Two Wheel Blogs

A few months ago it all started. I realized deteriorated shifting performance from my worn out cassette and chain. I needed to spend a few bucks to bring my old friend (a 2003 Litespeed) back up to par.

I bought this wonderful bike new (back in 2003). It was a dream bike that I lusted after from the day Litespeed announced plans for the new design. I liked the aesthetics of the frame (and honestly, I have not liked any of the subsequent designs of the Vortex). I have ridden it thousands of miles and enjoyed every one.

The frame looks as prime as it did the day I took the stickers off of it (the same day I bought it), but some of the components have worn out over the years. I have replaced bits and pieces along the past 5 years, but the drive train has basically never changed (I have replaced a cassette or two...and probably 12-15 chains). I should be saying that I love Shimano right now considering how well the drive train served me, but I wanted to try something different.

Campagnolo! I have always thought of Campy as the epitome of art, taste, and science woven together, but the sticker shock of an entire group was a hurdle!

I researched and decided that I am not interested in the soon to release 11 speed Campy, nor do I need the carbon drenched Record kit. My research led me to determine that Chorus was appropriate for my needs with the shifters being upgraded to Record (a few features of the Record shifters seemed like something I could not pass up).

Holy Espresso! By the time I factor in a new wheel set, this is still going to cost me a pile even with the Chorus level components. I have to figure out a way to make everything fit my budget without skimping on the performance I lust for.

The wheels I have are a really nice set of Dura Ace low spoke count wheels with a moderate profile that makes them slippery to the head winds. I really did not need to replace them (in fact the hubs were just rebuilt), but there seemed to be no way to mate Campy and Shimano.

My research revealed several ways to do exactly that! It IS possible to run Shimano wheels and Campy shifters on the same bike.

Option 1: Cable placement. Some report that by attaching the cable in a different manner than recommended in a typical install, you can achieve shifting in a mixed drive train that was "pretty good". I need not type much further to say that spending money on Campy shifters to get "pretty good" performance was not something I would enjoy.

Option 2: A re-stacked Cassette. Several companies out there are through various means achieving the spacing of a Campy cassette with Shimano splines so that a Campy-spaced cassette can be slid onto a Shimano compatible hub. A sweet idea, but also one that mandates that you pay a bit more for a cassette (that is either a high quality Shimano cassette that has been re-spaced, or an unknown (to me) quality cassette built from the ground up). These can be found from American Classic, IRD, Wheels Manufacturing, and others. I also was unsure of a few things like: how long will it last, how well will it work (reports say they work well BTW), but what if I want to use my Shimano rear derailler? and I like having various cassettes stacked for different needs. I decided that this would likely be the slightly less-than-ideal method of choice, but I would keep searching as I saved my pennies.

Option 3: The Jtek Shiftmate. This thing is stupid simple! It is the least expensive option, and reportedly worked flawlessly. It is a simple gear reduction (or improvement) that changes the shifting rate through the use of a cam installed on the rear shift cable. In simple terms, it changes the rate of cable pull to convert from various shifters, to various derailler/cassette combinations. It also costs 35 bucks. I selected this option because it will allow me to keep my Shimano rear derailler (that I recently had re-built), and I could use off the rack Shimano 10 speed cassettes (in case I want to change my block once in a while).

I had the kit (shifters, front der, cables, cranks, chain, and Shimano cassette) installed, and rode it all weekend long. I have to say it works quite well. The shifting performance is far superior to anything I have ever tried before (in spite of the Frankenstein drive train!) I can not get over the feeling of the ride every time I hop on. The Campy components have really changed the feel of the bike (I opted for some Campy Ultra Torque cranks, and they are way stiffer than the old Shimano design!)...More on those in a future post.

When I get a few more bucks, I will probably pop for the Campy rear derailler (just because), which will mean that I will want to change the pulley (cable pull rate) on the Shiftmate (that will cost all of 15 bucks).

I like this solution because it works well (feels like a new bike) and offers a lot of versatility. It might not be right for everyone, but I see no performance reason that it would not. I only have about 5 hours of ride time on it so far. I can tell you that I have not gone easy on it during those rides. I will keep you posted if I run into any problems, but so far so good!

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