Campy 9 speed with Shimano cassette?
 

I've asked this elsewhere, but I'd be interested in what others think... I'm thinking of upgrading the drivetrain of my 'cross bike to Campy 9 speed and using the Shimano components to build up a 'cross frame for my GF.

The question is... can I use a Shimano 9 speed cassette with Campy derailleurs and shifters? Will there be an appreciable loss of performance? I'm fairly confident I can use my Sugino crankset, which is just as well, considering that I don't think Campy makes a 48/38 crankset...

There is a vaolue to having interchageability of wheels and even though I have Campy on my roadie, it's 10sp and thus wouldn't be interchangeable anyway [I wouldn't use 10 speed in a 'cross bike].

I don't think there will be a problem with the derailleurs but you'll need to put Campy spacers on the cassette for the shifters to work properly. If the Sugino Chainrings are thin enough for the 9 speed chain, there shouldn't be a problem there either.

What about a Campy 9 speed cassette on a Shimano freehub?

There are companies that make them but they are very expensive. Replacing the spacers is much cheaper.

The Campa splines are different from the Shimano, aren't they?

Cheers...Gary

Yes. You can't inter change cassettes.

Velocipedio,
I will relate again what was told to me. When I was considering changing to 9-sp Campy Ergo levers and ders I called Harris Cyclery to see if they had spacers to change the spacing of Shimano cassettes so I could use my Shimano-hubbed wheels. It turned out I was talking to Sheldon Brown himself. Sheldon assured me that Campy shifters and ders will work just fine with stock Shimano cassettes because the difference in spacing is something like 0.05 mm. No chatter or noise because the der is not perfectly aligned or anything. Just fine. Others here seem to take issue with this, but I will stick with Sheldon's opinion. Just to clarify, we are talking about using Campy Ergo and der with Shimano cassette on a Shimano freehub, not trying to put a Campy cassette on a Shimano freehub or a Shimano cassette on a Campy freehub. The idea is just to avoid the expense of replacing the Shimano-hubbed wheel, at least initially.

Front ders are extremely forgiving. I have used 3 or 4 different cranksets, old Shimano 105 6-sp, old Shimano RSX, Sugino, probably 8-sp, etc. with several chainring combinations with Dura Ace double and triple front ders (yes double crankset with triple der). All have worked fine. Front ders by their nature do not have to be nearly as precise as a 9-sp rear der. The normal combination on my hilly ride road bike is a Shimano RSX double crankset (110 BCD) with 48/34 chainrings and a Dura Ace triple front der. I bought the triple der because was going to put a triple crankset on. Then I decided that the 110 BCD crank with a 34 should handle low enough gearing for anything around here. Anyway the point is shifting is fine. I feel certain the Campy is even more accomodating. Aren't Campy front ders even more "trimmable" than Shimano?
FWIW,
Raymond

Yes, Campy FD's are definitely more trimmable, In fact, they're not really indexed at all, just sort of ratcheted. I much prefer that to Shimano's front shifting. For one thing, it let's me use a small-small combination if necessary...

Interesting information, that... Did you ever run Campy on a Shimano cassette? Know anyone who did?

As it turns out I never did make the change. Just as I was ready I got such a good deal on some DA shifters I decided to go that way instead. I still hear the siren song of Campagnolo so I am sure I will have to set a bike up with at least shifters and ders at some point just to satisfy the urge. So, no, I haven't actually tried it. If you want to chat with the guru about it, give Harris Cyclery a call. They seem to know their stuff.

Of course... I could just put a 9sp cassette on one of my 10sp rear road wheels, couldn't I? That would give me interchangeability between bikes, which is what this is about...

Velocipedio,
That should work. I have used 7sp cassettes on 9sp hub using a spacer.
Regards,
Raymond

I'm new to this forum but I just wanted you to know that I used Campy Veloce shifters and der with 9 sp Shimano 105 cassette and hub. It worked fine for approximately 10,000 mi. I don't think the shop even used spacers. The only reason I switched is because I upgraded to Campy 10sp last week. The old components were switched to my trainer bike because they are still going strong. Goretex cables made the shifting smoother.
Kathi