Dumb question about TT groupsets

pianoman
pianoman Posts: 706
edited October 2010 in Workshop
I've been looking for Campag TT groupsets but there's precious little to find.

Which brings me to this question: is it possible to buy a standard Campag groupset, source the bar-end shifters and special brakes, and then run the cables through to them instead of the Ergopowers?

Comments

  • a_n_t
    a_n_t Posts: 2,011
    Cant see why not. Do campag make those aerobar levers tho?
    Manchester wheelers

    PB's
    10m 20:21 2014
    25m 53:18 20:13
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    100m Yeah right.
  • pianoman
    pianoman Posts: 706
    You mean the shifters or brakes? Well the brakes aren't too much of an issue because I'm sure I've seen ITM versions of the same thing.

    I'm just toying with the idea of a triathlon bike on a budget to sit alongside my Van Nicholas roadie, you see. But the wheels on that bike are Campag 10 speed. So would like to keep everything Italian.
  • Pokerface
    Pokerface Posts: 7,960
    PianoMan wrote:
    I've been looking for Campag TT groupsets but there's precious little to find.

    Which brings me to this question: is it possible to buy a standard Campag groupset, source the bar-end shifters and special brakes, and then run the cables through to them instead of the Ergopowers?


    Yes
  • a_n_t
    a_n_t Posts: 2,011
    Campag 10 speed bar-end shifters dont come cheap!
    Manchester wheelers

    PB's
    10m 20:21 2014
    25m 53:18 20:13
    50m 1:57:12 2013
    100m Yeah right.
  • pianoman
    pianoman Posts: 706
    Campag 10 speed bar-end shifters dont come cheap!

    Is that why a lot of the recent TT bikes (think Focus) have been using SRAM groupsets? At least it wouldn't say Shi***o on it :D
  • a_n_t
    a_n_t Posts: 2,011
    Possibly. I run shimano on my TT bike as I dont have to use their sti levers which I've never liked. Campag on the summer and winter bike though.
    Manchester wheelers

    PB's
    10m 20:21 2014
    25m 53:18 20:13
    50m 1:57:12 2013
    100m Yeah right.
  • You could use Dia Compe bar end friction shifters.
  • pianoman
    pianoman Posts: 706
    You mean these? I'm sure they're in stock somewhere other than Wiggle

    http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Dia-C ... 360043252/

    Are they Campag compatible?
  • Yep, works with all makes/speeds. Just set the limit screws on the RD. The shifter isn't indexed at all, it simply changes the tension on the cable. A few guys in my club use them on their TT set ups and say that they prefer them over indexed shifters. Nice and cheap as well!
  • Robert456
    Robert456 Posts: 103
    If your buying a groupset the sale of the ergo's would probably cover the purchase of the bar end shifters, or maybe whoever you buy the groupset from will do you a deal? I seem to remeber taht C+ did a recent reveiw of time trail bikes and I think the ribble ran campag
  • a_n_t
    a_n_t Posts: 2,011
    Robert456 wrote:
    the sale of the ergo's would probably cover the purchase of the bar end shifters

    Good point. As for friction shifters, I ran my shimano 9 speed ones like that for a while but found miss-shifts too annoying on short TT's.
    Manchester wheelers

    PB's
    10m 20:21 2014
    25m 53:18 20:13
    50m 1:57:12 2013
    100m Yeah right.
  • Friction nice on a vintage but there's a reason the world went indexed, I would think going friction for racing is a step backward
  • andy_wrx
    andy_wrx Posts: 3,396
    It's not actually that big a deal - for TT'ing.

    For road racing you want the ability to get instant gearchanges to respond to a break or whatever, but in a TT you know what's coming and can plan to change gear.

    I've coped with my 8sp bar-cons on friction this season, will see if I can get a 2nd-hand set of 10sp on eBay over the Winter.
  • dru
    dru Posts: 1,341
    I built my 9 speed campagnolo shod time trial bike for a fraction of the price of a new one.

    Do you really need an extra gear for TT?
  • andy_wrx
    andy_wrx Posts: 3,396
    Depends which one !

    I was using a 12-23 8sp and found on our club course that I really wanted the 16 at a certain point - 15 was too high and 17 too low.

    Also, having same number of gears as my roadbike means I can swap wheels between them
  • Also, having same number of gears as my roadbike means I can swap wheels between them

    Exactly. Which is actually the absolute killer when it comes to a gorgeous-as-Alesha-Dixon TT bike: the Bianchi D2 Crono Alu Tiagra.

    If only it was 10-speed I could convert the cassette on my Campag wheelset and use that. Too bad Tiagra is 9 speed. In any case isn't it true that SRAM will fit on the splines of both Shimano and Campag freehubs? I've seen more than a few TT bikes with SRAM Apex or Rival.
  • a_n_t
    a_n_t Posts: 2,011
    PianoMan wrote:
    isn't it true that SRAM will fit on the splines of both Shimano and Campag freehubs?

    Just shimano I think.
    Manchester wheelers

    PB's
    10m 20:21 2014
    25m 53:18 20:13
    50m 1:57:12 2013
    100m Yeah right.
  • I run Shimano DA bar end levers on friction with a full Campag set-up and the changes are very precise.

