Converting a tourer from dropped to straight bars

[Robh]

My partner's touring bike has a nice old 531 frame that she's had for years. It is perfectly serviceable, in good condition, etc., and she's quite attached to it. However, she has decided that she wants straight bars.

The current setup is 9 speed Veloce triple.

Can anyone suggest a set of levers/changers for straight bars that would be compatible with a 9 speed Veloce triple setup?

[Butterfly]

My Lady Galaxy has some that Torslanda fitted, which are ok, but nowhere near as good as the down tube shifters on the Galaxy that it replaced. I am considering going back to the down tube ones.

[Brucey]

there's two (slightly  different) versions of campag 9s;it may be that Veloce 9s was only ever made in the later flavour (~3.0mm cable pull per click vs ~3.2 for the earlier type), but if not  I suspect that it would be a good idea to confirm which one you have if you want to retain indexed rear shifting.

Campag have made bar-end shifters which might do the trick (if you can find the right ones). Otherwise I think it is a choice between

-different mechs (and possibly cassette spacing) and matching shifters
- friction shifting
- travel agents
- or possibly a SRAM 10s shifter (3.1mm/click) set with a new front mech

cheers

[ACyclingRooster]

My partner's touring bike has a nice old 531 frame that she's had for years. It is perfectly serviceable, in good condition, etc., and she's quite attached to it. However, she has decided that she wants straight bars.

The current setup is 9 speed Veloce triple.

Can anyone suggest a set of levers/changers for straight bars that would be compatible with a 9 speed Veloce triple setup?

Hi Rodh. Campagnolo do a straight bar - brake lever/selector on a 10spd set-up under the Veloce range.
I bought mine from Chain Reaction Cycles in November 2014 at a slightly discounted price of £117.99 but have as-yet have not used them. The kit comes complete with all cabling and instructions as to setting them up.
I believe that they are also available from Evans Cycles on Special Order.
My intention is to use my Mavic Aksium Rims/Hubs with a Miche Primato (Campagnolo Compatible) 10spd cassette on a 50cm Bianchi frame and transfer every thing else over from my Benotto and purchase a new 10spd rear derailleur and use the Bianchi as a Flat-bar Road Hybrid with Ergo Lock-on grips             
      http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Anatomic-Lock-On-Grips-with-Bar-Ends-Keirin-Silver-Free-P-P-For-22-2mm-Bars-/261582072372?hash=item3ce781aa34:g:HLkAAOSwtnpXpJw - I have built many in the past but always on a Shimano drive-train.

My Mavic rear wheel has a Campagnolo 8spd cassette on the hub but I am sure that the hub will take a 10spd cassette with ease by leaving the space out that is against the spokes.
If that proves not to be the case then I will limit the 10spd derailleur movement accordingly so as to be compatible with the indexing on the lever.

[jsabine]

Can anyone suggest a set of levers/changers for straight bars that would be compatible with a 9 speed Veloce triple setup?

Assuming it's post 2001 9-speed (so the newer shift ratios that Brucey alludes to), Campag did produce 9-speed Flat Bar Ergos. I've only checked the 2006 catalogue, but that lists Mirage ones - you might find a NOS set if you're lucky - but if you can find 10-speed ones instead, a switch to them should, I think, only involve the new shifters and another cassette. (A cursory google suggests they're not in stock in many places, though Hibike in Germany claims to have a pair on the shelf.)

I'm not familiar with Campag bar-end shifters, but looking at a couple of the exploded diagrams, it looks like they come apart enough that you might be able to use them with bar mounts like Paul's Thumbies.

My Mavic rear wheel has a Campagnolo 8spd cassette on the hub but I am sure that the hub will take a 10spd cassette with ease by leaving the space out that is against the spokes.
If that proves not to be the case then I will limit the 10spd derailleur movement accordingly so as to be compatible with the indexing on the lever.

The splines are completely different between Campag 8 and 10 speed freehubs. You will only get a 10 speed cassette on an 8 speed hub with either a miracle or surgery.

The sprocket spacing is different between Campag 8 and 10 speed cassettes. If you try to use 8 speed levers and a 10 speed cassette, the indexing will be grossly inaccurate. If you try to use 10 speed levers and an 8 speed cassette, the indexing will also be grossly inaccurate. That leaves aside the difference in cable pull ratios between 8 speed mechs and 10 speed levers (or vice versa).

[Veloman]

Might I suggest you bite the bullet and go for Shimano?  You can keep your triple chainset as that will work equally well with any setup and you will need to purchase some new levers and rear mech; I run Campag with a Shimano chainset and it works fine as my SRAM or KMC chain does not know what chainset and cassette is being used.  If you wanted to keep your existing wheels (Campag spline) then you could buy a cassette that had Campag splines and Shimano spacing; I have the reverse (Shimano splines and Campag spacing) on my direct drive 'turbo' and it works fine.  Alternatively a relatively cheap Shimano wheel would suffice.

Might sound more expense, but the costs should not be too great if you are not going for top of the range kit.

[Robh]

Thanks all, for the replies.

I'll keep looking for someone that has suitable Campag flat bar levers for sale, but I'm not too hopeful. I think that maybe a wholesale conversion to Shimano will be the way to go.

Rob

[Brucey]

My Mavic rear wheel has a Campagnolo 8spd cassette on the hub but I am sure that the hub will take a 10spd cassette with ease by leaving the space out that is against the spokes.
If that proves not to be the case then I will limit the 10spd derailleur movement accordingly so as to be compatible with the indexing on the lever.

