Conundrum: abandoning Campy for Shimano on my commuter.

[d_douglas]

I am considering converting my Alfine equipped commuter back to a geared system. I have a bunch of Campy 10spd alloy parts that would work great on an overkill commuter :)

I would need new wheels and have come across a nice set with DT350 hubs (that have the infinitely convertible axles) that comes with an 11spd Shimano freehub body. I will need to shell out some cash on new endcaps, and depending on whether I use Shimano or Campy, I may need a Campy freehub body (not cheap)

This 11spd freehub body got me to thinking: is it worth it to give up my alloy Campy in order to drum up money for a Shimano 5800 group? It has disc brakes and I have the calipers covered for that (no hydros)

I would've said no until a month ago when I tried Ultegra 11spd and thought it felt pretty great - now I think I could deal with Shimano drivetrains.

I have:
1) Centaur ergos in excellent shape (10spd)
2) Centaur alloy CT cranks square taper (the holy grail, so I have been told)
3) Chorus 12-29t cassette
4) Veloce long cage RD.

I suspect that selling this stuff would go a good chunk of the way to acquiring a 5800 group. It would mean that my alloy Campy stash is gone...

What to do?

[thirdgenbird]

1. if you make a post asking to trade your s11 dt freehub for a c10 one, you will be flooded with offers. I was offered cash on top of the trade.

2. A s11 freehub has enough room on it to respace shimano cogs to campy spacing. Shimano 10 loose cogs with spacers from SRAM 9 spd cassette should be mathematically perfect. Shimano 9 ones are close and Mark did it with some old Mavic spacers. Once you get the spacers from a toasted cassette you are set. Keep using them with cheap loose cog cassettes.

[d_douglas]

Yes, I know that the Sh11 FHB is in demand. I want to keep it for future use, hence my greediness.

As for point 2 - brilliant, but logistically daunting :(.


if I could use a bunch of loose cogs to make a 10spd Campy cassette to be used on this SH11 FHB, that would be utterly awesome!

Can I buy this stuff new? i.e., is a Tiagra cassette demountable? I don't quite get how to do this.

[thirdgenbird]

A low end shimano cassette is ideal. You just have to grind the rivets and you get a bunch of loose cogs and spacers. Take out the spacers and add "new" ones that are a bit thicker. I can't recall what size off the top of my head.

I've done this many times with c8 on a shimano freehub.

Oliver1850 has done it for c10.

[Black Dog]

I am considering converting my Alfine equipped commuter back to a geared system. I have a bunch of Campy 10spd alloy parts that would work great on an overkill commuter :)

I would need new wheels and have come across a nice set with DT350 hubs (that have the infinitely convertible axles) that comes with an 11spd Shimano freehub body. I will need to shell out some cash on new endcaps, and depending on whether I use Shimano or Campy, I may need a Campy freehub body (not cheap)

This 11spd freehub body got me to thinking: is it worth it to give up my alloy Campy in order to drum up money for a Shimano 5800 group? It has disc brakes and I have the calipers covered for that (no hydros)

I would've said no until a month ago when I tried Ultegra 11spd and thought it felt pretty great - now I think I could deal with Shimano drivetrains.

I have:
1) Centaur ergos in excellent shape (10spd)
2) Centaur alloy CT cranks square taper (the holy grail, so I have been told)
3) Chorus 12-29t cassette
4) Veloce long cage RD.

I suspect that selling this stuff would go a good chunk of the way to acquiring a 5800 group. It would mean that my alloy Campy stash is gone...

What to do?


Or use a shimano 10 speed cassette with a j-tek shift mate. Cheap and very effective.

[d_douglas]

Thanks to all!

It dawns on me that all of these workarounds are for using Shimano hubs and a Campy Drivetrain. All are ballpark $50-70.

With DT Hubs and a few bucks, I can buy an actual Campy freehub body and use my chorus cassette.

I have an offer for a used Campy FHB that seems the obvious solution?

[d_douglas]

What this doesn't address is my thoughts on whether 11spd 105 or 10spd Centaur is my preference :)

[thirdgenbird]

The used campy freehub is easy and proper.

5800 vs centaur? That's up to you. 5800 might be objectively better, but 10spd campy rocks. You also already own it. Wait, is that crank mint and 172.5 or 175? If so, go 5800 and send me the crank as payment for consultation.

[cachagua]

...Selling this stuff would go a good chunk of the way to acquiring a 5800 group. It would mean that my alloy Campy stash is gone.

What to do?

It is simple. Buy a 5800 group, keep the alloy Campy. Doubtless before long a frame will come your way...

[thunderworks]

What this doesn't address is my thoughts on whether 11spd 105 or 10spd Centaur is my preference :)

I recently completed a build on a bike I made in the 1970's after respacing it for modern equipment and repainting it. I put 5800 stuff on it, mostly because I liked the cosmetics and it's cheap. I don't really anticipate riding it all that much.

I'm really impressed with how well the 5800 stuff works. It's essentially flawless. Can't speak to the durability of the Shimano system, but I think it works great, and I personally would prefer it to Centaur.

[Anarchist]

I put 105 on my commuter bike in place of the Centaur that was on it. I did it only because I had one of those moments where I was looking at the crap I put the Centaur stuff through and decided I want the Campy 10 speed stuff to last forever, so I would outfit the commuter bike with cheap and replaceable stuff that would not break my heart if it breaks.

It works. I don't especially like it but it gets me from A to B.

The new hood shape is fine. The Shimano stuff feels like nothing. I am never sure if the damn stuff has actually shifted or not. I am used to the solid feel of Campy and the Shimano stuff, although it works, feels like stirring warm margarine.