Campy 9 spd Mix? (Athena/Chorus/Record)

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by nooneline

I know you're a guru around these parts, but that ain't true. They made a minor change to the cable pull ratio and if your shifter and rear derailleur weren't paired, from the same era, they didn't work properly. Not theoretical - I've tried.

Sorry, not in my experience. I used 1996 8s rear ders. With modern shifters(10s) and 2013 rear ders with 8s ergo and a lot in between. The only incompatibility is with early index stuff and that didn't work at all.

But got a 2002 10s shifter and 2000 new Rder? It'll work.

Branford has been in the sell ya something mode for years. I have used 2008 10s rear ders as replacement rders for ergo and DT shifters going all the way back to 1991/2. And they worked great. Sorry, my experience in the trenches says the 'Branford' documents are not accurate.

[oliver1850]

I have measured the cable pulled for both early and late 9 speed shifters. They differ by about .035" total as I recall. I ran a bike with late shifters and an early RD for a while and it does "work", meaning it can be adjusted so you can shift into every gear in both directions. I swapped the early RD out for a late one on my bike, and believe it shifts better as a result.

The way I would approach a C9 build is:

Buy the shifters you like/can find/get a great deal on, then buy the matching vintage RD. Values of the two styles don't differ by much, and neither is particularly hard to find. The only exception is possibly finding an uncracked early Chorus/Record, but the cracked ones are generally still functional. If you come across a super deal on the other style RD, snap it up. It will work until you find a great deal on the matching one. When that happens, sell the first for a profit.

[thirdgenbird]

That seems like a reasonable stance to me. You could also switch out the index ring to match the RD you found. I wouldn't be surprised if you could get one very cheap.. I've seen a number of them available from parted out a shifters or as leftovers from a 10spd conversion.

[AgilisMerlin]

nice frame btw

[bfd]

I have to echo what OP is saying - all Campy 9 works together! I have two bikes with 9 speed (I've never upgraded to 10 and may just go to 11 or 12 one day....but I digress). One uses 1999 Record 9 ergo levers with a 2010 Record 10 medium cage rear der. Shifts flawless with either my Campy rear wheel (Chorus rear hub, Veloce 9 cassette) OR Shimano rear wheel (DA 9 rear hub, Ultegra 9 cassette)!

On my second bike, I have a NOS/bought in 2008 Centaur 9 ergo levers with an early 1998/99 Campy Record 9 ti rear der using either of the above rear wheels and again, no problems.

So despite the fear of death and destruction if you somehow mix early and late Campy 9 equipment, it actually works quite well. Good Luck!