Campy Cassette mixing

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wpccrunner
in the industry
Posts: 429
Joined: Fri Dec 07, 2012 8:34 pm
Location: CO

by wpccrunner

I currently have a 10 speed Campy Record 11-23 cassette, 50x34 chainrings and short cage veloce rear derailleur (2008ish model year), however we now live in the hills and the lady needs some lower gears.
Ideally I'd like an 11-27 or 11-29, but Campy does not offer such a combo.
Can I buy a 12-27 Centaur, or 13-29 Veloce and piece together a "custom" cassette.
What is the max chain wrap capacity for this derailleur (27T, 30T?)

(50-34)+(27-11)=32T
(50-34)+(29-11)=34T
(50-34)+(27-12)=31T

Does anyone have experience using similar setups?

I'm sure this has been discussed before but I wasn't able to find answers. Thanks

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bikerjulio
Posts: 1900
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2009 10:38 pm
Location: Welland, Ontario

by bikerjulio

I have lots of experience in this.

Yes it's easy to make up custom cassettes. Easiest with the loose cog ones obviously, but not impossible with the paired cogs except more care is required in figuring out the correct spacers. I now have a box full of cogs and spacers.

Campy were briefly making a 12-30 Centaur cassette, so if you can find one - it's nice. http://www.ebay.com/itm/2016-Campagnolo-Centaur-Ultra-Drive-Cassette-12-30-New-10-Speed-Sprocket-Set-/281901262076 Otherwise use Veloce.

Chain wrap for a short cage is 32-33T with no problem. Chain needs to be carefully sized. You can go higher. Make sure big-big is OK. Chain goes slack in small-small but you don't use that anyway do you?

And "H" screw may need backing out to increase clearance.
There's sometimes a buggy.
How many drivers does a buggy have?

One.

So let's just say I'm drivin' this buggy...
and if you fix your attitude you can ride along with me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GekiIMh4ZkM

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wpccrunner
in the industry
Posts: 429
Joined: Fri Dec 07, 2012 8:34 pm
Location: CO

by wpccrunner

thanks julio. 11-29 it will be!

c50jim
Posts: 1015
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2006 4:42 am
Location: Calgary

by c50jim

I also have used a lot of different Campagnolo 10 speed alternatives. I once built a 12-29 out of the 12-15 from a 12-25 with the rest of the gears from a 13-29. It worked fine with a Chorus mid cage rear and Centaur compact crank. I currently have a 12-30 with Chorus mid cage rear and Chorus compact crank that rattles on the 30 and my LBS can't make it work even though the bike worked perfectly with a 13-29 before I put on the 12-30 so I'll go back to 13-29 if I think I'll need to use the lowest gear often. 13-29 seems to work well with short cage and mid cage derailleurs but 12-29 and 11-29 might be pushing it for a short cage based on my experience. Does the lady really need an 11 or 12? I took my kids to the Pyrenees last year (they were 30 and 26 at the time, so not really kids). The older one had a 10 speed and I took off his 11-25 and popped on a 13-29 because I knew it would work and he'd need the 29. I still couldn't keep up with him on downhills (he outweighs me by a lot and is a lot less cautious) even though I had an 11-32.

If you are mixing cogs from different cassettes, try to keep the mix points as few as possible. On that 12-29 I built, the shift from 15 to 17 was a little different than if I used either 12-25 or 13-29. It shifted but wasn't quite perfect.

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vejnemojnen
Posts: 406
Joined: Fri Nov 08, 2013 7:11 pm

by vejnemojnen

so, would i notice a big handicap in shifting, if i were to install a 26a cog after a 23c on a 9spd setup?

I would go for a few weeks to a place where I would definitely need an easier gear, and, my cassette on the steelie is a loose cog 9spd one with 13-23 setup. I rarely use a 13t (almost never), could i convert it to 14-26 with a 26 added into the top? (i can get individual cogs from my lbs's mech guy, who has used a lot of those cassettes which has one)

Image

can it shift well? some said i would never notice the difference, as the larger cogs with 3t difference between them has a lot of surface area for the chain to wrap around.

ps: i know the 14t is not a "starter" cog, but, with some grippy material i think it should not loosen up.

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