Campag Nucleon Wheels 11-speed Compatibility

timdanaher

All 10-speed wheelsets should work with 11-speed cassettes, right? Wrong.

My 2001 Nucleons (now called Neutrons) won't take an 11-speed Campag cassette. The large sprocket touches the spokes.

Anyone got any experience of this / suggest any workarounds (spacers, etc)?

TIA

Monty Dog

Depends on whether you can get a slim spacer (1mm) in there and still engage the lockring? Can't think of any work-arounds as the big sprockets are dished and you can't change the angle of the spokes into the hub.

timdanaher

Thanks, Monty...

I was looking for that spacer that always comes with Campag cassettes ... think I could find it? Who are the UK Campag distributors now? (Been away for a few years...).

Monty Dog

You may find that regular cassette spacers are too thick.
There is a UK Campagnolo Service Centre: http://www.campagservice.co.uk and Mercian Cycles are always helpful too.
HighPath Engineering might also be able to help in terms of a spacer if you get no joy above - there is a 1mm spacer that comes with Shimano 10 speed cassettes but expect that'll just be a touch too small diameter to fit a Campagnolo freehub body. The previous service centre, Select Cycle Components in Nottingham are long gone.

timdanaher

Excellent, thanks, Monty!!!

mercsport

Intrigued by this post, and as I was working up to '11 speeding' my bike this week, I dug out my old Nucleons of about 2000/2001 and slotted on the brand new Chorus 11 block to see what's-what. The upshot was that whilst there was plenty of clearance between the big sprocket and the spokes I could not engage the smallest 12 onto the hub. Yet it all fits fine on my near 5 year old Shamals. Got the vernier out and measured the slotting on the hub, which was 36 mm outside to inside on both hubs. Result? Bafflement!

timdanaher

mercsport ... here's the (rather unhelpful) reply that I received from the Campag distributor:

"Unfortunately, there is no solution that I know of to fit the 11 sspeed cassette on the Nucleon wheels. The wheels were around before 11 speed was released and they slightly changed the design on the 11 speed cassettes. The freehub bodies that the cassette slids on to are different for the wheels, and if you were to space the cassette out, I'd imagine it would push the higher gear too close to the frame and you would get rubbing issues."

Clear as mud...

From people I've spoken to, it seems that it's the drive-side hub flange that is too thick... the larger 11- speed cogs have a 'dish' close to their centre that allows them to get a bit closer to the spokes on a standard post-2000 10-speed freehub body than does the standard 10-speed cassette. the chunkier flange on the the pre 10-speed hubs prevents this.

Does that make any sense?

mercsport

"Does that make any sense?"

Yes, indeed, it does. Thanks.

Amid a confusion of worn 10's cassettes to hand, Marchisio, a couple of Records (which both lost teeth in their very short lives!) and the new 11's Chorus, I confess I didn't apply myself forensically to the problem. A swift on-off only and the conclusion that, sure enough, an 11 speed block is never going to be a feature on my old Nucleons. If I thought about the dishing of the cassette at all I obviously never thought to comment. It would seem to be the only feasible explanation.

Oh well. Ta' for the feedback.

BTW, had a look at your blog. Very impressed. Am still dizzy! Also amused to note that classic nutters can find their ways into the unlikeliest places to post their ravings.

proto

Older Mavic hubs won't take an 11 speed cassette either, biggest cog fouls the hub body, but Mavic supply a thin spacer which eliminates the problem. From memory it is 0.5mm thick. I bought a couple from the very helpful folks at SigmaSport for my older Cosmic Carbone and Ksyrium ES wheels.

Here you go: http://www.sigmasport.co.uk/Product/213 ... leShopping

and m0re info here: http://www.competitivecyclist.com/produ ... .41.1.html

Worth trying, I'd have thought.

timdanaher

Cheers, Mercsport!!! Haven't updated the blog for ages, though... that 'classic nutter' is a tiresome troll who follows posters from another blog around, like a bad smell...

Proto, thanks for the links, worth trying and have ordered some spacers... although I've also just taken a bit of a leap in the dark and bought a pair of Neutron (not Nucleon) hubs off eBay for £80 all in (from Macedonia, no less) ... we'll see if the spacer works, if not, maybe build the Neutron hubs into the old Nucleon rims, if the spacer works, just get a nice pair of carbon / light alloy hoops for new Neutron hubs.

g00se

TimDanaher wrote:

Who are the UK Campag distributors now? (Been away for a few years...).

Chicken cycles distribute to a lot of LBSes.

http://www.chickencycles.co.uk/index.php

proto

There are a number of official Campagnolo importers - RJ Chicken, Jim Walker, J D Whisker and Cycle Sport North (wholesale division of Ribble).

However if you want spares, then I'd try Mercian Cycles, if i's available, then they'll have it. The main importers seem to be disinterested in supplying spare parts, stocking only the basic range.