Bicycle Mechanics - Campagnolo and Shimano 9 speed Compatibility

On ebay you can pick up 9 speed Campy shifters for about $100.

Otherwise, I have a Shimano setup.

How do the 9 speed groups compare for compatibility? the 10 and 11 speeds obviously not, but it might be different for 9. I might have heard somewhere that the derailleurs are incompatible but the cassettes are?

If you paired it with a JTEK shiftmate, would it require the shift mate for the FD as well?

The cassette splines are different.

The cassette splines are different.

Not only is the freehub spline different, but the spacing between "clicks" on each brand is different. You can theoretically run a Shimano derailleur with Campangolo shifters (front and rear). What matters most is that the cassette offers Campagnolo spacing. With Campagnolo cassettes, all of the spacers are removable. This allows you to modify 10 or 11 speed cassettes for 9 speed. Simply replace the cogs and insert the appropriate spacers. I believe American Classic makes conversion cassettes too.

IMHO, Campagnolo 9 speed shifters are bad. I had a mirage setup a few years ago and it never felt as good as Shimano. Now I run a cheesy Sora setup that works 100% of the time and I'm much happier. The only redeeming quality about Campagnolo is their obnoxiously loud wheels!

If you paired it with a JTEK shiftmate, would it require the shift mate for the FD as well?

Aren't Campagnolo left-hand brifters non-indexed somehow? Something to do with trimming, am I remembering it wrong?

If not, if you have a double crankset, you might not even need the Shiftmate, I've got a Gipemme (think I spelt that wrong) FD which wasn't even intended to run with indexed shifting being operated by a Shimano RSX double brifter. Since you only need 2 positions up front (plus one for trimming if you want it) it isn't such a big issue. At least that's my experience, I may just have gotten lucky.

With Campagnolo cassettes, all of the spacers are removable. This allows you to modify 10 or 11 speed cassettes for 9 speed. Simply replace the cogs and insert the appropriate spacers. I believe American Classic makes conversion cassettes too.

I think on my Campy 10 and 11 cassettes the three large cog are pinned together so it is not as simple as replacing a spacer on those.

You should be able to pair 9-speed Campy shifters and Campy derailer with a Shimano wheel (hub/cassette) with no problem. Plug it in, adjust, and ride.

Campy left shifters are ratcheting, and it takes me about 4-5 clicks to shift chainrings. This is actually beneficial, because you can trim the front derailer to eliminate chain rub up front.

If you want to stay with a Shimano derailer, you'll have to use the "Hub-bub" attachment method or a Shiftmate. Neither works as well in my experience as the Campy-Campy-Shimano combination.

Unfortunately much of the information in the above posts is incorrect. Campagnolo 9-speed cog spacing is 4.55 mm. Shimano 9-speed cog spacing is 4.35 mm. Campy 9-speed shifter cable pull and rear derailleur actuation ratio changed in 2001 so that early Campy 9-speed shifters and RD's are not cross-compatible with later Campy 9-speed shifters and RD's, although the cog spacing stayed the same. This means that if you want to run a J-Tech Shiftmate to make Campy 9-speed shifters compatible with Shimano cog spacing and Shimano rear derailleur you will probably need to know which version of 9-speed shifters you have to know which Shiftmate you need. I say probably because I do not know how much shifting inaccuracy is tolerable. And of course the freehub spline patterns between the two brands are different.
If the shifters in question are used I would not consider buying them. There are just too many risks involved in buying used indexed shifters.

More than you want to know is available on this webpage (http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=3946).