Mixing Campy Derailleurs and Shimano/SRAM Cassettes

You have to check the sprocket spacing. When you shift from one gear to another, the dérailleur steps a certain amount of space. The amount of space is different for different number of sprockets and/or manufactures. There is some information on Sheldon Brown's site: Shimano Cassettes & Freehubs It is probably not complete, but should help.

If you can find a cassette that matches the campy spacing, I would think it would be possible...as long as the dérailleur can be adjusted such that the large and small sprockets are reachable.

jondeefan said:

I have an approximately 8 year old Bianchi which uses the low end Campy parts and I am interested in buying new wheels. While I have replaced the front chainrings, I have not replaced the cassette. Because of increased options, can I buy a Shimano/SRAM compatible rear wheel with a Shimano/SRAM cassette and not change the Campy derailleurs?

The short answer is "Maybe."

Do you currently have 9-or-10-speed Campagnolo shifters?

Thanks, I did not think about the sprocket spacing. It is something that I will have to research.

greglox said:

You have to check the sprocket spacing. When you shift from one gear to another, the dérailleur steps a certain amount of space. The amount of space is different for different number of sprockets and/or manufactures. There is some information on Sheldon Brown's site: Shimano Cassettes & Freehubs It is probably not complete, but should help.

If you can find a cassette that matches the campy spacing, I would think it would be possible...as long as the dérailleur can be adjusted such that the large and small sprockets are reachable.

Thanks for the reply. I have 9 speed Campagnolo shifter.

alfeng said:

The short answer is "Maybe."

Do you currently have 9-or-10-speed Campagnolo shifters?

jondeefan said:

Thanks for the reply. I have 9 speed Campagnolo shifter.

FWIW. Because Shimano has gone to great lengths to make shifting between cogs as efficient as possible, if you don't mind having access to only 8-out-of-9 cogs, you should be able to use a wheel with 9-speed Shimano cassette with your 9-speed Campagnolo shifters ...

You just have to adjust the STOPS + tweak the index to shift correctly between the smallest & second smallest cog ...

Done!

You'll probably lose use of the 6th (?) largest cog, but you probably won't notice its absence.
[INDENT]If in doubt, presuming you know someone who has a bike with a Shimano drivetrain, borrow the friend's rear wheel to confirm ...

If necessary, "borrow" a 9-speed Shimano/SRAM cassette from a MTB if you need absolute confirmation.
[/INDENT]If you want to use all 9 cogs ...
[INDENT]If you use a '105' cassette (i.e., a cassette with separate cogs), you can cut shims from a soda-or-beer can (my apologies for not remembering who to provide attribution for this tip) ... the apparent thickness of the aluminum is ~0.2mm.

WHEELS MANUFACTURING made/(makes) replacement spacers which will allow you to restack a Shimano cassette to Campagnolo spacing. I had a set (maybe, they are still around here, somewhere) ... in a side-by-side comparision, the WM spacers seemed to be (IMO) the same thickness as the spacers in an 8-speed Shimano cassette ...
[INDENT]As Fate would have it, I ended up never using those WM spacers because most of my wheels had Ultegra-or-XT cassettes & I found that I didn't mind (!?!) using one less cog on the bike which was set up with a set of 9-speed Mirage shifters.

I generally use an HG-53 (or, better) 9-speed Shimano chain.

BTW. I'm currently using 10-speed Campagnolo shifters + 9-speed Shimano cassettes with Shimano rear derailleurs ...
[/INDENT]Using either shims or the Wheels Manufacturing replacement spacers increases the stack by ~1.4mm (?) ... so, there's that much less thread which the lockring will engage ... it's doable.
[/INDENT]Whichever (if any) alternate you choose, you will need to adjust the Stops & Indexing because the driveside flange of the Campagnolo hub is closer to the hub's centerline than the flange on a Shimano/-compatible hub.
[INDENT]

[/INDENT]

jondeefan said:

I have an approximately 8 year old Bianchi which uses the low end Campy parts and I am interested in buying new wheels. While I have replaced the front chainrings, I have not replaced the cassette. Because of increased options, can I buy a Shimano/SRAM compatible rear wheel with a Shimano/SRAM cassette and not change the Campy derailleurs?

Thanks in advance,
Tom

The spacing differences between shimano and Campagnolo 9s is pretty small, I have used Campagnolo 9s shifters/RD and used a shimano 9s cogset many times and it works well. Use a shimano 9s chain.

Wheels manufacturing does make a shimano cogset based but spaced for Campagnolo 9s cogset but it's pricey.

Thanks, this has been a big help.

alfeng said:

FWIW. Because Shimano has gone to great lengths to make shifting between cogs as efficient as possible, if you don't mind having access to only 8-out-of-9 cogs, you should be able to use a wheel with 9-speed Shimano cassette with your 9-speed Campagnolo shifters ...

You just have to adjust the STOPS + tweak the index to shift correctly between the smallest & second smallest cog ...

Done!

You'll probably lose use of the 6th (?) largest cog, but you probably won't notice its absence.
[INDENT]If in doubt, presuming you know someone who has a bike with a Shimano drivetrain, borrow the friend's rear wheel to confirm ...

If necessary, "borrow" a 9-speed Shimano/SRAM cassette from a MTB if you need absolute confirmation.
[/INDENT]If you want to use all 9 cogs ...
[INDENT]If you use a '105' cassette (i.e., a cassette with separate cogs), you can cut shims from a soda-or-beer can (my apologies for not remembering who to provide attribution for this tip) ... the apparent thickness of the aluminum is ~0.2mm.

WHEELS MANUFACTURING made/(makes) replacement spacers which will allow you to restack a Shimano cassette to Campagnolo spacing. I had a set (maybe, they are still around here, somewhere) ... in a side-by-side comparision, the WM spacers seemed to be (IMO) the same thickness as the spacers in an 8-speed Shimano cassette ...
[INDENT]As Fate would have it, I ended up never using those WM spacers because most of my wheels had Ultegra-or-XT cassettes & I found that I didn't mind (!?!) using one less cog on the bike which was set up with a set of 9-speed Mirage shifters.

I generally use an HG-53 (or, better) 9-speed Shimano chain.

BTW. I'm currently using 10-speed Campagnolo shifters + 9-speed Shimano cassettes with Shimano rear derailleurs ...
[/INDENT]Using either shims or the Wheels Manufacturing replacement spacers increases the stack by ~1.4mm (?) ... so, there's that much less thread which the lockring will engage ... it's doable.
[/INDENT]Whichever (if any) alternate you choose, you will need to adjust the Stops & Indexing because the driveside flange of the Campagnolo hub is closer to the hub's centerline than the flange on a Shimano/-compatible hub.
[INDENT]
[/INDENT]