed cassette. My desire is to either switch over to a 9 or 10 speed cassette, but is such a transition possible in the light of Shimano/Campy compatibility problems??? Any input would be greatly appreciated. THANKS. There are specially manufactured cassettes,Wheels Manufacturing,being one that allows either campy 9 or 10 spacing on a shimano 8 speed hub. www.excelsports.com is one source,and www.branfordbike.com may be another.

If it is a 2002 RevX than you can get a Campy freehub from Spinergy. If it is older, you may be out of luck. The wheels manufac. and others might not fit the RevX for 10 speed. A better chance for 9. The RevX is a bit unusual ( I don't know why).
When they get in the cassette, test it out. There are other ways around the problem so yes, you can run your Rev X on Campy no matter what.

:)Thanks for the input guys. It is a older Rev-X wheel, so a new Campy freehub from Spinergy might not work; but I have done some research - thanks to Pokey's suggestion - and he is right about the re-manufactured Shimano cassettes {that are designed to work with Campy shifting** from Wheels Manufacturing. Also, according to the Bradford site, they are fully compatible with Rev-X wheels, and I should have no problem adapting one of their re-manufactured Dura-Ace 10 speed cassettes, to my Shimano hub to make the changeover to full Campy Record. <p>

BTW: Just finished watching one of my cycling videos {2001 Tour of Flanders** and I am puzzled when it comes to a rider who has a blowout on his rear wheel, and immediately a service vehicle {often a motorbike on a ride like Paris-Roubaix, who carries one spare wheel** comes to assist with the rear wheel changeover. Now; if these riders are using both Shimano & Campy groups {which I know they are!**, how does the service vehicle know which rear wheel to install, as there does not seem to be time for such questions; and like I said, often its a motorbike carrying one wheel? Would not this be a compatibility nightmare?

It is my understanding, from people like Sheldon Brown, A Muzi and Peter Chisholm (from Vecchio's) that a Shimano 9-sp cassette works just fine with Campy 9-sp drivetrain and a 'special' cassette or modifications are not needed. This subject has been discussed many times on RBR and arec.bicycles.tech.

Originally posted by Davet
It is my understanding, from people like Sheldon Brown, A Muzi and Peter Chisholm (from Vecchio's) that a Shimano 9-sp cassette works just fine with Campy 9-sp drivetrain and a 'special' cassette or modifications are not needed. This subject has been discussed many times on RBR and arec.bicycles.tech. That's the story I get too,with 9 speed even though shimano cogspacing is 4.34 and campy s is 4.55mm.Use a shimano 9 speed chain.

Originally posted by mpj

BTW: Just finished watching one of my cycling videos {2001 Tour of Flanders** and I am puzzled when it comes to a rider who has a blowout on his rear wheel, and immediately a service vehicle {often a motorbike on a ride like Paris-Roubaix, who carries one spare wheel** comes to assist with the rear wheel changeover. Now; if these riders are using both Shimano & Campy groups {which I know they are!**, how does the service vehicle know which rear wheel to install, as there does not seem to be time for such questions; and like I said, often its a motorbike carrying one wheel? Would not this be a compatibility nightmare?

I don't know for sure, but I would guess that they know which rider it is, therefore what equipment he is using and they send the proper wheel. They are all in radio contact, so it would be easy.

I asked this question a couple of years ago. There are really only two options, DA 9 and Record 10, and most teams use Dura Ace. The neutral service guys apparently just know the teams and instantly know which wheel they need

mpj I sent Sheldon Brown an e-mail, the answer to which was that you can get away with running a Shimano 9-speed cassette with Campag 9-speed Ergos and rear mech.

However, I couldn't get it to shift properly using newish components (few hundred miles on them).

I fitted a SRAM 9-speed cassette and must say that the shifting is sweet, but the cassette was 50 GBP:(