Campagnolo 11-speed shifter/derailleur compatibility chart

[VeganDave]

Originally Posted by JedB

VeganDave - Let me know if you still have the 11speed Record Rear deraileuer, please.

Thank you

I gave it back to my friend, it's the older pre-2014 (or whatever year) version...

If you're really keen, I can ask about it.

[VeganDave]

Originally Posted by tdh

IMHO VeganDave has a good chance that his setup with a SRAM 9 speed rd will work;

So I picked up a used Shimano LX 9sp rear mech, tried it out on a ride today with the Centaur 11sp shifters - and it actually works!!!

I'm not 100% sure on it, there seems to be a cog on the lower half of the cluster that jumps down an extra cog when shifting down on ocassion, going to have to see if that can be adjusted out or not....but so far so good.

I really didn't notice anything was amiss for my 2.5hr trail ride! (It's on a CX bike.) But I was mostly in the upper portion of the cassette.

Going to look into an XT or XTR upgrade.....but so far I'm pretty darn impressed. If you're super picky, wouldn't recommend, but if you're good with a bit of a potential hiccup, so far so good. Will continue to report.

[tdh]

Originally Posted by VeganDave

So I picked up a used Shimano LX 9sp rear mech, tried it out on a ride today with the Centaur 11sp shifters - and it actually works!!!

I'm not 100% sure on it, there seems to be a cog on the lower half of the cluster that jumps down an extra cog when shifting down on ocassion, going to have to see if that can be adjusted out or not....but so far so good.

I really didn't notice anything was amiss for my 2.5hr trail ride! (It's on a CX bike.) But I was mostly in the upper portion of the cassette.

Going to look into an XT or XTR upgrade.....but so far I'm pretty darn impressed. If you're super picky, wouldn't recommend, but if you're good with a bit of a potential hiccup, so far so good. Will continue to report.

When you look at the ratios the best fit should actually be a Shimano 11speed road rear derailleur. Something like the RD-R8000 or the RD-R7000...and if I am not mistaken the ultegra 11speed long cage rd can go up to 34. Turns out that the tiagra 4700 seems to have the 11speed ratio as well.

[fredd]

I just tried a Centaur RD with Chrous shifters and it works okay in the stand. Shifts up and down the cassette fine, but shifts are definitely not as smooth as with a Chorus RD. Encouraging enough that I'll give it a try on the road. Will post reaction here.

[Gabe77]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

Pre 2015 'stuff' works with 2015 and later 'stuff' just fine.
Shifters, ders.

If you have either of the ders on the right and left, you can use with any 2009 and later set of shifters, 10s or 11s..main body outside of end knuckles..with older ones(center), nyet.

'Some' have said Potenza rear der return spring isn't strong enough for non Potenza shifters..I haven't seen that. Since the lever is just 'releasing' the cable to go to a higher gear, not sure how the shifter influences that.

AND, older 10s shifters, like 2008 and older? Use a 'modern' 2009+ rear der, like Chorus, even 11s..works fine.

The issue with the return spring tension isn't significant to the shifting functionality but the lifespan of the ratchet mechanism in the Potenza ergos. The escapement is plastic vs metal in the higher groupsets. So its a wearing out sooner problem - of course depends on usage.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by Gabe77

The issue with the return spring tension isn't significant to the shifting functionality but the lifespan of the ratchet mechanism in the Potenza ergos. The escapement is plastic vs metal in the higher groupsets. So its a wearing out sooner problem - of course depends on usage.

All true but the PS, droopy thumb button versions are MUCH more reliable.

[Ali-Pacha]

Got my hands on a Chorus 11 RD post 2015 for a real bargain, will put the pre/post 2015 thing to the test with Athena 11 levers, very old ones Ultrashift carbon black and more recent Powershift silver with straight thumb lever.

I've Athena 11 rear mechs OTH, and even if the shifting works perfectly, it's not as smooth as what I get from a Centaur 10 RD with the slight "bolt grinding" mod.

