muraii

I just wanted to thank everyone for contributing. I've learned a ton and have quite a few good options that won't break the bank.

Cheerio!

P.S. (And for real I am no Eddy Merckx.)

muraii

Hello once more. So I picked up a Campagnolo Centaur CT Century Crank Set 10 Speed 172.5mm 50/34T 110mm BCD from eBay. Pulled my Record crankset off, put the new crankset on, and I can't seem to torque the bolt enough to get the crankset as far onto the spindle as the Record got. I've looked at both sides of both cranksets and they appear to have the same depth and mount shapes. I've applied light grease to each surface--the spindle and the interior of the crank mount holes--and tapped with a rubber mallet before inserting and screwing in the bolt.

Unfortunately my torque wrench maxes out at 25Nm and I think these take on the order of 45-50Nm to spec. I want to avoid overtorquing but also I can't but expect that having a gap will wear on the taper over time. The chain line is approximately compatible with the FD position, so I don't think it's unrideable, but I don't want to be stupid.

Without specs on my original crankset I'm not sure what spindle depth it is spec'd for, but unless the difference between the two is single-digit millimeters I think I'd be able to tell even eyeballing. Short of taking the whole shebang to my LBS (which might just be the smart play), is there anything else to try?

Dave Mayer

Centaur requires a 111mm symmetrical Campy BB. These will set you back about $50 on Fleabay.

Record and Chorus require a 102mm symmetrical BB.

I'm surprised your new crankset, when fitted with your old BB, is not grinding away at your chainstays.

Your LBS will not have a clue as to this issue, and will recommend a new bike.

muraii

Well ain’t that a kick in the pants. Thank you.

big john

I like this answer.

I put on a Fulcrum Racing crankset, it fits the Ultra Torque BB and you might be able to find one someplace. Also, Miche cassettes have more options than 10 speed Centaur.

Road Fan

Here's what I have done on a very racy, light Italian steel bike.

Campagnolo has made compact 50/34 cranks since the early 2000's if not earlier. Available used on Ebay you can find Centaur square-taper aluminum, Centaur Power-torque aluminum, plus Chorus and Record available in aluminum and carbon, square taper and two-piece.

In addition, there are specialized Campy compact front derailleurs which fir the chainrings and have great cage shapes. I just bought a Chorus level braze-on front derailleur for about $25 on Ebay.

For the rear, I found a 12/30 10 speed cassette. This whole system needs a Campagnolo long-cage rear derailleur to wrap this much chain - you'll need a new chain or the correct bits to graft on the right number of extra links.

The whole new system does not need new Ergopowers - your old ones should be fine if they are for 10 speed. If you're careful, you also don't need to replace your cables. Campy full cable set is about $80 - don't be suckered.

The rear mech is the odd bit. In carbon Record level, it will cost you $400 to $600. You don't need this. Same thing in Xenon level it cost me less than $100. These are all eBay prices - you have to look, wait, and then jump.

You can calculate what your new gear range will be.

If you try to convert it all to not-campy, you need new wheels or a rare freehub replacement AND new brifters, derailleurs, chainset and chainsets. Best o'luck!

muraii

For the moment I just put my 53/39 Record back on. I have a charity ride next weekend and want to get a good tune on it. After that, I’m most likely to just find a Centaur-compatible BB/spindle on eBay and swap out.

At some point in the future I might do a tear-down and put on a whole new (to me) drivetrain. I know someone with a great-condition Athena 11s setup I’ve thought of grabbing.

Thank y’all again!

Ninetimes

I’m well over 65. I run Campy 10 speed Chorus and Record on all of my bikes. I’m for interchangeability and I’m a Campy 10 speed junky. Chain rings are of course the 53/39 and everything is silver. Over the last couple of years, the small cassettes have been beating me up on the hills.

With this, I’ve been swapping to medium cage rear mechs with 13/29 cassettes and have left the chain rings alone.

This is just a pure dream set-up for me now, and I see no reason to fiddle with the chain rings in the near future.

You can get here on the cheap: Veloce medium cage rear mech, Veloce 13/29 cassette and a new Record 10 speed chain can be had on amazon for a bit over 200 bucks. Then you can take the time to hunt down a medium cage Record or Chorus mech.

