Help Me Identify and Replace my Derailleur
 

So, I'm an idiot. I got a new (to me) bike last week, and when riding around the neighborhood checking out the gearing I threw the rear derailleur into my spokes. Sigh.

The derailleur was (well, still is, I guess) a Campagnolo Veloce 9-Speed rear derailleur. It looked like this:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2552/...f3ecd5228a.jpg

So, identifying it is easy. Or, so I thought. Obviously it's a Veloce 9-Speed. But, the question is: how can I identify it well enough to replace it? There's no serial numbers or any sort of obvious way of dating it, so I'm not sure how to replace it. Can I buy a modern Campy 8 or 9-speed derailleur and hook it up to the Syncro II DT shifters on the bike? Do I need to buy a derailleur of a similar vintage? Do I have to stick with Veloce, or can I upgrade to higher-end component?

For what it's worth I'm running two rings on the front, with an 8-speed cassette on the back. At least, I think it's a cassette, it could just as easily be freewheel. I don't know the gearing, but I can certainly check it out when I get home.

I'm a little over my head with trying to ID and purchase bike components, so please excuse my n00bishness.

Ebay can be helpful. I typed "Campagnolo 9 speed derailleur" and came up with these results:

http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trk...All-Categories

Any Campy 9 speed should work as long as you go for the same cage length, i.e. chain capacity for the teeth on your cassette. Your RD looks to be a short cage so my guess is your biggest cog is between 23-27.

Here's another source for new RDs. Scroll down a little. Best of luck.

http://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...p?category=690