Campagnolo triple conversion

markos1963

Hi
My girlfriend wants to convert to a triple for an upcoming trip to the Alps. Her bike has Campag Xenon 10sp gearing with a compact. Can I get away with just putting a triple crankset on? We are looking at an Athena chainset with 52/39/30 rings Looking at descriptions on the internet it appears her LH shifter is already a double/triple one, is this correct? I think the rear mech is a medium cage, it certainly has plenty of clearance on the 12/27 cassette, would there be enough capacity with this set up? I would expect to have to fit a new chain anyway in preparation for the trip.
Many thanks

kirkee

Hello, as your on Campag 10 speed you could try a veloce 13 29 or a harder to find centaur 12 30 cassette with your existing set up to give you slightly lower gear ranges. I say this because going 'triple' is generally never without alot of faf and extra parts, as you say probably new chain front mech etc.
Ive had a look at a gear chart and see that a 30 inner triple chainring paired with the 27t sprocket gives a 29.4 inch gear and a 34 compact inner ring paired with a 29t sprocket will give a similar slightly higher 31 inch gear. I used to shun compacts but Ive changed my point of view and think they are a good option when paired with the correct cassette for your needs- the cassette choice is key.

Triples are the best option if you want really low/high no doubt.

heres the link for the chart I use if you havent seen one like it already its worth a look
http://www.bikecalc.com/gear_inches" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank

wiggle are doing veloce 13 29 10spd cassettes on discount at the moment

mercia_man

Yes I think you are right about the 10-speed Xenon LH lever being double/triple compatible. At least that is what it says on the Wiggle and Chain Reaction websites. All the older Campag shifters with their ratchet movement used to work doubles or triples - it was just a question of adjusting the front mech to limit the movement for doubles. As I understand it, the latest 11-speed shifters are not suitable for both double and triple.

I use old Veloce 9-speed shifters on a triple on my tourer. They are really good. I now use a long cage Champ rear mech but used to use a Veloce medium length cage mech successfully with a 13-28 cassette and various chainring configurations including 48/39/24. I also used to use a standard Chorus double front mech successfully on my triple chainset although I now use a Centaur triple front mech.

So I think your girlfriend's bike will work OK with a triple and a new chain. The front shift might be slightly impaired but you could always fit a Dog Fang or similar chain catcher if necessary.

lesfirth

I converted a Campag 10 speed compact to a triple . My veloce and I think your xenon left shifter will work with a double or triple chainset. I am using a 50/39/30 with a 12/30 cassette. I use a veloce short cage rear mech ( because I had one) without a problem.I only use the small chainring with the the 3or4 biggest sprockets so lack of chain take up is not a problem. If I do forget what I am doing and use small sprockets with small chainring, it is not a problem,I just have a droopy chain.My chain is as short as it can be on a big chainring /big sprocket but again it is not a combination I normally use. Both the short and medium rear mechs have the same big sprocket capacity.The difference is in chain take up ( chain wrap).

You will need a triple front mech for which Campag charge a fortune. I have used a shimano tiagra which worked fine.Just remove the shimano sticker.

Yes,I can hear you " nobody needs a gear that low!" I am an old git and there are proper hills up here, so I can have one. I know some of you think 39/23 is low enough.I did many ,many years ago. Then 10 speed was 2 times 5. Standard issue was 48/52 chainset with 5 speed 13/25 block ( a cassette was called a block then).

Sorry, just getting a bout of nostalgia. Back to the OP. I find most of the time I use the middle ring of a triple. With a compact I am constantly double changing. When your girlfriend has tried it I think the conversion will get you a few brownie points. I agree with Mercia Man, chain catcher or( if you have a round seat tube) dog fang is a good idea.

g00se

The front lever with a Xenon will work with a triple.

A 50-39-30 and a 27-12 cassette has a tooth wrap of (50-30)+(27-12)= 35 and an old medium cage campag mech has a wrap of 36 so that will work. (http://branfordbike.com/articles/rear-d ... s-pg62.htm)

You'll need to find a triple front mech for it all to work properly. Depending on whether it is band-on or braze-on, these are always knocking about on ebay (the ones will the longer back plate). Something like:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Campagnolo-Ve ... SwL7VWrkvp

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Campagnolo-Mi ... SwXshWsxW6

markos1963

Many thanks for all your inputs. Just noticed the chainset we are looking at is 11sp, will that be ok with 10p chain? I seem to remember someone telling me it would be, but best to check before pulling the trigger.

g00se

Yep, no problem

mattsccm

Campag Ergos that will cope with a triple will work with nearly any old front mech. I have used things like a cheap Shimano MTB one, and old Record one and even a ancient matchbox type.
Play with anything you can before buying. If you do need a new one Comp and Race triples are cheap second hand and do the job perfectly.

kirkee

if you can try to avoid the urge to go for whats the best value ie keeping the existing med cage mech/cassette etc. If your going for it you may as well get the most from your investment and upgrade. Id suggest that you get the widest range cassette you can like a 13 29. This may mean that you will req a long cage rear mech/new front mech. You will then have yourself a set up worthy of the expense and effort that gives you the widest possible range with more lower gear clicks for the climbs -which after all is the whole point of going for the triple upgrade? Other wise it leads full circle to back my first post!

according to the gear table; your girlfreinds existing compact 34t with a 30 tooth sprocket will give a gear .5 of an inch bigger than a 30 inner ring with the existing 27t sprocket. Ribble are doing the centaur 12 30 cassettes for 60 od quid, the med mech and chain should work fine as it is.

Monty Dog

Short cage mech usually OK for 29 tooth cassette IME - whereas triple conversion will require new chainset, front mech and long-arm rear mech.

mercia_man

If you decide to go for a triple chainset, I'd try it first with the original double front mech and medium cage rear mech before forking out. As I said earlier, my tourer worked fine with triple chainset, Chorus double front mech and Veloce medium cage rear mech. Obviously, triple front mech and long cage rear will be better but I used the above set-up for several years.

markos1963

OK so all has been going fine with the conversion. In the end we got a Truativ Elita triple chainset from eBay for a fiver!. I have just got a BB for it as well and here is the problem. Upon fitting the BB with the spacers on the drive side so the inner ring will clear the chain stay the non drive side axle doesn't engage fully into the bearing cup. No amount of tightening of the crank arm bolt will draw it up so it now has about 1-2mm of end float! Any ideas? Everything else works great with it, the short cage rear mech takes up all the slack without the need to adjust the chain, the front Veloce mech can be adjusted to swing across all three rings. Its just that end float I need to sort!