8 speed campy with shimano or suntour shifters

[mikeyfern]

I have a Bianchi road bike (Campione D'Italia) that I am considering converting to an English three speed style handlebar. Trying to make sort of a bridgestone X0 type of ride. I'm considering bar end shifters, but I can't find cheap campy ones.

Anyways, I was wondering if either shimano bar end shifters or old deore xt thumbshifters would work with the campy stuff. I'm guessing it would be ok in friction mode, but then I'd lose out on the indexing. Anyone have experience with suntour bar con shifters? they seem pretty cheap on ebay.

And how would the brakes (dual pivot?) work with MTB style levers, like Dia-Compe SS-7s?

Any thoughts?
Hope my first post isn't too Noob-ish.

 

[boudreaux]

I have a Bianchi road bike (Campione D'Italia) that I am considering converting to an English three speed style handlebar. Trying to make sort of a bridgestone X0 type of ride. I'm considering bar end shifters, but I can't find cheap campy ones.

Anyways, I was wondering if either shimano bar end shifters or old deore xt thumbshifters would work with the campy stuff. I'm guessing it would be ok in friction mode, but then I'd lose out on the indexing. Anyone have experience with suntour bar con shifters? they seem pretty cheap on ebay.

And how would the brakes (dual pivot?) work with MTB style levers, like Dia-Compe SS-7s?

Any thoughts?
Hope my first post isn't too Noob-ish.

Friction works.Index won't unless you just get lucky and hit on a combination that is close enough.RD throw ratio also has to match the shifter being used.... MTB levers for cantivlever mtb brakes, not V brakes will work with road calipers.

 

[freek]

I ride 8-speed Campy ergo shifters with my old 7-speed (screw-on) freewheels. Works perfectly, which is not surprising since the 7-speed freewheels have 5 mm cog-to-cog distance and 8-speed Campy cassettes have the same.
So if you find a Shimano 7 speed shifter it would work. Probably you would miss one gear, but maybe not.
Oh yeah, I did need the 8-speed Campy rear derailleur to work with the Ergo's.
Sheldon Brown has a list of cog-spacings for different freewheel and cassette systems.

 

[boudreaux]

So if you find a Shimano 7 speed shifter it would work. Probably you would miss one gear, but maybe not.

Not with a campy RD.

 

[freek]

Not with a campy RD.

You may very well be right, but is this from actual experience? So many combinations are possible, sometimes you don't know untill you try.
F.i. Suntour Superbe Pro RD works flawless with Dura Ace 7 speed (index) DT gear levers.

 

[boudreaux]

You may very well be right, but is this from actual experience? So many combinations are possible, sometimes you don't know untill you try.
F.i. Suntour Superbe Pro RD works flawless with Dura Ace 7 speed (index) DT gear levers.

Well, that is just serendipity..... No one is going to drop the money to try every possible combination, to find the few that just happen to work. If you have a box full of junk parts, go ahead and play!!.....Campy and Shimano index stuff have different cable pull/RD throw ratios, and are generally incompatible for that reason.It's a well known fact. That doesn't mean there aren't some combinations that will work together for some cogsets. I could name you a few. I have better things to do.....The pre 9 speed DA shifters and RD also have a unique pull/throw ratio, and are generally incompatible with other stuff, even other shimano pre 9 speed. The suntour index stuff is generally incompatible with shimano index. You just happened to hit on a combination that works by chance, not because it's suppose to. Don't spread it as some kind of gospel that implies that anything you stick together will work.