Did you know that 10 speed campy shifters will shift an 8 speed shimano drivetrain?

[mtechnica]

It's working flawlessly on my repair stand right now! Veloce shifters, 5700 105 RD, 11-28 8 speed cassette, 8 speed sram chain. I threw the shifters on in place of 8 speed shimano shifters and very little adjustment was needed to get it to shift at least as well as it was with ultegra barcons. There are two dead clicks of course but with the derailleur limits set properly it just slacks the cable and does nothing if you attempt to shift.

The good thing about this is that campy 10 speed shifters are cheap and light. These 2012 veloce levers are nicer feeling and shifting than any 8 speed shimano shifters I've used as well. The veloce levers are a whopping $100 brand new from the UK; less than used (and very old) 8 speed shimano shifters typically sell for.

I have no idea what's going to happen with the front shifting but I'm assuming it will be possible to make it work...

[zennmotion]

It's working flawlessly on my repair stand right now! Veloce shifters, 5700 105 RD, 11-28 8 speed cassette, 8 speed sram chain. I threw the shifters on in place of 8 speed shimano shifters and very little adjustment was needed to get it to shift at least as well as it was with ultegra barcons. There are two dead clicks of course but with the derailleur limits set properly it just slacks the cable and does nothing if you attempt to shift.

The good thing about this is that campy 10 speed shifters are cheap and light. These 2012 veloce levers are nicer feeling and shifting than any 8 speed shimano shifters I've used as well. The veloce levers are a whopping $100 brand new from the UK; less than used (and very old) 8 speed shimano shifters typically sell for.

I have no idea what's going to happen with the front shifting but I'm assuming it will be possible to make it work...

Yep, but sorry, this is old news. I have Shimergo setups on 3 bikes-I actually prefer them to the original all- Ultegra setups they replaced. I especially like Shimergo for cyclocross, as they're cheap and 8 speed cassette spacing and stronger chains are better for mud and frozen gears IMO. A few tips- set your "ghost" clicks 1 at the top, 1 at the bottom of the range for best results. Any front derailleur works, but in my experience a campy front derailleur has a little less throw than a shimano. My 2012 Veloce left lever shifts better with a cheap Mirage derailleur than an Ultegra, easier throw, less trim needed. Also, older, non-quickshift 10sp levers work better than the newest (2011+) iterations- I have both in shimergo configurations, much prefer my 2010 veloce to 2011 centaur.

10sp campy shifters also work with 9sp shimano cassettes with an alternative rear derailleur cable clamp "hubub style" . My experience with this is that it works fine until the cable clamp slips a little which for me was after a dozen rides or so- it could be fixed mid-ride with a multitool but I finally just got the JTek adaptor (model 2 I think, 10sp Campy/9sp Shim cassette) and no more issues. No need for an adaptor with 8 speed cassettes, but the adaptor works better than the hubbub modified clamp for 9 speed.

[Puget Pounder]

I am guessing you haven't seen this: http://www.ctc.org.uk/cyclists-library/components/transmission-gears/rear-shifting

I generally max out the top 2 clicks, so a slackened cable doesn't catch on to anything. Cable tension and derailleur stops will prevent you from overshifting, unless you are trying to destroy your stuff.

[mtechnica]

I've seen it online a few times so I know I didn't come up with it, but I wasn't convinced that it would work very well until I tried it.

[carpediemracing]

10sp campy shifters also work with 9sp shimano cassettes with an alternative rear derailleur cable clamp "hubub style" .

We have an essentially stock Cannondale tandem, 9s Shimano rear, with Campy 10s Ergo levers. I figure if it works on a tandem it'll work on a regular bike.

[ultraman6970]

Did you check jtek???

[zennmotion]

We have an essentially stock Cannondale tandem, 9s Shimano rear, with Campy 10s Ergo levers. I figure if it works on a tandem it'll work on a regular bike.

Yep, the extra looooong extra stretchy tandem rear der cable would be the worst case scenario. I gave up on brifters of any kind/combination for our tandem as they were too fiddly, and nothing worse than a surprise upshift under load standing on the pedals with a stoker, much prefer bar cons for tandems, and I usually just use the friction mode. I think if it were me that I'd at least get a JTek for a 9 sp tandem rather than just the hubbub fix. One tip for tandem cables- I use cable connectors (like those used on a Ritchey breakaway travel bike- QBP has them) so that I can use normal single bike cables as replacements. You won't find tandem cables when you need them while on a tour, and they're easier to replace in shorter halves than a single long -azz tandem cable.

[stien]

We have an essentially stock Cannondale tandem, 9s Shimano rear, with Campy 10s Ergo levers. I figure if it works on a tandem it'll work on a regular bike.

Awesome, I want to do this. Have any problems with shifting at all like below?

Yep, the extra looooong extra stretchy tandem rear der cable would be the worst case scenario. I gave up on brifters of any kind/combination for our tandem as they were too fiddly, and nothing worse than a surprise upshift under load standing on the pedals with a stoker, much prefer bar cons for tandems, and I usually just use the friction mode. I think if it were me that I'd at least get a JTek for a 9 sp tandem rather than just the hubbub fix. One tip for tandem cables- I use cable connectors (like those used on a Ritchey breakaway travel bike- QBP has them) so that I can use normal single bike cables as replacements. You won't find tandem cables when you need them while on a tour, and they're easier to replace in shorter halves than a single long -azz tandem cable.

