Need some schooling on Campy 9sp.
 

Is it C&V? It's 10 years old.. not sure where the cutoff is... but I know you guys have the answers. Mods feel free to move this if you feel it belongs in the Mech forum or something..

I picked up a Colnago Lux Dream yesterday, with Campy Centaur 9sp. My knowledge of Campy is zero. Was Centaur the third level down? The bike is in rough condition, but will clean up nicely I think but I have some issues I need help with.

First, it's missing it's front derailleur. I want it to be period correct, so I'm looking for a chorus 9sp front braze on but it's hard to source. Robbietunes tells me that a 10sp will work. Why do some FD's have black swing arms and others have polished? Anyone recommend a good source (besides ebay) for the FD I need?

Second, the wheelset was all 9sp shimano. I've read sheldon brown's site enough to know that they are not compatible. I'm trying to get something like a campy neutron wheelset for it but I'm not sure if they are from that timeframe. Anyone know what wheels might have come 'stock' on a '2002ish colnago dream with campy chorus? I'd like to find something almost original. I hope to not have to use the Jtek part, although it is nifty. And I don't really want to mess with campy spacers on shimano wheels although I hear that can work also.

Third, what's with the 'pre 2001' stuff? How do I date my group?

Just found this, only pic i could find like the one I picked up which I think says it's a 2003. Does this mean i can assume my parts are 'post 2001'?
http://shop.thoemus.ch/images/produc...ages/459_0.JPG

You may just have to mail that frame to me.

Looks like a 56cm with the oversize tubing.

Color scheme matches all my jerseys.

Post 2001 had different hoods and a different approach by Campy on some stuff, such as 102mm bb's.

My 8-sp Ergo Ironman runs an 8-sp Athena RD, 9-sp Veloce crankset/bb, 10-sp Centaur FD, 8-sp Mirage Ergos, and 9-sp era Daytona calipers. Every part was a "backup" for my 8-sp Chorus Ergo group, which is complete. If all you lack is the FD to complete the group, I'd say go-fer-it.

Shimano wheels can be run w/the right spacers, but a wheel swap to Campy just seems "natural."
http://velospace.org/files/P1170692.JPG

The frame's your size too I think, 54cm? It's not quite as pretty as the one in the pic.. although, the wild paint job does hide the blemishes pretty good.

Man, go local, bennie. If you don't want it, I'll drive up and get it :)

Centaur was the replacement for Daytona after Campy wasn't allowed to use that name anymore. So third in the line behind Record and Chorus at that time, and ahead of Mirage and Veloce.

Edited out for better info in later postsI didn't think Centaur ever came in 9 speed, but I could be wrong. It would have been one of the groups that in 2001 went to the later cable pull and 10 speed. If yours really is 9, then it has the pre'01 cable pull.

How do I tell if the brifter is 9sp or 10sp? The rear derailleur says right on it, "Centaur 9sp". Also, I heard someone mention a way to switch a brifter from 9sp to 10sp by swapping out a part in it????

If you have the brifter it's pretty straightforward - count the number of clicks you can shift through. With just a picture it's a little tougher. Some (all?) 9 speed Ergos have '9 Speed' printed on the shift lever housing. The more modern (post 2001) Ergos have a different shape than previous to this time and, I think, don't include 8 speed at all. That last bit I'm not sure about 100%. There are two kinds of 9 speed with, I believe, two mutually incompatible derailleur types.

I do know that, yes, you can change a 10 speed to a (modern) 9 speed by replacing one part. You need one of these:

http://branfordbike.com/product/camp...-re063-923.htm

but you might need the pre-2002 version.

Ok, maybe you need two parts. This would be the other one:

http://branfordbike.com/product/camp...-right-568.htm

Centaur did come in 9 speed, with all of it as "new ergo."