Upgrading Chorus hub from 8 to 9 speed, which freehub body to use?



fillarji

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Mar 19, 2010
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Hi, I have hub like in the picture below and I would need to replace the freehub body so it will accept 9 speed cassette... What are the options online(europe or UK), from shops such as chainreactioncycles? thanks

 
FWIW. It may be more economical to have the rim re-laced onto a new hub ... the recent ([COLOR= #808080]from a few years ago[/COLOR]) Mirage hub which was based on the pictured Chorus hub but has a 9-/10-speed Freehub BUT it lacks the grease port & polished finish BUT it should be available for under $30 (eBay).

  • A Shimano cog can be re-notched fit on Campagnolo's 8-speed Freehub body ... you could renotch the cogs from an entire cassette.

Also:

  • Wheels Manufacturing makes spacers which will allow you to restack the cogs to achieve 9-speed Campagnolo spacing.
 
Originally Posted by fillarji .

Hi, I have hub like in the picture below and I would need to replace the freehub body so it will accept 9 speed cassette... What are the options online(europe or UK), from shops such as chainreactioncycles? thanks

Record or Chorus freehubs from 1997(first year of 9s)freehub body is 'plug and play'. 1997/8 Athena freehub body AND axle..same thing.

1998/9 saw the introduction of oversized aluminum axles, so different freehub body.
 
In 2005 I had a fellow in my bike club upgrade my Chorus Ergo 8sp to 9sp. It involved replacing a cam/gear in the Ergo lever and then adding the additional cog onto the casette. The casette itself needed resized aluminum washer/spacers to except the additional gear in the same space.

He charged me about $100 for the parts and his labor. None of this would be worth the trouble if it didn't work, right? I'm in California and do lots of climbing. So I am often out of the saddle, grabbing the bars in a death grip. I rarely miss a shift going higher or lower.

Some online stores must sell a kit for this. If you've got a bike stand and a good cable cutter and some metric allen wrenches and open-end wrenches, tackle it yourself.

I think the kit my friend used was purchased from Small Parts in Oregon.

Gary
 
In addition to what I said above - your old hub and wheel are fine. My Campy Ergo group dates from 1997 and the upgrade kit included only the following:

a) a new detente gear for the brake/shifter unit
b) one new gear added to the old casette
c) new aluminum spacers to replace the old ones. These are inserted between the gears.
d) a new 9-speed chain. The nine is thinner than the 8-speed

The most intricate and time consuming part is removing the brake handle and replacing the detente sprocket. And changing the chain.
The new gear must syncronize with the arrangement of your existing sprockets, and you can consult with the Campagnolo website to see what combinations are suggested.

Do a Google search for Small Parts in Oregon (USA) to see if they carry the kit. If they don't have it, they can advise you about other sources.

gary
 

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