Campagnola Chain sets

maxandpaddy

Hello all, Just purchased a Ribble Bike, It has a Ultra-torque double chainset [39/53], 10 speed rear gear [short]. but not sure what in means?

Is this setting more for speed are for going up hills.

Also I have been reading about chain wear, now the gears are not slipping at all it seems in tip top condition, the chap I bought it off said he had done about 3,000 miles on the bike,

What is the life span of chain, I have read if you change the chain you need to change the cassette as well does that include the double crank as well.

As i said the bike is running smooth, but i want to keep it that way. So any advice would be most welcome.

Very new to biking.lol

Takis61

What does it say on the rear mech, brake levers & chaainwheel ? Veloce, Centaur, Chorus, Record ?
Chain wear can vary, I would get an LBS to check it, iif nothing else it may need some tightness adjustment.
53/39 chainrings are standard racing, so pros & fit riders will be fine with that on the flat & hills, but you also need to count the number of teeth on the rear cassette - smallest will be typically an 11 or 12, largest 23 or 25.
Many riders, me included, have changed to a "compact", usually 50/34 teeth on the 2 front chain rings, giving an overall easier gearing for hills.
Depends how fit you are.

Takis61

Sorry, I should have said yes, if you change the chain normally the cassette is changed as well due to wear on the teeth, but the cranks themselves will not need changing, maybe the actual chain rings themselves depending on wear.

maxandpaddy

What does it say on the rear mech, brake levers & chaainwheel ? Veloce, Centaur, Chorus, Record ?
Chain wear can vary, I would get an LBS to check it, iif nothing else it may need some tightness adjustment.
53/39 chainrings are standard racing, so pros & fit riders will be fine with that on the flat & hills, but you also need to count the number of teeth on the rear cassette - smallest will be typically an 11 or 12, largest 23 or 25.
Many riders, me included, have changed to a "compact", usually 50/34 teeth on the 2 front chain rings, giving an overall easier gearing for hills.
Depends how fit you are.

Hi Takis61
It has Veloce on the Brake levers and the Rear Mech and Crank. The Cassette is 25 on the big and 12 on the small.

What seems funny me and my 2 work mates have just acquired Road bikes. Me being the Heaviest out of the trio and looked upon as not fittest is burning them up the hills by a long margin I cant believe it !!! and they are not to happy either. One of my mates as been regually mountain biking for some time and is about 5 foot and the other 5 foot 1 they both run around in the shower to get wet. Its like riding with the Borrowers when they can keep up lol; I am 6 foot 3 and 14 stone. But not complaining plenty of bragging rights.lol

Chrissz

maxandpaddy wrote:

Hello all, Just purchased a Ribble Bike, It has a Ultra-torque double chainset [39/53], 10 speed rear gear [short]. but not sure what in means?

Ultra-Torque is the Campagnolo name for their system of fixing the crankset to the bike with an external bottom bracket. The (short) rear mech means it is a short-cage version - standard for most road bikes but some now have (long) rear mechs fitted to cope with a wider range of teeth on the rear sporckets - or cassette.

maxandpaddy

Thanks Chrissz, Things are becoming a bit clearer, All this Technology can be a bit daunting.

Takis61

Looks like you have a great racing setup, Veloce is a great level groupset, and 53/39 is a standard racing double.
If you struggle with hills then you can change the chainset to compact as I stated, or easier would be to fit a 12/27 rear casette, but it really depends on your fitness.
Sounds like a great bike !