Campag/Shimano Compatibility question

OwenB
OwenB Posts: 606
edited August 2009 in Road beginners
Hi, my current bike has Campagnolo Xenon derailliers and a 12-23 cassette which to be honest is a bit small for me and I've been contemplating changing the cassette to something a little wider spread, however I've been offered a set of new wheels for free which are probably as good as the ones that are fitted at the moment but has a shimano cassette fitted but with a more suitable range of gears for me as a beginner.

Will the new gears work ok? Or should I just stick with what I have and buy a new cassette?

Comments

  • redddraggon
    redddraggon Posts: 10,862
    You might find that the Shimano cassette will index well with the rest drivetrain - it has been reported to work.

    Give it a try, make sure you check the indexing on a stand first though.
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  • OwenB
    OwenB Posts: 606
    Cheers, doesn't hurt to try I guess, just wasn't sure it might cause some damage and if it's not happy with it I'll give the wheels to my girlfriend as spares for her bike :)
  • redddraggon
    redddraggon Posts: 10,862
    PS I was assuming it's a 10spd shimano cassette

    I've got some wheels with a Shimano freehub and a 12-25 shimano cassette, I keep meaning to try it with campag, but I haven't got the spacer you need for 10spd cassettes.
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  • OwenB
    OwenB Posts: 606
    Sorry no, it's 9 speed. Could that cause a problem?
  • redddraggon
    redddraggon Posts: 10,862
    OwenB wrote:
    Sorry no, it's 9 speed. Could that cause a problem?

    Unless you are running old 9spd campag stuff, you'll probably find it won't work.
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  • OwenB
    OwenB Posts: 606
    Well I bought the bike second hand and the guy suggested it was a 2003 model. So it's not new, think I'll just buy another cassette and stop thinking on the cheap
  • knedlicky
    knedlicky Posts: 3,097
    Try it.
    I had all Campa, wheels too, but when I decided on new wheels, the wheelmaker (a very small business) said his wheels were really meant for Shimano, so he gave me a Shimano cassette and the spacers to put between the rings.
    But I found the spacers weren’t necessary and everything worked just a s smoothly as with the original Campa wheels and cassettes.
  • OwenB
    OwenB Posts: 606
    tried it out tonight. And it worked just fine, thanks for tif advice guys :D