Campag 8 speed cassette sizes
 

At the moment I can only find cassettes that go up to 26 (13-26).
Is this really the smallest gear you could get on an 8 speed campag cassette or is there a workaround?
I have a 53-39 chainset so ideally would love a cassette with a 27 or 28 tooth.

Any help appreciated!

I did some checking at the usual suspects (several UK shops, Jensen, Branford, Amazon, E-bay, etc.) and the deepest 8-speed Campy cassette I could find was also a 13x26. Campy 8-speed has been out of production for so long that the selection is really limited. Even Miche, who makes aftermarket Campy compatible cassettes, no longer lists 8-speed.

I'd also like to find a 29, but have had to settle for the 26 at rhe low end. On the bright side, I've only found Record group cassettes at reasonable prices.

Yes.

Switch to a triple crank. 30x23 from 13-23 or 12-23 is like 39x30. 26x23 is like 39x34. 26x26 is like 39x39. Cog spacing doesn't change for flatter rides.

I rode 50-40-30 x 13-14-15-16-17-18-19-21 in the 8 speed era. Low like 42x29 for mountains, 13-19 straight block for plains.

You could find an old (preferably NOS) 12-28, 13-28, 13-30, or 13-32 cassette although IIRC the last 20+ year old Record OR cassette I saw on ebay sold for about $140.

You could also install a 9/10 speed freehub and run a 9 speed big cog.

That said, switching to a triple with used parts could cost less.

NOTICE: FREE STUFF OFFER! :beer:

Miche made Campy-compatible cassettes up to 28 teeth in 8-speed. I have a few in the parts box I'd be happy to give you for just the shipping cost. They are worn some from heavy pulling in low gear with two riders on our tandem, which is why I can't take money for them, but likely still usable as we always replaced our chains before they'd worn enough to really chew up the cog teeth, especially on the larger ones. PM me if you're interested.

Your other choice is to get a 9- or 10- speed sprocket -- Miche makes them in 29T -- and grind the dogs down enough to fit the shallower steel splines of your 8-speed freehub body. This only takes a few minutes with a cylindrical grinding bit in your power drill. You have to finish the one odd-shaped dog with a small file. You use the usual 8-speed spacers to assemble the cassette from there. Miche cassettes are "compatible" with Campy only in the sense that they'll fit onto Campy freehubs. They aren't necessarily compatible mixing the two brands in the same cassette. The orientation of the "gate" that allows the chain to shift under load onto the 29T Miche from the #2 Campy sprocket might not be correct but in practice I haven't found this a big deal, even on a tandem where shifting is often temperamental.

If you go this route, note that 10-speed (but not 9-speed) first-position sprockets have a small depression formed into the face that nestles up against the shoulder of the freehub. (This, with narrower spacers, is to help make 10 sprockets fit in the space of 9.) For 8, this extra clearance could cause the lock ring to bottom before it cinches the cassette tightly so you may need to install a 0.5 mm spacer between the freehub body and the first sprocket.

Campy made 13-30 8-speed cassettes back in their MTB days (the "Centaur" gruppo was originally MTB.) To replace one we had on our "spare" tandem I had a search on eBay going for 6 months before one turned up in Australia, that's how rare they'd be.