The splines are completely different between Campag 8 and 10 speed freehubs. You will only get a 10 speed cassette on an 8 speed hub with either a miracle or surgery.

the 'surgery' route mayn't be as bad as you might expect; the 8s and 10s splines are more closely related than you might think; they share the same major diameter and basic spline layout. IIRC you can make a 10s campag cassette fit an 8s freewheel body by
a) grinding the inside diameter of the 10s sprockets so that the minor diameter of the sprocket splines is correct and
b) modifying the shape of the 'timing spline' (which is wider at one point in a 10s spline) on each 10s sprocket.
c) use the 8s lockring; the 10s one is different.

BTW I agree that for the OP converting to a shimano gearing system is probably easiest. However IIRC the campag and shimano 9s cassette spacings are slightly different; sometimes it 'just works' but if not you may be able to compensate for this by making a very slight alteration to the way the cable is held at the mech pinch bolt, and thus use the campag wheels with the shimano gears

cheers

[ACyclingRooster]

Can anyone suggest a set of levers/changers for straight bars that would be compatible with a 9 speed Veloce triple setup?

Assuming it's post 2001 9-speed (so the newer shift ratios that Brucey alludes to), Campag did produce 9-speed Flat Bar Ergos. I've only checked the 2006 catalogue, but that lists Mirage ones - you might find a NOS set if you're lucky - but if you can find 10-speed ones instead, a switch to them should, I think, only involve the new shifters and another cassette. (A cursory google suggests they're not in stock in many places, though Hibike in Germany claims to have a pair on the shelf.)

I'm not familiar with Campag bar-end shifters, but looking at a couple of the exploded diagrams, it looks like they come apart enough that you might be able to use them with bar mounts like Paul's Thumbies.

My Mavic rear wheel has a Campagnolo 8spd cassette on the hub but I am sure that the hub will take a 10spd cassette with ease by leaving the space out that is against the spokes.
If that proves not to be the case then I will limit the 10spd derailleur movement accordingly so as to be compatible with the indexing on the lever.

The splines are completely different between Campag 8 and 10 speed freehubs. You will only get a 10 speed cassette on an 8 speed hub with either a miracle or surgery.

The sprocket spacing is different between Campag 8 and 10 speed cassettes. If you try to use 8 speed levers and a 10 speed cassette, the indexing will be grossly inaccurate. If you try to use 10 speed levers and an 8 speed cassette, the indexing will also be grossly inaccurate. That leaves aside the difference in cable pull ratios between 8 speed mechs and 10 speed levers (or vice versa).

Hi jsabine. The hubs on my other identical Mavic Aksium set of wheels is carrying a 10spd Campagnolo cassette and that was bought under the very same description as I bought the one on the Benotto.
I fail to see why the dedicated Campagnolo Veloce 10spd Flat Bar levers will not allow the 10spd cassette to function,after-all I am not mixing index systems and levers/cassettes.

I will be doing the conversion on the 50cm Bianchi Via Nirone 7 Alu Carbon in the next week or so - I will keep you posted as to my progress when I get there.

[jsabine]

Google suggests that 8 speed cassettes will indeed fit 9/10-speed freehubs, albeit it's not a good idea because the splines are shallower, the contact area is reduced and it's likely to damage the aluminium freehub body. You learn something new every day - apologies.

Obviously 10 speed shifters will work with a 10 speed cassette - I didn't suggest otherwise. If there's an 8 speed mech in the system, its cable pull ratio will be wrong, but it may be closer enough for the indexing to work OK.

[ACyclingRooster]

Google suggests that 8 speed cassettes will indeed fit 9/10-speed freehubs, albeit it's not a good idea because the splines are shallower, the contact area is reduced and it's likely to damage the aluminium freehub body. You learn something new every day - apologies.

Obviously 10 speed shifters will work with a 10 speed cassette - I didn't suggest otherwise. If there's an 8 speed mech in the system, its cable pull ratio will be wrong, but it may be closer enough for the indexing to work OK.

Hi again jsabine. I have no intention of using my Campagnolo 8spd rear derailleur or indeed anything remotely related to 8spd anything as the intention is to build a 10spd flat-bar hybrid using the stuff that I bought in November 2014.

That said,I may just decide to transfer everything 8spd off of the Benotto and put it all onto the Bianchi Via Nirone 7 Alu Carbon.
I had sold my original Campagnolo kitted-out 50cm Bianchi Via Nirone 7 Alu Carbon in Celeste about a year back in favour of using my 50cm Steve Goff that I had completely rebuilt/refurbished and is running on a 10spd Campagnolo set-up with triple Stronglight rings on my 140mm cranks.

[Cpt Sisko]

Thanks all, for the replies.

I'll keep looking for someone that has suitable Campag flat bar levers for sale, but I'm not too hopeful. I think that maybe a wholesale conversion to Shimano will be the way to go.

Rob

Speak to St John Street Cycles about thier JTek adaptors. I don't know if they do the exact combination you're looking for but I've got an adaptor so my 8 speed campag ergo shifters work flawlessly with my shimano cassette and derailleur.

[Robh]

Thanks all, for the replies.

I'll keep looking for someone that has suitable Campag flat bar levers for sale, but I'm not too hopeful. I think that maybe a wholesale conversion to Shimano will be the way to go.

Rob

Speak to St John Street Cycles about thier JTek adaptors. I don't know if they do the exact combination you're looking for but I've got an adaptor so my 8 speed campag ergo shifters work flawlessly with my shimano cassette and derailleur.

Thanks, I'll give them a call.