Maybe I'm dense, but I can't figure out how to buy anything from QBP. Any hints?

[carpediemracing]

Yep, the extra looooong extra stretchy tandem rear der cable would be the worst case scenario. I gave up on brifters of any kind/combination for our tandem as they were too fiddly, and nothing worse than a surprise upshift under load standing on the pedals with a stoker, much prefer bar cons for tandems, and I usually just use the friction mode. I think if it were me that I'd at least get a JTek for a 9 sp tandem rather than just the hubbub fix. One tip for tandem cables- I use cable connectors (like those used on a Ritchey breakaway travel bike- QBP has them) so that I can use normal single bike cables as replacements. You won't find tandem cables when you need them while on a tour, and they're easier to replace in shorter halves than a single long -azz tandem cable.

Good tip on the breakaway cable thing. I don't know where I have the extra cables I bought for the tandem but I think they're tucked away in one of the two seat bags.

The tandem was a pre-marriage test - if we couldn't ride the tandem then we figured the marriage would be stressed. We rode the tandem fine :)

The Ergo/Shimano 9s works fine, even with the stock housing. I considered upgrading to Nokons or something but the bike is really not that kind of a bike so I let it be. Other than a couple fit things (saddles, stems, bars), one comfort thing (thudbuster post), and one gearing thing (11-23? cassette) the bike is stock.

[carpediemracing]

Awesome, I want to do this. Have any problems with shifting at all like below?

Maybe I'm dense, but I can't figure out how to buy anything from QBP. Any hints?

Absolutely no problems. The bike gets a bit beat up (we've moved twice since we got it). When we first got it we rode 3-4 times a week, so much so that my single bike skills deteriorated dramatically (you get really wobbly when you go back to the single because you overcompensate). We did a metric century (with 5 or 6 other tandems), then the next weekend a 56 mile hilly ride. That was the peak of our tandem thing, then it got busy - wedding etc.

Other than cable slack maybe twice, early on, the shifting is spot on. With a tandem it's tough - I can't really see the gearing so I rely on the Missus to call out if it's shifted as expected, or if I'm out of gears. As I mentioned above I think Nokons would help a bit but since it works I'm leaving it.

For the front Campy's ratcheting front shifter is the schnizzle, it's very easy to shift and you can use any front derailleur. I used Shimano front derailleurs on my race bike for many years, simply because there were so many low end Shimano front derailleurs floating around. I don't think I have a jumpstop (chain guard) on the tandem but if I don't I'm putting one on. We rarely use the small ring but when we need it we need it and adjusting the front derailleur to purposely overshift will negate virtually all friction related shift-into-small-ring issues.

QBP is very protective of their dealer network. You need either a bike shop that's willing to order for you or you need to set up a business. It used to be that people would use their existing business EIN etc to create a "Basement Bike Shop" (I've seen such tags at Interbike) but QBP is very tough. Getting an account with them is hard. Honestly, though, most of their stuff is either worth paying an LBS to get or you can get it elsewhere (eBay etc).

For me I befriend a local shop and ask them to order stuff for me. Sometimes I find a contact at a shop (i.e. typically the owner) and ask if I can order stuff through them, pay for it all in advance, give them a reasonable markup (10-20%, plus I pay shipping), and they can tag along their order at no cost to them. When I do such things I usually end up with a significant order - I'll get 5 DA chains, 20 tubes, a lifetime supply of cable ends, etc. I wouldn't use a favor to get the cable things, for example, but if I was looking for $500-1000 wholesale in small parts I'd be asking.

My last order was through the shop that sponsors the club for whom I ride - I just asked them to get me x, y, z and whatever they charged me they charged me. I got it in a day I think and yes I probably paid a bit more than I could have. But some of the stuff he got for me was really impossible to buy anywhere else, like cutting blades for frame prep tools (BB30 reamer, 1 1/8" cutting blades for head tube).

[zennmotion]

Good tip on the breakaway cable thing. I don't know where I have the extra cables I bought for the tandem but I think they're tucked away in one of the two seat bags.

The tandem was a pre-marriage test - if we couldn't ride the tandem then we figured the marriage would be stressed. We rode the tandem fine :)

The Ergo/Shimano 9s works fine, even with the stock housing. I considered upgrading to Nokons or something but the bike is really not that kind of a bike so I let it be. Other than a couple fit things (saddles, stems, bars), one comfort thing (thudbuster post), and one gearing thing (11-23? cassette) the bike is stock.

Well, carry a connector with you and you're still good when you can't access a replacement tandem cable. Also , a quick release on the cable attachment to the drum brake is nice, otherwise a rear flat tire is a much longer ordeal (and believe me, there is no greater pressure than to have your stoker bride staring at you when fixing the tandem as the vultures circle overhead and it looks like rain) If you don't have an Arai drum brake, they're good peace of mind for long descents; cooking brake pads or worse, overheated disc rotors are bad especially when you have your beloved on the back.