Originally Posted by
muraii
Started the process of returning the eBay purchase of the Centaur 10s 50/34 chain ring. That's probably best overall, and saves me having to try to sell it myself. The seller states they offer 30-day returns.
I will be evaluating my options after my charity ride next Sunday. I'm probably not the cycling purist who typically would go for Campagnolo; I bought the bike with Campagnolo components already on it. That said, they work nicely and I think--as has been mentioned--there are a couple of relatively inexpensive options to stay in the Campy family and get moderately better gearing for my area and ride aspirations (13-29 rear cassette (which may or may not require a new RD), or the 50/34 chainring).
I went out on a couple of ride recently and have paid attention to how I gear, and I think I can make better use of my current setup than I do. So I may stick with what I have and save up to swap out to a whole new setup in the new year. The BB and crank set have had next-to-zero maintenance in the roughly 10 years I've owned the bike, and could likely do at least with a tear down and cleaning and repacking the bearings. Maybe it makes sense to look at SRAM or Shimano for more touring-friendly/hill-friendly gearing options, and redo all the mechs on the bike.
Don't give up on your Campy, especially if you already have Record components. These are better IMHO than Shimano for road gear, just more expensive to keep up. The 13-29 rear should work with a short cage, just make sure you add a few links to the chain. And that 13-29 rear may be all you need for lower gearing that is low enough. After that try a 50/34 front that fits your BB. Depending on the age of the bike you may have square taper or you may have Ultra-Torque. Either one would be easy to swap. The UT has a deep bolt that keeps the two arms together, but it is still a standard allen wrench, and a retaining pin. The square taper should press right onto the spindle. Have a shop do it if you can't. I don't think Ultra Torque made it down in the product range, so only Chorus and Record used it. Campy used a slightly different system for the less expensive product lines. The only problem that I mentioned in an earlier post is finding a 50/34, they seem to be few and far between. If your crank and BB are Ultra Torque there is no need to clean the bearings, they are aerospace grade and will last forever and the way they are placed on the crank arm makes it almost impossible to misalign them.
Also, since your Campy is getting older, the shifters are serviceable, even by the user. It doesn't take any special tools either. I replaced the G-spring in mine by myself, and that's the part that usually wears out. They were like new when done. I replaced the hoods too as they wore out after 13 years on mine.