Greetings,

I'm a complete newbie when it comes to mixing and matching Campy drivetrains with Shimano cassettes. I did a search here on WW and learned enough to be dangerous - and somewhat confused.

I'd love some input from the mix and match veterans to put my doubts to rest.

I've got a full Campy Record 10-speed bike and would like to run a Shimano freehub wheel with Shimano cassettes. Will this work? By the way, all the components are 2007 or 2008 model stuff - so all fairly new.

What I read in the archives resulted in a range of answers:

1. Full Campy Record 10-sp drivetrain will run a Shimano 10-sp cassette no problem.

2. Buy a Jtek Shiftmate which will get done with ease.

3. Buy an American Classic conversion cassette which is compatible on a Shimano freehub.

Thanks for taking the time to enlighten me!

Mark

Best to use campag on campag.. shimano on shimano..so you will be sure that everything works A1..

But if you already have a shimano wheelset and cassette on hand, just throw in a shimano chain to run it..

we just checked this at the shop that i work at. we didn't run into any problem and someone has been running it for about 4 rides so far without any problems.
Michael

I've mixed Campy and Shimano 9s before. it works OK after 4 rides. the problem is that after 400 rides, it doesn't. cables and chains stretch, cassettes wear, there's dirt, etc.

I have a shimano cassette and chain on my campy record drive train.
reason being is nuetral support and support in general where i live is mainly shimano

anyway after 9,000 kilometers its working fine. no problems that i can report of.

edit: i dont use the j-tech adapter either.

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My CAAD 9 BB30

you are after a jtek type 1 shift-mate....I'm going to do the same, just haven't had time to instal it yet

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Used to race....got too wrinkly and old Updated: Racing again! Thought this was unlikely! Eventually, I may even have a decent race!

A lot of people here use 10sp Shimano wheels with Campa 10sp group.
My LBS even sell new Campa equipped bikes with Shimano wheels.

I have tried it myself but I had some issues, one was that the cassette was much further out than Campag's.
I had to put a spacer on the rear mech's bolt to be able to adjust the gears properly.
But other frames seems to be just fine.
And it never did run as silent as an original Campag cassette.
If you lay one Shimano and one Campag cassette on a table side by side there are a difference in height.

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Max Gravity, unfairly treated by gravity!

With 10 speed the difference between the two is so tiny that they work together fine, even without the shiftmate.
I ran a 10 speed campy cassette with 10 speed DA a couple of years back and it was perfect, it took a little adjustment of the mech angle, nd the cable, other than that you should be good to go.
I always thought the campy cassette was a rough noisy old thing anyway, I prefer my Sram cassette anyday.

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Guildford/Woking is the home of F1.
We make loads of other stuff here too.

If you want the exact number about how tiny the difference is, Shimano spacing is 3.95mm and Campy is 4.12mm. In the worst case, after 9 shifts, the Campy RD would be too far to the left by 1.5mm which figures out to be 38% off location. To get the best shifting, the RD has to be carefully centered at the middle of the cassette to split this error equally betwen upshifts and down shifts. The high and low limit screw can also be used to reduce the error at both ends of the cassette.

There is certainly no reason for a cassette with the wrong spacing to shift better than a Campy cassette with the correct spacing, other than improper setup of the correctly spaced cassette.

My experiences, going from quietest/best shifting to noisiest/worst shifting"

1: Campy UN 10 speed with Campy Cassette (any version, Veloce is fine)
2. Campy drive train with AC conversion cassette. Not the highest quality cogs but at least the spacing is 4.12.
3. Campy drivetrain with J-Tek shifter
4. Campy 10 speed drivetrain with Shimano cassette. As noted the error acculuates so you can use it if centered but it will never be like match mfg's part are.

I run a Campy Record 10s drivetrain on the road and switch between Campy and Shimano wheels all the time. Yes, the shimano wheel is slightly noisier, but it shifts just fine. I use a wipperman chain though, not Campy or Shimano.

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shut up and ride

Campagnolo states a GRU (Gamma di Regolazione Utilizzabile) of a 15%. So if you adjust the derailleur perfectly in the center of a Shimano Cassette you are only out of that GRU in both extreme cogs, where you can trim the misalignment using the limit screws.

Anyway, way better with Campa UD cassettes.

I am also wondering about the mix of the two groupsets.

Currently I have an Ultegra 10s groupset but I changed the wheels and on my current wheels is a Campagnolo freewheel. To change it it's too expensive and anyway I have to change my current cassette.
So I was thinking to put a Marchisio cassette, which has Shimano spacing but fits Campa freewheel.
Was thinking also about J-Tek, but I would like to keep the compatibility with Shimano wheels because of neutral support.

So, what are your opinions?

Just get a shiftmate. They are cheap and work VERY well.

So will I need the shiftmate or not?
I'll try without it first...
I"m about to set up a LooK with Campy Daytona Levers.. Daytona front derailleur
Carbon Record rear derailleur .. and I have Sram S30 wheels with a Shimano Cassette..

Until I can get some campy wheels..

I haven't seen a post in few years on the subject..