Campag - repair 9sp or upgrade to 10sp

hammerite

Rode a cross race yesterday and snapped my rear mech - 9 speed Xenon. I can still get a replacement 9sp Xenon mech, but noticing it's made of plastic it's put me off a little. With a bit of searching I can still find 9sp Veloce, but they seem to be few and far between, So I'm wondering if this happens again in the future whether I would struggle to get another 9sp rear mech. Given that I've seen a number of rear mechs go this season at races.

Should I bite the bullet and upgrade to 10sp, at least then replacement parts are easier to find? I already have 10sp cassette I could use, so I'd need to get 10sp shifter and 10sp rear mech.

I run 44/34 front, and 12/28 rear, would I need long or short cage rear mech?

Tom Butcher

I think a 12/28 is on the limit - most people will tell you a short cage should probably be able to handle it but perhaps officially it's beyond what campag would recommend for a short cage 9 spd mech. I'd stick with what you were using before if that worked OK.

As for upgrading to 10spd - I wouldn't - take the point it may be easier to find 10spd stuff but so long as you can find 9 spd then why not keep using it. There may be relatively little 9 spd stuff available now but so long as you can get what you need somewhere then I'd keep doing that - upgrading to 10 spd will give you one more sprocket and save you a little time searching for new kit - it'll also be an expensive upgrade and I imagine any new mechs/chains/cassettes etc you'll need in the future will also cost that little bit more - in the mud there may also be something to be said for 9 spd being slightly more tolerant than 10 spd.

Berk Bonebonce

I think Mr Campagnolo would say that you need a medium length Campag rear mech and not a Campag long one.

tx14

shouldn't 10 speed rear derailleurs work fine with 9 speed system or at least some of them?

Tom Butcher

Yes they should shouldn't they - good point - so no worries on finding replacements then.

Smokin Joe

tx14 wrote:

shouldn't 10 speed rear derailleurs work fine with 9 speed system or at least some of them?

10 speed mechs will work perfectly with 9 speed and vice versa. In fact my 9 speed bike has a ten speed Xenon and the 10 speed has a 9 speed Veloce.

hammerite

Ah excellent, thanks for clearing it up, makes things a lot easier.

Monty Dog

Yup, 10 speed rear works fine on a 9 speed drivetrain - in 2 seasons of cross I've toasted 1 rear mech and and 1 Ergo lever - I'm started to built a little collection of wrecked Chorus parts!