Campagnolo & Shimano

samhedges

Hi guys, I'm looking to buy some new wheels in the near future but I'm confused as to why some wheels say Campag or Shimano only and some don't say anything. Could someone please explain this as I'm worried that when I choose between Campagnolo and Shimano groupsets later on that they might not be compatible?

If it makes any difference I'm thinking of the Mavic Ksyriums at the moment..

mamba80

all wheels are either Campag or shimano - they have different freehub slines, to fit either S or C cassettes.
Apart from shimanos own make, wheels are specified either C or S f/h's so if you got Ksyriums, you ll be able to change your f/h later on, if you change.

jay197

Hi Sam,

Just like Mamba said, some of the gearing mechanisms are actually attached to the back wheel, and the campag bike gears mechanisms are not compatible with the shimano mechs.

So if your bike it fitted with shimano a gear mechanism then you have to buy a wheel that is listed as "shim" or "S" so that your shimano gear cassette can be taken off your old wheel and transfered to your new wheel etc.

One thing I will advise you is, if you are a beginner like me, don't buy top of the range expensive wheels just yet, as you are more likely to make mistakes as a beginner and fall off and damage them, for example from slipping on gravel, or hitting a pothole, or sliding off in the wet, or taking corners too fast etc.

For riding in the winter, your wheels will take a lot of abuse so just use a cheap pair of wheel for winter weather riding, and perhaps spend the cash on getting some nice tyres with good wet weather grip and higher puncture resistance.

I bought a set of rodi clinchers from "ribble" for under a £100 pounds last week so there are some bargain to be had at the budget end of the wheels if you really want to upgrade though :P

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-t ... odiwhfr200


Regards,

Jay.

rolf_f

jay197 wrote:

I bought a set of rodi clinchers from "ribble" for under a £100 pounds last week so there are some bargain to be had at the budget end of the wheels if you really want to upgrade though :P

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-t ... odiwhfr200

TBH, I think Ribble have better deals than those - 2.1 kg is lumpen and I don't think the wheels have the reputation for durability to make up for it. You can get Shimano compatible ITMs and Campag compatible Khamsins for £104 and both will save you a couple of hundred grams in weight and last longer.
The most obvious bargain at that end at the moment (assuming they are any good) are the Shimano R501s at £72 down from £130. They also weigh around the 1900g mark.

samhedges

At the moment, I'm running Shimano but I'd like to change after I upgrade the wheels. If I bought the wheels first, would I have to buy the Campag groupo before I could use them? And if I got the Centaur first then would I have to change the wheels before I could use the groupset or have I got this completely wrong?

thegreatdivide

A bike wheel is a bike wheel – but it becomes a Shimano or Campagnolo bike wheel when the free hub is fitted. That’s the bit the cassette goes on. So when you see ‘Campagnolo’ or ‘Shimano’ next to the wheel it’s denoting which free hub has been fitted. A Campagnolo freehub will only take a Campagnolo cassette and the cassette will only work with a Campagnolo groupset. If you buy a wheel with a Shimano hub it will work with a SRAM or Shimano cassette and group set.

If you’re not using a Campagnolo group set at this point in time you will only be able to use Shimano free hub fitted wheels. If you decide to move to Campagnolo in the future you can purchase a separate Campagnolo free hub and swap the Shimano one for the Campagnolo one - if the wheel allows a free hub swap.

samhedges

Okay, I understand now. Cheers. So I can buy a wheel without the free hub or Shimano for the time being? Also, could somebody confirm whether or not the Ksyriums allow free hub swap?

jay197

Rolf F wrote:

The most obvious bargain at that end at the moment (assuming they are any good) are the Shimano R501s at £72 down from £130. They also weigh around the 1900g mark.

£72 is cheap for a good brand like Shimano aye.

I mainly got the rodi's due to them being a perfect complement and match to the colours of my bike as it is a white frame with black and red, and the rodi's are a wee bit better then the wheels it came with so I can't complain.

Now that I have found out how bleeding rough the roads are here in Bedfordshire, I would cry if a nicer more expensive set of wheels got ruined on the horrible roads we seem to have.

Do you ever get used to the terrible road surfaces then in time, or is it always going to be a conscious nightmare going from a nice smooth bit of road, straight onto an old rough road full of worn away surfaces etc?

So far the only thing spoiling my road experience is the badly surfaced roads I seem to keep finding.