Kommisar89

Hi All,

While I’m very happy with Campy for most uses, it is rather limited when it comes to gear spread, at least when compared to Shimano. I have a 52-42-30 triple and a 13-26 cassette but there are times when I’d like a lower granny gear for climbing some of the passes here in Colorado (OK I’ll admit I’m old and out of shape ;-). Campy doesn’t offer much beyond a 13-28 cassette but I’ve noticed some aftermarket parts like a 26-tooth small chain ring and a 30-tooth cog from Marchisio that might fit and would be just the ticket. Either or both would of course violate Campy’s recommendations for derailleur capacity and chain wrap. Since manufacturers are often (usually?) very conservative with their specs, has anyone actually tried anything like this to extend the low end gearing on a Campy group without just tossing it all for Shimano MTB components? Thanks for your input.

-Derrick

Kev

Check out branfordbike he carries various sized chainrings that you could swap out.. They have stated on their webpage they have used a 28 tooth chainring no problem.. THe inner chain ring is 74mm BCD and outer is 135 BCD. Possibly you could replace all the chainrings down to to get some lower end. They carry the salsa innner ring down to 24.
https://www.branfordbike.com/chains/chains1.html#item5

MichaelW

I use a Campy 8spd Mirage system. Originally a 30/40/50, I changed the rings to 39 and 26, ie the lowest which would fit. It did just about work, but the drop to 26 was too much. The horizontal travel of the front mech dumps the chain onto the BB.
I ened up switching the chainset to a Shimano LX. The Campy mech works well, even with these smaller rings, but with Ergoshifters, any front mech can be used.
I use Marchisio cogs. 28t dissapeared from the Campy lineup a few years ago. They work OK, but not quite as sweet as the real thing. On the + side, you can replace individual cogs when they wear.

Kommisar89

Thanks Kev, that page is very helpful. I’ve been to the Branford Bike site before but I hadn’t run across that page. It looks like they successfully tested 26-40-50 and possibly 28-42-52 – I’m going to try 26-42-52 and cross my fingers. It’s only $20 so it’s worth a shot. Michael seems to have had some issues with 26-39-50 but that could be because of the older 8-spd hardware or some difference in the bike perhaps. I’m reluctant to change out all of the chain rings because of the cost. At that point I should just loose 20-lbs for free and leave well enough alone ;-)

Kommisar89

Well it's done. 52-42-26 and working quite nicely. No adjustments required (or possible really). The chain will rub the bottom of the front derailleur cage on the small cogs if you cross little to little but you shouldn't really be doing that anyway. Even then it's just noisy, still works. I was concerned that the front derailleur wouldn't reliably make the 26/42 shift but I can't notice any difference at all from the original 30/42 setup whether shifting up or down.

I gave it a quick test on a steep hill near the house and the difference in effort was very noticeable. I'll ride this for a while and then try the Marchisio 30-tooth cog. Who needs Shimano anyway?

-Derrick