I've got a Litespeed Ardennes that I got back in 2007 or 2008 that has a campagnolo veloce groupset. I've been riding the hills west of Philly lately and I decided to move to a compact crankset. I found a campy chorus compact crank with an ultra torque BB (english threads) of the same vintage on craigslist that is advertised as a pull off and unused. My question is if I used this crank, other than changing out the BB (my veloce is not an ultra torque), will there be any compatibility issues with the two component groups?

I also picked up a record group of the same vintage that was advertised as low mileage and appears to be in great shape. I was thinking about changing the veloce group to record group while I change out the crank, which would include changing the brifters (carbon record 10 speed), brakes, derailleurs, cassette and installing a new chain. The cassette appears to be hardly worn, and so is my veloce cassette so I'm going to look them both over before I decide which to use. Really there is nothing wrong with my veloce group performance wise, but I was thinking that the record gear would be of higher quality and I have to admit I like the look of the carbon brifters.

So the questions,

1. Will I have compatibility issues by mixing components from different groups, either chorus to veloce or record? (it's all 10 speed stuff of the same approx vintage)
2. Am I wasting my time changing the veloce group to record groupset while I install the crank?

I've got a carbon handle bar that I am going to install as well that has better form and has the cables routed internally so I was hoping to do it all in one big mechanical switcher-roo. Lemme know what you think.

Ken

P.s. I'll post some pictures when I get home, evidentially I can't post pictures while on my iPad. If anyone knows a way to post pictures from an iPad please tell me your secret...

Pics...

campy chorus compact crank that I am getting off craigslist


the bike


Old crank and pics of the rear derailleur and BB (the coding on the frame below the BB on the right/crank side reads "10 73 59" then "L". On the left/non-crank side it reads "BC" which I assume means British thread)


The new (new to me) handlebars and record group

There should be no problem at all, mixing Campy 10 parts of similar vintage.

+1, Campy parts are basically plug compatible with each other, but you may (may, but not necessarily will) have issues with your standard FD and a compact crank. It'll depend on whether you can get it low enough (sometimes an issue with braze-ons), and the curvature of the cage and chainrings. I wouldn't buy a new one yet, but be ready if you need to. (both FDs are plug compatible with the shifters)

I was just reading about that this morning in Zinn's road bike maintenance book. The FD is clamp on so I should be able to lower it, but I did read about the curvature part. Thanks for the tip

Checking out Bikeparts.com I saw that all the campy FDs that work for 10 and 9 speeds are both standard and compact compatible, so I am hoping this isn't an issue.

Does anyone know a good place on line to get Campagnolo parts? As I indicated, I use Bikeparts.com and also Performance, what else is out there that is reliable and has a good selection? (I do know about bike nashbar, ordered from them 15+ years ago, but nothing really ever since. Seem like a copy of performance, or vice/versa)

You _really_ want to order your components from the UK where online retail prices can be lower than US wholesale. Shipping is usually comparable to UPS domestically in terms of both price and time. ribble, shiny bikes, chain reaction, etc.

Thanks, seems reasonable. Can you suggest a vendor from the UK? Should I just google UK campagnolo parts?

Ribble

The original 10spd FDs will shift a compact but are best on a standard. For a while, campy had a compact specific 10spd FD. These work great on compacts but I don't reccomend the on standards. Current campy FDs were made to work on either crankset.

Your existing FD will work, but one labeled ct would be best.

+1 for Ribble. I bought a Veloce group, Campy Khamisin wheels, plus tires, a saddle, etc, etc. Basically a whole bike except for a frame & seatpost. For all that, I paid LESS than most US retailers were selling just the group for. And shipping was free on everything except the wheels.

I've never used Ribble but a lot of other riders have with satisfaction as noted above. I have ordered from Wiggle (don't you love these names?) several times and have been very happy with the prices and delivery times. Wiggle will quote in USD and shipping is free with a moderate minimum order amount. My son-in-law has also ordered from Chain Reaction Bikes and ProBikeKit and been happy with their prices and service so you have several choices.

I am a moron! I wasn't sure what rubble, shiny bikes, chain reaction reference was in your post, duh! I guess I could use the excuse that I worked the midnight shift last night and wasn't really awake yet, but I got it now that they are vendors. Thanks very much everyone, I start checking the sites after dinner.

Just finished up a nice 38 mile ride, 19mph ave. Not too shabby given the sleep deprivation I seem to be experiencing. Now it's time for a cold and a quick shower. I'll post up with my progress in the next few days.

ken

While I have only good experiences ordering Campagnolo parts from Wiggle, Ribble and Probikekit, be aware that you may be levied an import duty by your friendly neighborhood post office at a rate of about 7.5%. It's not always the case, but like sales tax on mail order items from another state, this is a legitimate charge. Worse still, the USPS employee may not mark the import duty correctly, leading to a wild goose chase on why there was an extra charge levied when you try to collect the package. Don't ask me how I know...

I just ordered a cassette from Ribble, which ended up being significantly less expensive than bikeparts.com. Hopefully the post office will deliver it right to my door without an issues. On a similar track, I went to Scotland with my Dad a couple of years ago. We found a place in Edinburgh called Royal Mile Whiskies, and long story short they deliver authentic Scotland scotch right to your door. You can get bottlings that you'll never see in the States at fantastic prices, and they come through my local P.O. without incident. I'm hoping Ribble works out the same way.

Again thanks for the great suggestions!

The Litespeed upgrade project is finished! So far so good, I took it out yesterday on a 100 mile ride (I finished it Sunday) and I absolutely the cassette ratios. I got the record 13-26 cassette which has titanium gears for the lowest three, and the rest of the gears are closely spaced (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21ti, 23ti, 26ti). Rode all flats yesterday so I couldn't really test out the lowest gearing (34/26) but this has to be a big improvement over the 39/23 I was climbing the hills with before. I'll attach a ridewithgps map of the weekly Friday afternoon rides we do, I really needed the help there!

What was upgraded? New front compact carbon chorus crank, new record cassette, record carbon med cage RD, record brakes, carbon record brifters, and I installed a BBB aero carbon handlebars (the old easton round bars made my hands numb on longer rides). I am surprised how easy the entire job was, everything went pretty smooth. Then again I did buy a few tools but really I don't think I spent more than $300 on tools (except that I did buy a maintenance stand that came in around $170).

Here are the pics. Again, thanks for all the advice and links to parts. Ribble worked out perfect, the cassette took about a week to my door and I found it in the mailbox without any import tax issues.



https://ridewithgps.com/routes/1309915