Road Cycling - 9 speed or 10 speed transmission?

Having decided to build my next road bike around Campagnolo components, I now need to decide whether to go for 9 speed or 10 speed transmission. Could anyone give me their opinions on these 2 choices?

Is there any truth in the remarks i have read about the additional complexity in making adjustments to the 10 speed system. Also, is there any real need, or benefit, to having 10 speed? At the moment i am used to a triple 8 speed set-up; i would be using only a double chainring with the new set-up.

Thanks, Andrew

I would go 10 speed. It's the latest groupo so it will be the best for finding parts long down the road. I have 10 speed Chorus/Centaur on my bike and it works flawlessly.

Originally posted by DeneView
Having decided to build my next road bike around Campagnolo components, I now need to decide whether to go for 9 speed or 10 speed transmission. Could anyone give me their opinions on these 2 choices?

If this is your only road bike you might as well spring for the 10 speed shifters/cassette/chain.

The only reason I can see for not buying into the 10 speed system would be that you've already got a significant investment in 9 speed cassettes and chains.

As for pros and cons, they're negligible. If you run narrow gearing you'll appreciate having 8, 9 or 10 single step shifts and if you're looking to eliminate the triple the 13x29t touring cassette will give you lots of gear inch range. As for complexity, 10 speed is no more complex but requires more attention to detail when setting up the bike -- just as 9 speed did compared to 8 when it was introduced, and 8 compared to 7, and 7 compared to 6 and 6 compared to 5.

BTW: Shimano will be introducing 10 speed next year.

The best reason that I can say is
Campy Only site reported that 9 speed is dead, 10 speed
is the way of the future (now on almost all gruppos).
If its anything like 8 speed there are still parts out there
but they are getting scarce.

Marty

Originally posted by lotek
The best reason that I can say is
Campy Only site reported that 9 speed is dead, 10 speed
is the way of the future (now on almost all gruppos).
If its anything like 8 speed there are still parts out there
but they are getting scarce.

Yeah, well sort of. Keep in mind, despite what Campy and Campy dealers will tell you, you can always run Campy 9 speed Ergo levers and derailleurs with Shimano 9 speed cassettes so it'll be a long time before 9 speed Campy users will be SOL. The only difference between the Campy 9 and 10 speed rear derailleurs (post 2001) is the spacer in the jockey wheels -- noting that the actual jockey wheels and pivot screws are 9/10 speed.

Just a little factoid that's not always mentioned. FWIW: I run '98 Campy 9 speed Chorus shifters with a '02 Record 10spd RD and Shimano 9 speed cassettes, '99 Campy 9 speed Chorus shifters and RD with both Campy 9 and Shimano 9 speed wheelsets /cassettes and '02 Campy Chorus 9 speed shifters & Record RD with both Campy 9 and Shimano 9 speed wheelsets/cassettes. You need to be pricise in how you adjust your rear derailleur when running the Shimano cassettes but once you've got it dialed in you can't tell the difference between the Campy & Shimano cassettes when you're riding.

I'm not sure just how hard it will be to find 9 speed stuff out there, at least for the next several years. I can still get 7 speed stuff for my wife's beater pretty easily, and the 8 speed mountain bike I ride is still easy to find parts for. I'd imagine that you can still find 8 speed roadie components out there, too, for that matter.

I know that Campy 9-speed Ergo levers can be upgraded to 10-speed. Can the rear derailleur also be upgraded from 9- to 10-speed?

Originally posted by SteveE
I know that Campy 9-speed Ergo levers can be upgraded to 10-speed. Can the rear derailleur also be upgraded from 9- to 10-speed?

The 2001 & up 9 and 10 speed derailleurs are the same, per my comments regarding the spacer above.

According to Campy, the pre-2001 9 speed Campy components are "incompatible" with the newer 9 and 10 speed gear. The difference between "old and new" is the shorter amount of throw (a few mm) required for each shift. It was a by-product of putting 10 gear positions in the same space previously occupied by 9 and 8 speed cams/cassettes.

My only first hand experience with this new vs old issue is my use of '98 Campy 9 speed shifters using the original '98 9 speed cam with a '03 Record RD and Shimano cassettes. It works just fine.

Blasphemy for sure, but before Campy developed 10 speed the largest cog they made was a 27t. For the tandems, an 11x 30t or 11x32t (only available as a stock item in Shimano spline patterns) is a nice choice if you want to stay out of the triple chainring in the mountains.

Threre is some very good info at
Branford Bikes (http://www.branfordbike.com/)
concerning using campy with shimano, and more
importantly, upgrading your 8 or 9 speed ergo levers
to 10 speed (yes you can get from 8 to 10!).
I'm running 8 speed currently, but plan on moving up
to 10 speed one of these days. I've seen the instructions
and it isn't too difficult! (and I like the older pointed levers,
fit me better!).
thats one thing I can say about Shimano when asked about
differences, you can't do that with STi.

Marty

Did Shimano not announce that it would bypass the 10 speed cogset and bring out an 11 speed in 2004?

Machiavelo, there are all kinds of rumors about Shimanos added gears, but 10 speeds seems to be the most consistent. I heard a rumor at one point that they were trying to develop a chain that would handle up to 14 cogs on the rear. It didn't work. I would imagine that we'll see 10 from them, but who knows?

I am facing the same decision. I have decided that I will go for 10. Since my current wheels are antiques (6-speed freewheels, with 126 spacing), I won't be able to swap in any case. Plus, I have heard that getting parts might become harder with 9--probably a load of hooey. Word on the street in Bonn is that a Wippermann chain is better than the Campy chain--at least with respect to durability.

Cheers,
Jamie

Originally posted by jmlee
Word on the street in Bonn is that a Wippermann chain is better than the Campy chain--at least with respect to durability.

Actually, Wippermann is better with respect to:

1. Durabilty
2. Smoothness
3. Quietness
4. Connex System vs Perma-Link
5. Cost

Campy had good chains when Rohloff made Campy's chains. Since deciding to produce them in-house (if you will), there's been little reason to recommend them as they are over-priced and don't perform any better than far less expensive chains from SRAM and now Wippermann. The Wippermann is the best thing to happen to Campy 10 speed. Don't even think twice about which chain to buy if you're outfitting your bike with Campy 10 speed.

Thanks to everyone for their feedback.

I think i'll go the 10 speed route; in fact, there seems to be very little difference in price between 10 & 9 speed components, with the exception of the chain.

I haven't heard of the Wipperman chain before - any suggestions where these are currently available from?