    A lot cheaper this way :)
    Expertly coached by http://www.vitessecyclecoaching.co.uk/

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  • The quick answer to your question is yes, it will work.

    Instead of having to buy a full boxed groupset with the ergo shifters you don't need, try sourcing all the parts separately using a combination of Ribble, GB Cycles and Ebay. It's amazing what GB Cycles have in on discount (no I don't work for them). I've just done this for a Campag groupset I wanted and saved £60 over the full groupset boxed price.

    Yes, Campag 10 speed bar-end shifters are expensive, but you have a wide choice of brake levers by lots of different manufacturers, some cheap, some bling.
  • pianoman
    pianoman Posts: 706
    Sorry to BUMP this thread from about a decade ago but do the Dia-Compe shifters work with Athena 11 speed groupsets? If so, could I conceivably buy this groupset and just add the Dia-Compe's and something like ITM Lo-Pro brake levers?

    Because then all I'd need on top of that would be an Athena rear mech, cassette and chain and then I could even convert my 10-speed Veloce groupset on my road bike to 11-speed (having taken the Ergopowers out of the complete Athena groupset). Or am I missing something? Just thought it might be a good idea to get done now rather than when the VAT has gone up to 20%................
  • John.T
    John.T Posts: 3,698
    As the levers are friction you could run any mech you like, even a Shimano one.
  • pianoman
    pianoman Posts: 706
    It makes even a devoted Campag user like me wonder..............why bother with £200+ for the Campag shifters and brake levers when you can get both from other makes for around £60? I'm referring to the two products I mentioned earlier.

    Also, was I right in saying I only need to change the rear mech, cassette, chain and Ergopowers to convert 10-speed Veloce to 11-speed Athena? Or would the chainset have to go as well?
  • andy_wrx
    andy_wrx Posts: 3,396
    The thing is, the shifters are working in non-indexed friction mode.

    What essentially you're paying for with the matching shifters is the indexing.
    Whether that's worth £200 to you is your call !

    The bar-end shifters in friction mode are, after-all, exactly what friction down-tube shifters used to be for years and years until STI's were invented.

    On a roadbike, I want STI's, I want clicky-clicky indexed instant shifting.
    On a TT bike however - well how many gearchanges do you make on a typical flat TT course ?

    As I said above, I ran 8sp Shimano shifters in friction mode with a 10sp cassette this season and coped - I just had the odd missed shift (usually one in each TT !) where my legs would spin round uselessly for a second or two until I sorted it.

    However, I found that whilst I was in a gear OK, I clearly was sometimes not in it cleanly, as when I slowed down I could hear the chain rubbing and had to nudge the shifter just a little to clean it up : at speed, with a TT pointy hat covering my ears, I'd not heard or felt anything, it was only obvious to me when I slowed down.
    Now, if it's making so much noise, it must be taking power, so I've now got myself a eBay 2nd hand 10sp shifter to fit over the Winter (£30-odd rather than £200 though...)


    And a further thought - only the righthand / rear shifter is indexed, the lefthand / front shifter isn't (with Shimano - fairly sure Campag and SRAM are the same)
    This isn't the same problem, certainly not on a TT rig where you have 2 rings (max - some TT'ers only run one ring) and it means you can run any front mech you fancy, whether it matches the rest of the groupset or not.


    And brakes are a completely different matter too - any lever will work a brake caliper, and they're not connected to the gears like they are in STI's, so you can buy ITM or whoever's TT brake lever and use it with Campag, Shimano, SRAM, Tektro, whatever brakes.
  • pianoman
    pianoman Posts: 706
    Hmm, might go and get the Dia-Compe's anyway.

    Because I won't know until I pick the bike up whether it's got a Shimano freehub body capable of taking 10 speed - or do all Shimano freehub-bodied wheels take a 10 speed cassette? If so I'll get an Ambrosio conversion cassette, get some Mirage or Veloce front and rear mechs and put a KMC 10 speed chain on. Will that do the job? Then there'll be a few parts to recondition an ancient Giant OCR bike from 2006 (when I used to use Shimano) then that bike will be a little more respectable.
  • andy_wrx
    andy_wrx Posts: 3,396
    I'm confused...

    What are you thinking of buying - that Bianchi ?
    http://www.bianchi.com/global/bikes/bik ... Master=814

    Says it's got WHR500 wheels, which yes are 9sp Shimano but will take 10sp Shimano cassettes, so you could fit a Ambrosio Shimano-spline-Campag-spacing conversion cassette to it.

    But why ?
    And why fit any Campag bits to it at all ?

    It says it has Microshift Bar end shifters - not Shimano 9sp shifters, Microshifts.
    Now I dunno if Microshift have a friction mode : if they do, you could simply fit your Campag conversion cassette to the wheels and run it like that.

    You would then have Campag-fit wheels you can swap onto your Van Nic, or swap your Van Nic's Campag wheels on this Bianchi

    You'd be running Shimano mechs on it, but with friction shifters that would be fine
    - 10sp cassette needed obviously, but no need to buy any Campag kit at all...


    (and if you get seriously into TT'ing, it won't be that long before you buy some fancy deep-section wheels to replace those WHR500's & those Vittoria Zaffiro tyres are cheap training tyres, not exactly fast...)