Take the small step and maybe your there without the chain ring retrofit.

alcjphil

Sometimes it is useful to go back to the original post. One thing I see is that you
say " I’m most interested in touring". Even with a triple and the largest possible cassette, Campagnolo drivetrains are not really designed for unsupported touring. You can get fairly low gears for mountain climbing lightly loaded, but touring is not what Campagnolo is designed for

zacster

I had to look for a while to find a Chorus Ultra-torque 50/34 crankset, but I have one now. Is your crank UT or is it square taper? I installed a Record BB, changed the bearings on the crank, and have been riding it all year now. Changing the bearings is a problem without the tool to pull the old, so I bought that too. Combine that with the 13-29 cassette generally available and you'd be OK to go. (Looking at the pic again it looks like you have the last of the square taper. Wait, those aren't your pics.) I have all the tools necessary to do this now. It's a shame you don't live in NYC as I would do it for you or at least let you do it yourself in my shop/house.

muraii

Started the process of returning the eBay purchase of the Centaur 10s 50/34 chain ring. That's probably best overall, and saves me having to try to sell it myself. The seller states they offer 30-day returns.

I will be evaluating my options after my charity ride next Sunday. I'm probably not the cycling purist who typically would go for Campagnolo; I bought the bike with Campagnolo components already on it. That said, they work nicely and I think--as has been mentioned--there are a couple of relatively inexpensive options to stay in the Campy family and get moderately better gearing for my area and ride aspirations (13-29 rear cassette (which may or may not require a new RD), or the 50/34 chainring).

I went out on a couple of ride recently and have paid attention to how I gear, and I think I can make better use of my current setup than I do. So I may stick with what I have and save up to swap out to a whole new setup in the new year. The BB and crank set have had next-to-zero maintenance in the roughly 10 years I've owned the bike, and could likely do at least with a tear down and cleaning and repacking the bearings. Maybe it makes sense to look at SRAM or Shimano for more touring-friendly/hill-friendly gearing options, and redo all the mechs on the bike.

zacster

Don't give up on your Campy, especially if you already have Record components. These are better IMHO than Shimano for road gear, just more expensive to keep up. The 13-29 rear should work with a short cage, just make sure you add a few links to the chain. And that 13-29 rear may be all you need for lower gearing that is low enough. After that try a 50/34 front that fits your BB. Depending on the age of the bike you may have square taper or you may have Ultra-Torque. Either one would be easy to swap. The UT has a deep bolt that keeps the two arms together, but it is still a standard allen wrench, and a retaining pin. The square taper should press right onto the spindle. Have a shop do it if you can't. I don't think Ultra Torque made it down in the product range, so only Chorus and Record used it. Campy used a slightly different system for the less expensive product lines. The only problem that I mentioned in an earlier post is finding a 50/34, they seem to be few and far between. If your crank and BB are Ultra Torque there is no need to clean the bearings, they are aerospace grade and will last forever and the way they are placed on the crank arm makes it almost impossible to misalign them.

Also, since your Campy is getting older, the shifters are serviceable, even by the user. It doesn't take any special tools either. I replaced the G-spring in mine by myself, and that's the part that usually wears out. They were like new when done. I replaced the hoods too as they wore out after 13 years on mine.

muraii

Thanks for the tips! I'd just as soon not change more than is necessary, for sure.

Ronsonic 

I'm running 10s Veloce with an Athena UT compact crankset. Yes, it's 11 but works fine with the 10s chain. I've got the 46-36 rings on it. Hard to find but worth the hunt.

rm -rf

My previous bike had Veloce 50-34 and I installed the 13-29. It works fine with the short cage for most riders that had tried it.

I have 11 speed Athena triple on my all-day / credit card touring bike.
The 12-29 with the 53-39-30 isn't really low enough for loaded touring. 30 front with 29 rear is reasonable for lightweight riding, but not low enough for steeper rough gravel roads or carrying weight up long hills.

This triple is a "tripleizer" where the smallest chainring is bolted to the the middle ring, and it's BCD won't allow anything smaller than 30 tooth rings. I'd really like a 28 or 26.

But the cassettes are the same spacing as Shimano 11 speed. I was thinking of changing the freehub to run Shimano 11-32. Now Campagnolo has an 11-32, so I'll probably try that.

~~~
I really like the 39 middle ring. I can stay in it for a wide range of speeds on flat to rolling terrain. I rarely use the 53.