Barrettscv 

I have a later Campagnolo Chorus 9-speed drivetrain with the appropriate 53 & 39 Chorus crankset. Has anyone install a compact crankset with good results? What crankset worked?

Ghrumpy

As long as chainline is within spec, chain is the correct length, and you don't exceed your RD's total gear capacity, it won't care what the chainring sizes are.

nesteel 

If you're looking to stay with square taper, your choices of compact crankset in Campagnolo flavor are fairly slim.

Barrettscv 

That's what I had discovered. I'm not looking for a Campagnolo compact but would consider one. What would be the alternatives that look appropriate and shift well with Ergo levers?

fietsbob

any crank with 110 BCD chainrings will offer the needed 34t, and the 50t outer..

spend up on a shift pinned , ramped outer, for the indexed shifting.


30 years ago Campagnolo dropped out of the MTB component sector, then they had a conventional 110 bolt circle,

more aluminum in them , so heavier than the XT of that era..

their new compact has 4 110 & 1 - 112, (as reported) so alternate chainrings have to come from their inventory.. captive customer..









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nesteel 

If you're using Ergos with the micro-rachet action on the front derailleur, any crankset that has tight enough spacing between chainrings as to not allow the chain to drop between, should work. Aesthetically speaking: what ever you're comfortable looking at.
Campagnolo square taper compacts aren't common, but they come up often enough for a patient person. If you want to go modern looking (I'd still avoid the awful, ugly, 4 arm cranks though), any silver alloy UltraTorque compact would work, and still be serviceable at home.

jiangshi

You will have to use a Record or Chorus compact crank if you don't want to swap bottom brackets. There are only carbon versions in square taper. There was a Centaur square taper Compact that was alloy, it's tough to find, and you'd need a new BB.

You may need a new FD, or maybe not.

Barchettaman

FSA Tempo polished aluminium 50/34 crankset with an otherwise 8-speed Campy drivetrain, worked beautifully.

I swapped out the Campy BB for a Shimano JIS one with Italian threads (IIRC)

FBinNY 

Easily doable, but you may get better shifting up front with an FD designed around compact (the cage curvature and angle are slightly different).

Then it's only a matter of making sure the RD has enough wrap (take up) capacity for the combined chainrings and cassette.

nesteel 

There also Xenon and Veloce in alloy square taper flavor.

CliffordK

[QUOTE=fietsbob;20144667]any crank with 110 BCD chainrings will offer the needed 34t, and the 50t outer./QUOTE]
Are you sure you don't need the special 110/112 mixed BCD? Just to get the shifting right? And, of course, doubling or tripling the cost of parts?

The big thing to check is if the bike uses a braze-on derailleur hanger, make sure there is enough vertical adjustment to support the new chainring sizes. 53 to 50 or so shouldn't be beyond the range, but if you drop down to a 48T, or something, you might be pushing the range of the braze-on.

fietsbob

Only with the latest Campag.. my old Oympus <C> MTB crank



uses the same (I chose steel for durability ) chain rings as the M730 XT cranks .. 110-74..

jiangshi

Is there a Xenon silver st compact?

I have forgotten about Veloce.

nesteel 

Nope, you are quite correct. No silver Xenon compact.

jiangshi

FWIW, I hate compacts. I can run a 12-29 10s on my std cranks and that's wider than 122-25 with a compact.

Lot's of double shifting on a compact, IME.

CliffordK

I've actually gone with a wide compact on my C-40 Colnago. 53/34.
On the old Colnago, I still run 54/41 on the front.

It is true that a lot depends on the rear sprocket range. So, I think I top out with a 23T on the 53/34 bike, close-range gearing, and the older one, I top out at 26T, and I think the overall low gear is about the same on the two (34/23 = 1.47) (41/26 = 1.57), ok slightly higher, but still low enough to get me up the hills.

By going with the wide jump (53/34), it may take a double shift occasionally when going from high to low. I have to learn to plan ahead better for hills. But I get two very distinct gearing ranges, whereas tighter gearing means the front jump is more or less the same as adding another sprocket, say from 10s to 11s.

Choke 

It will work fine.

8sp Record, Victory crank, 35/48 and 13-26



10sp Chorus, Centaur MTB crank, 34/50 and 13-29



I've also ran that Victory crank on a Nuovo Record drivetrain with a 13-30 freewheel. It was tight with the NR RD but all the gears worked.

Dfrost 

I use Campagnolo Racing T FD’s from the 8-speed era with excellent shifting across 24-36-46 rings (Ritchey Logic, Sugino AT and Specialized “Flag” cranksets). No reason to think they wouldn’t do well with a compact double.

I had one of those Campagnolo MTB triples a while back. Pretty heavy in weight and chunky looks.

Choke 

Stronglight and TA make chainrings for the modern Campy compact.