Bicycle Mechanics - Shimano to Campy

Wait, don't run away from this thread because of the title!

I have an Italian bike with Italian componentry save for the hub and cassette, which are Shimano. I currently use the Jtek Shiftmate, but, mamma mia, I want to go all Italian. But I'm unsure of something.

First, the specifics: I have a 9-speed width Dura Ace hub with the Shimano freehub body (obviously) and a 9-speed Ultegra cassette on there. I currently have in my possession, on a shelf in my shed, a Mavic Campagnolo-compatible freehub body and a Campagnolo lockring removal tool. I am about to pull the trigger on one or two Campy cassettes via online retailers.

Here's one question: I need a 10 mm hex wrench to remove the Shimano freehub body, don't I?

Here's another: Do I use the same 10 mm hex wrench to install the Campy freehub body? If not, what do I need?

1. Yes, a 10 mm hex is used to remove the freehub body.

2. Are you sure the Mavic freehub body will fit on your Dura Ace hub under any circumstances? I don't think they are at all compatible.

The Mavic freehub body was billed as being able to convert a wheel from a Shimano cassette to a Campagnolo one, and the online retailer reiterated this for me, so I was under the impression that it would do.

If not, then I guess I have much to learn.

It may be compatible and it may not be. Unless the freehub was made for your specific hub I wouldn't bet on it. If it is, maybe you're in luck.

I've used a Velomax Shimano wheel with a Chorus 10s setup and it worked OK but not perfect without the shiftmate. One thing about the Velomax freehub (which I think is from Shimano directly) is that it is SILENT. You never get silence with Campy. I was going to try a shiftmate too, but the problem is then I'm stuck with only using Shimano wheels and I do have campy wheels too.

1. Yes, a 10 mm hex is used to remove the freehub body.

2. Are you sure the Mavic freehub body will fit on your Dura Ace hub under any circumstances? I don't think they are at all compatible.
When I specifically asked Rocky Mountain Cyclery in the course of the Ebay auction whether the Mavic Campy-compatible freehub body they were selling would work with a Dura Ace hub they replied in the affirmative.

Do they know something most people don't?

Hi the mavic freehub body cant be put in the shimano hub at all. The mechanisms are totally different.

If you want to go italian better get a campy centaur hub or something and lace your own wheels. Option 2, go and get a set that fits what u need right out of the box.

Probably the guys missunderstood your question and they meant something else. I would and many other guys in here wuld wish that those Freehubs were interchangables... but they arent...

THanks...

I'm beginning to realize the error of my ways, and that I didn't quite grasp the concept. For some reason it didn't get through my thick skull that a Mavic Campy-compatible freehub body was for a Mavic hub, not any hub.

D'oh.

Hmmm...is there any freehub body out there that will fit on a Shimano hub and accept Campagnolo cassettes?

I'm beginning to realize the error of my ways, and that I didn't quite grasp the concept. For some reason it didn't get through my thick skull that a Mavic Campy-compatible freehub body was for a Mavic hub, not any hub.

D'oh.
Right, that's what I was talking about. Mavic freehub bodies of any type only fit Mavic hubs.

Hmmm...is there any freehub body out there that will fit on a Shimano hub and accept Campagnolo cassettes?

No. A wheel has to be designed to accept both, as the dish on a campy wheel is higher due to the wider freehub.

My suggestion is to keep your present arrangement, as you'll have a weaker wheel with a Campagnolo hub, due to the increased dish required.

I have an Italian bike with Italian componentry save for the hub and cassette, which are Shimano... but, mamma mia, I want to go all Italian. :twitchy:

So how do you justify French rims on an all-Italian bike? Methinks you need some Campy Protons.