KevinF

I'm thinking of switching one of my bikes from Shimano to Campy. It's currently outfitted with an Ultegra triple 9-speed, and I wanted to switch it to Campy 10-speed. How compatible is the Ultegra 9-speed crank set with a 10-speed Campy setup? I'm guessing the chainrings are too thick for this to work. Can I safely ditch the 9-speed chainrings and just attach 10-speed chainrings to the current crankarms? (not sure if that would save any money or not).

Also, are there any "gotchas" in regards to Shimano brakes with Campy levers? The reason I ask is because Shimano brakes have the QR on the calipers themselves while Campy brakes have the release on the Ergo levers.

(Yes, I know that this offends the Campy purists. I don't care).

khuon

Yes, you should be able to just bolt on new chainrings but I really don't think you need to swap to new rings. I think your current rings will work fine. You may find a little bit sloppier shifting with the new 10-speed chain using your 9-speed front derailleur but it should still work pretty good.


I've heard that combining Shimano brakes with Campy levers produce a slightly mushy feeling. Also, the braking will feel different of course if you compare to an all Campy bike because you'll be dual-pivot front and rear as opposed to the Campy differential dual-pivot front and single-pivot rear. If any of this concerns you, a new set of Centaur brake calipers will probably run you about $100. You should be fine with the releases. You'll just have two of them per brake now. The one nice thing about the Shimano calipers is that you can adjust them out via the release if need be.


A wise man was once heard to say, "for every action, there is an equal and opposite critical analysis." Don't worry about them. They're not riding your bike.

tvphobic

What is it that is so annoying about 9-speed anyway?
I run Centaur 9 30-42-53, with racing-t rd, 12-23 or 13-26 and have
never found myself lacking for ratios. edit: had typoed "39" for small ring.

Also, are there any "gotchas" in regards to Shimano brakes with Campy levers?
No.

A well adjusted Campagnolo drivetrain is a marvel, I hope you
enjoy it. Good luck.

UCSDbikeAnarchy

the other day i saw a bike with an DA STIs and mech but with a campy crank. Would ford guys every put chevy parts in their cars? Sure they would work, but it seems to me that there is something worng.

khuon

I'm also into offroading. One popular modification for the Jeep ZJ (aka Grand Cherokee) was to replace the aluminum housed Dana 44C rear axle with a Ford 8.8" axle because it's much stronger and will accept a wider variety of locking differentials. People make the modifications that they think will best benefit them. Who's to say what's right or wrong just because it offends some people's delicate sensibilities.

Brian

A better mod for the Jeep is to replace it with a Landcruiser.

KevinF

There's nothing annoying about having only a 9-speed cluster. It's just that my other bike already is Campy 10-speed. Make rear-wheel swaps easier, use the same cassettes, etc.

ImprezaDrvr

My brother in law is running Ultegra brakes with his new Chorus levers and it seems to work alright for him, until he gets Zero Gravity's.