Jtek Shiftmate - anyone got any experience of them?

redddraggon

I'm currently building up a winter bike, mainly of spare parts. Unfortunately they are a mixture of Campagnolo and Shimano bits. The wheels have shimano hubs but most of my drivetrain is Campag.

I've got real two options (for the time being - eventually I'll get a pair of Veloce/OP handbuilts).

1)10speed ergos and 8spd Shimano Cassette and sora mech and botch them to work together. I've already got all the bits for this

2)Get a 10 speed 105 cassette and Jtek shiftmate and use a Campag 10 speed mech.

Looking at the Shiftmate page, I need model 1, but it seems to do a lot of different things, do they actually work well?

graham_g

I hope so

I've just ordered the model 3 (shimano shifters to 10 spd campag rear and vice versa), I'd have offered to lend it you if that was the model you needed as I'm not likely to build a bike up with it until the end of the year!

Smokin Joe

Is there anywhere in the UK who sell these direct, or did you have to buy from the States?

couscous

I have used one, Campag 9 speed cassette with Shimano 9 speed mech and changers. It worked fine, the only issue I had was the solution didn't look very neat at all.

I think I still have it somehwere, I'll have a look later. If, and it's a big if, I find it then if you want to buy it PM and we can sort it out from there.

graham_g

Smokin Joe wrote:

Is there anywhere in the UK who sell these direct, or did you have to buy from the States?

It's a really small outfit that make them so I can't see anyone else stocking them. They post worldwide, postage was only about $6 to the UK and total cost was £21 so it shouldn't incur any import/VAT either.

redddraggon

couscous wrote:

I have used one, Campag 9 speed cassette with Shimano 9 speed mech and changers. It worked fine, the only issue I had was the solution didn't look very neat at all.

I think I still have it somehwere, I'll have a look later. If, and it's a big if, I find it then if you want to buy it PM and we can sort it out from there.

Aye, if it's a model one, I'd be interested. Lack of Neatness won't be a problem.

Ken Night

Reddragon, when you've got it all sorted out, do let us know how you've got on-as you know I run Campag 10 shifters, Shimano rear mech and 8spd cassette on my crosser-Shimano hubs

(because I couldn't find a reasonably cheap disc tabbed Campag compatible hub)

I miss having 10 speeds and would love to be able to get them to work

PM me to alert me when you've found out how you've gone, if you wouldn't mind

redddraggon

Ken Night wrote:

Reddragon, when you've got it all sorted out, do let us know how you've got on-as you know I run Campag 10 shifters, Shimano rear mech and 8spd cassette on my crosser-Shimano hubs

(because I couldn't find a reasonably cheap disc tabbed Campag compatible hub)

I miss having 10 speeds and would love to be able to get them to work

PM me to alert me when you've found out how you've gone, if you wouldn't mind

No worries, I don't imagine It'll be up and running until the end of May/ beginning of June though. Although I normally can't restrain myself and buy everything straight away, so it may be sooner than that.

It was your Crosser that's encouraged me to do all this shimano/campag botching. It looks amazing by the way.

redddraggon

http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12564168

After that thread It's possible to go down the SRAM Mech route, as it's the cheapest way, I'm able to pick up a Rival Mech for £35.

A worthwhile option?

pjm-84

Maybe too late but 10speed Shimano cassette works on 10 speed Campag - not the other way around may I add. Why? I don't know but I did a TT using this combination and got all gears and no jumping

Smokin Joe

According to Leonard Zinn, Campag ten speed works perfectly with a SRAM mech and cassette as the cable pull is the same.

SeanT

I'm using shiftmate #3 to mate 10spd ergos to 10spd Shimano cassette and rear mech on my winter bike, works perfectly. I ordered direct from the States, took about two weeks to arrive.

I've thought about using a Sram Rival rear mech, but I'm running a tripple so I don't think it will work.

sfnch

Got mine already - waiting for the huge parcel tomorrow.

Get the Jtek Shiftmate, £25 post paid, from the UK distributer at: http://www.thetandemshop.com/

Ken Night

Smokin Joe wrote:

According to Leonard Zinn, Campag ten speed works perfectly with a SRAM mech and cassette as the cable pull is the same.

I'm not completely convinced by this, as the pull on the Sram lever is 3% greater than on the Ergo levers, possibly leading to problems at one or other end of the cassette

If anyone has experience of this, I'd like to know

I'd like to see the details on the amount of pull on a Sram mech, and the spacings-in the same way as Chris Juden has shown it on the CTC website
http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=3946


In spite of my Ergo 10/Shimano 8 mech+cassette working perfectly, I have 10spd on my road bikes and miss it on the bike I've sorted this way

redddraggon

Ken Night wrote:

In spite of my Ergo 10/Shimano 8 mech+cassette working perfectly, I have 10spd on my road bikes and miss it on the bike I've sorted this way

I know what you mean about the 10speed, after plenty of indecision I've finally decided to think about the future and get some wheels with campag hubs, rather than try a "botch" that may or may not work.

Unfortunately I know that's not an option for you, Ken.

Ken Night

[quote="redddraggonUnfortunately I know that's not an option for you, Ken.[/quote]

It's a dreary reality that I couldn't justify the DT Swiss disc tabbed hubs-over three times the price of XT

There is another reason for wanting the change-I'm running a 10spd chainset and front mech, and the extra width of the 8spd chain (10spd wasn't good on the 8spd cassette) means a lot of trimming, which of course is possible as a Campag user, but not what I'm used to as a roadie

slowhand44

redddraggon wrote:

I know what you mean about the 10speed, after plenty of indecision I've finally decided to think about the future and get some wheels with campag hubs, rather than try a "botch" that may or may not work.

Unfortunately I know that's not an option for you, Ken.

I've just set up my bike with ergos and 105 rear mech & cassette using a Shiftmate #3, and it seems to work fine. It works out a lot cheaper than buying an new rear hub/wheel, mech and cassette. I got mine because I'm changing from Shimano to Campag, but can't afford to buy the whole groupset at once.

You can also buy the individual jockey wheels, so when I change the rear mech to Campag all I need to do is change the wheel to a #1, and I can still use my Shimano wheels.

Ken Night

slowhand44 wrote:

redddraggon wrote:

You can also buy the individual jockey wheels, so when I change the rear mech to Campag all I need to do is change the wheel to a #1, and I can still use my Shimano wheels.

I like this sort of "can do" engineering