Improving Campag gear set-up?
07-22-09, 04:40 AM
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Improving Campag gear set-up?
Some advice please?
I'm planning to change my Campagnolo gear set-up on a touring bike to make hill climbing a bit easier and would appreciate some advice.
a) Would I be better off changing the chainwheel or the sprocket?
b) I assume it's cheaper to change the rear sprocket? Is this correct?
c) what changes could I make to the set-up below?
d) is there anything else I should look out for?
Current set-up (just reading the details from the gears):
Campagnolo Mirage 170 CHAINWHEEL
3 ring
OUTER - 52/42
MIDDLE - 42/32
INNER - 32 - C9
Campagnolo 8-speed REAR SPROCKET
26-A, 23-A, 21-A, 19, 17, 16, 15, 14-A
Thanks
I'm planning to change my Campagnolo gear set-up on a touring bike to make hill climbing a bit easier and would appreciate some advice.
a) Would I be better off changing the chainwheel or the sprocket?
b) I assume it's cheaper to change the rear sprocket? Is this correct?
c) what changes could I make to the set-up below?
d) is there anything else I should look out for?
Current set-up (just reading the details from the gears):
Campagnolo Mirage 170 CHAINWHEEL
3 ring
OUTER - 52/42
MIDDLE - 42/32
INNER - 32 - C9
Campagnolo 8-speed REAR SPROCKET
26-A, 23-A, 21-A, 19, 17, 16, 15, 14-A
Thanks
07-22-09, 05:25 AM
#2
Keep on climbing
Changing the rear sprockets is easy, but you're not going to get much of a lower gear, as you already have a fairly large (26-tooth) cog back there.
It is possible to change just the chainrings. The size of the chainring that can fit on a crank is determined by the BCD. There's a description of how to measure it and what resulting sizes will work, etc. here: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_bo-z.html
If you're trying to get lots of lower gears, you can just find a MTB crankset and save yourself the trouble of replacing all the chainrings.
It is possible to change just the chainrings. The size of the chainring that can fit on a crank is determined by the BCD. There's a description of how to measure it and what resulting sizes will work, etc. here: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_bo-z.html
If you're trying to get lots of lower gears, you can just find a MTB crankset and save yourself the trouble of replacing all the chainrings.
07-22-09, 06:29 AM
#3
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Your Mirage triple is geared 52/42/32. The Campy triple cranks I'm familiar with have a 135 mm bolt circle for the two outer rings and common 74 mm bcd for the granny ring.
The lowest cost and most effective change would be to replace the 32T chainring with a 28 or 26T to get a significantly lower low gear. Any make 28 or 26T chainring with the appropriate 74 mm bcd will work and these are readily available.
I made the change from a 30 to a 26T granny ring on a 10-speed Chorus triple crank and it works fine.
BTW, 8-speed Campy is considered obsolete and isn't easy to obtain parts for so finding a significantly wider range cassette is not going to be easy. Upgrading to 10-speeed is possible but will be very expensive and you will have to replace nearly everything.
The lowest cost and most effective change would be to replace the 32T chainring with a 28 or 26T to get a significantly lower low gear. Any make 28 or 26T chainring with the appropriate 74 mm bcd will work and these are readily available.
I made the change from a 30 to a 26T granny ring on a 10-speed Chorus triple crank and it works fine.
BTW, 8-speed Campy is considered obsolete and isn't easy to obtain parts for so finding a significantly wider range cassette is not going to be easy. Upgrading to 10-speeed is possible but will be very expensive and you will have to replace nearly everything.
Last edited by HillRider; 07-22-09 at 06:33 AM.
07-27-09, 01:54 AM
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Thanks very much for the advice. I've ordered a 26T /74mm chainring .... now just to fit it.
