If I were to put a modern Shimano Crankset on my Vintage steel, mostly Campy Bike, would I be committing a vintage bike "Blasphemy"?? Had leg surgery and need to ease up a little, want to put on compact crank, have the parts, would rather have a Campy set but don't need to spend the money..I just feel funny about it, would it be better if it were Campy??

There's a good chance I'll be putting shimano hubs (cassette rear, dyno front) on a french bike I'm working on. I want a cassette hub that can take a mtb cassette and I want a dynohub, but don't feel like paying for a non-shimano dyno. Do whatever you want.

I feel the only time a crime is committed is when something is done that can't be reversed.

Mutt

I do stuff like that all the time. Do whatever suits you.

I have a SunTour front derailleur on my mostly Campy Nuovo Record equipped McLean, because the original derailleur wore out, and this was the only high-end thing I could get at the time. It works fine, and it looks good enough.

others may not approve, bike snobs may cry and wail....
- do exactly what you want - it's your bike.

Only the diehard purists will have any objection.
Doesn't sound like the bike is in the "collector's" category so make it suitable for you.
I prefer 50/34 myself.

My originally full Campy bike now has, inaddition to what's left of the orginal record stuff, three different models of shimano 600, Miche, and a little Gipiemme for good measure. Things wear out or don't work - fret not, the only crime is not riding it.

If the bike is for show, pay attention to appearance. If you are going to ride the bike, install what works best.

The crime would be for the bicycle not to be ridden. I only have reservations when owners perform irreversible procedures, such as cutting off braze-ons, which limits resale potential and value. Do whatever you need to do, to be able to ride it. Good luck with your rehabilitation. Hopefully, cycling will help.

That would be a shocking outrage--a crime against humanity. You should be ashamed for even considering it.

Just kidding. In my opinion there's never anything wrong with switching parts as long as you don't take a drill or grinder to anything.

If you're old steel bike is Italian you can expect:
Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling!
Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes...
The dead rising from the grave!
Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!

otherwise if you ride it more, why not?

Yes - unless you sell the removed parts to me cheap

how compact of a crankset do you need? it might take some snooping around but a Victory or Triomphe can take an inner ring of 35 however you are limited to a 170 arm

You could put this on the bike. Most wouldn't notice it. I put one on my Super Course with a 13/22 freewheel .

https://www.velo-orange.com/sualcr.html

I'm not even sure I agree about taking a grinder being a sin. I did the opposite to my McLean. It was made in 1982, and it had no braze-ons whatsoever. The top-tube cable clips scratched the paint. It was a racing bike so it had no rack/fender eyelets. So when I had the bike repainted, I had top-tube cable guides put on and eyelets put on the fork tips and dropouts. So now it looks less like a racing bike. I figured I'd take it on tour again, which I did in the past, but I haven't done so, and now that I have a collection of bikes, I don't think I will. But I don't regret the changes, either.

I like the consensus we've reached here. Everyone is very supportive.

If you want to stay with Campy, you can get a Centaur compact crank really cheap.

I wouldn't do it, but it's your bike.

I did sort of the same thing--had a derailleur hanger and braze-ons added to my 1970 Tour de France. It's a great rider and I use it a lot, but now I really wish I had left it alone. The original paint wasn't all that bad, though the foil stickers they used instead of decals then were kind of gouged up. But now there's no more chrome--and it still burns my bacon that the frame shope (which will remain nameless) stuck on a "three main tubes" Reynolds decal instead of the right one. I sometimes think about restoring it to the way it was. Now THAT would be nuts.

Back in "vintage bike" days, manufacturers had no qualms about mixing component makes on their bicycles. I had mid-1980s Bianchi with Campy Nuovo Record derailleurs and shifters; Ofmega cranks, headset, and seatpot; Universal brakes; Ambrosia wheels.

I've owned several Campy equipped bikes but personally prefer Shimano components. My Campy gear has been finicky and more trouble-prone, so I eventually switched all of my bikes over to Ultegra and Dura-Ace components. However, when I had my most recent bike built up, I used a Campy Centaur crank because it was so much prettier than the Shimano alternatives. It functions perfectly with the Ultegra and Dura-Ace derailleurs and shifters.

Yes, it would be blasphemy, but you can only burn in hell for all eternity once, so you may as well go for it.

As said above, no problem except if it's a collector's bicycle or if you cut or grind off anything.

+1

Nah, it'd be an improvement. There are few things more overrated in the universe than Campagnolo.

+1 on the crank set. I have the black version of this crank and love it. It is stiff and very nice looking to boot! Here is my modern Soma with it.