[Ali-Pacha]

It works, with old Athena Ultrashift as well as with more recent Athena Powershift.

The return spring of the post 2015 Chorus RD is far stronger than the one on Athena RD, so it feels way harder on the shift lever, especially on the first cogs, and you need to be frank on it and fine tune the cable to get perfect shifting without hesitation. It can rarely occur in the middle of the cassette jumping to the next bigger cog, but nothing different from what you get mixing 10s generations, which may have different spring tension within the RD.

The strong feeling reminds me my 11s Centaur, which also feels harder on the lever. Seems legit from a generation standpoint. The most recent Athena Powershift feels a bit better suited, as if they're a bit franker / Campy-like, where the old ultrashift has a bit of the Shimano-like smoothness.

I also assume a narrower guide pulley axis (let's say 12s and not 11s) could also improve the thing, as the cage will better push the chain. It works slightly better with a Shimano chain + cassette ensemble, as the ramps of hyperglide tech are from my experience more efficient than the ultradrive chain + cassette combo from Campy.

Another observation : the trajectory of the guide pulley is different, allowing to clear bigger cogs.

My 2 cents here.

[Ali-Pacha]

Upping this thread as I'm more and more lost.

Two bikes :
- Bike 1 : Cinelli with Full Athena 11 silver, Powershift (straight thumbshifter, EC-AT200 mechanism), Campagnolo 11s chain
- Bike 2 : Look 585 with Athena 11 Ultrashift brifters (EC-RE100 mechanism), FD Super Record pre-2015, RD Chorus post-2015 (with the "A" marking), Campagnolo 11s chain (and 52-36 Record crank, 4 arms style / post 2015)

Bike 1 :
- works ok-ish with Campagnolo cassette (11-29 Centaur 11s)
- works better with any Shimano 11s cassette, so good it can even deal with 32t "Shimano" cog as far as B-screw setting is ok. Shifts very good all over the cassette even if guide pulley is far from the cassette on small cogs
- 11-32 Centaur 11s cassette is a no-go, Ultra-Drive ramps seem to have way poorer efficiency than HyperGlide ones (unexcpected as chain is Campagnolo), so the cassette-guide pulley clearance on small cogs raised above is the culprit for very bad shifting. Obivously it works ok on the big cogs
- when I swapped the RD with the Chorus "A" one from bike 2, it works as listed above, a bit better overall : sharper as the spring is stronger (you can feel it on the lever), RD movements are more "clear cut". And the guide pulley has a better travel to acommodate bigger cogs

Bike 2 :
- Same observations as for bike 1, except Campy 11-29 cassette shifts poorly
- Swapping from Chorus RD "A" to Athena RD doesn't make real difference. Maybe it's a bit better (less bad !) with Campy 11-29 cassette
- I did mount a brand new "A" shifter mechanism (EC-RE300) on this bike, hoping it will solve issues once and for all, never worked, the shifter acts as if it pulls too much cable for my Chorus "A" RD. When it's ok on small cogs, it overshifts on large ones, and when it's ok on large cogs, it goes down the cassette on small cogs

Obviously, I checked RD hangers, limit screws, changed cables / cable sleeves, checked for cable curvature / hard points, lubricate wherever it could be useful...usual bike mechanic stuff.

My understandings so far :
- HyperGlide ramps on cassettes are the name of the game, Ultra-Drive is ok whenever the guide pulley travel is pretty close to the cassette and everything else (friction, chain, whatever) is spot on
- My Ultra Shift Athena is a bit worn out as it looks less efficient than more recent Power Shift Athena when dealing with Campagnolo cassette
- Hypothesis 1 : there's something wrong with my Chorus "A" RD as it works more or less with different non "A" levers but doesn't work with a brand new "A" lever (EC-RE300)
- Hypothesis 2 : if "A" and "non A" are not that different for RD and my Chorus "A" RD is ok, there's something wildly wrong with my brand new "A" lever (EC-RE300)

Interested in any input / clues about this hair-tearing situation