"Patrick W" <
[email protected]> writes:
>I need an older style campy 8 speed chainring, but all I see on the popular
>mail order websites are the new thinner 9/10 rings. I'm guessing it would
>work, but since it's an inner ring I need I'm guessing it will shift poorly.
Everything you need to know about 5-10 speed drivetrains is contained
on one magical, indispensible web page maintained by Sheldon Brown :
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/k7.html
study it carefully. The "Sprocket Spacing" table gives you all the
information you need to know. What matters the most is Sprocket (and
therefore chainring) Thickness. While the outside of chains has been
getting more narrow since Suntour invented the Ultra-6 freewheel in
about 1974, Sprocket thickness has hardly budged, dropping from 1.85
mm in 1960 to 1.75mm for Campagnolo 10 in 2002. Shimano 10-speed at
1.6mm is an aberration - possibly they are trying to invalidate 50
years of backwards compatability - and you probably want to avoid
Shimano 10-speed parts if at all possible.
What CAN go wrong is that a late-model narrow chain can get stuck
between the front chainrings on a vintage (5-6-7 speed) crankset - as
these chainrings are spaced widely apart. In terms of the front
spider on an 8-speed, perhaps in some cases, the take-up ramps/pins
delay the shift briefly. As a previous message/url stated, this
seldom happens in practice.
Even if it happened in practice you could probably file down the flats
of your spider to move the chainrings barely closer together, use a
more narrow chain, and solve the problem.
- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA
