I changed to a compact crank and am now selling this beautiful Campy record Crankset. It is 172.5 length and 53/39 teeth. In excellent condition. I can e-mail pics if you are interested. Please respond to this posting or e-mail me at spqr114 AT yahoo DOT com.
For sale: Campagnolo Record Crankset 53/39 172.5
I am assuming that you went with the campy compact cranks. Which chainrings did you get? Which FD? How is the shifting?
I went with FSA and I have found an ok FD, but I wish it was better.
I went for the Record Carbon Compact. It workd great. No different from the regular cranks. I have 48/34 chainrings and the special Record front derailleur for compact cranks. Highly recommended but a lot of money.
"If you're using 50/36 instead of 53/39 the difference in the number of teeth between the chainrings is the same, but the percent change is increased, forcing the FD to work a little harder to lift the chain onto the big ring. Most likely you're using 50/34, which of course increases the spread between the chainrings and makes shifting that much more difficult still. Get used to it.
FYI, DuraAce FDs work fine w/ compact cranks - TA and Ritchey, 48/33 and 46/34 - shifting is, yes, a little slower than it would be with more closely-spaced rings. BFD. My options 4-5 years ago were to use the derailers I had (which worked fine then and continue to today) or buy MTB derailers - ""compact"" FDs hadn't been dreamed up yet by some marketing guy..."
IRD now makes a compact-specific double front derailleur, with a cage optimized for 50-34 gearing. It is, unsurprisingly, cheaper than the Campy CT model.
- Christian
But does it really work any better or is it still marketing and myth?
According to IRD, their compact FD is designed for a 16 tooth jump. Instead of the standard 15.
Using only my eyes as a guage, I could not see any difference between my Ultegra FD and the IRD. Same length and width and same contours. Something must be different!
FSA Compact 50/34
I tried using the Ultegra derailer that came with my 2004 Giant. 9 speed. It worked on the stand, but not in the real world.
I bought the IRD and it works much better. But you still have to stop pedaling for a split second to let the chain catch, then it jumps right up.
The bike shop thinks the pick up pins should be a hair farther out, but could not push them out. Not sure what they tried. I thought of bringing the big ring into work and using a hydraulic press to move them. At this time, FSA does sell replacement rings, so if I messed up I would be stuck.
When campy starts selling replacement rings I might just throw one of those on there.
I have also heard that the FSA compact rings are slightly wider than the campy. This apparently causes a 10 speed to chain to not want to shift off the ring.
Apparently the campy setup works much better. But I was not ready to swap everything to campy to go compact.
Of course most of this info is from discussion boards such as this. My only experience is from what I own.
> When campy starts selling replacement rings I might
> just throw one of those on there.
I don't think so! Campy is using a proprietary bolt circle diameter on their compact rings.
Because, apparently, a world-wide standard like 110mm doesn't work well in Vicenza...
- Christian
Or mix'n'match, maybe that's the problem?
Either way you shouldn't have to stop pedaling to get the chain onto the big ring. Ease up, yes, but stop completely? No.
What kind of chain? Maybe you've inadvertantly combined slightly wider-than-normal chainrings with a slightly narrower-than-normal chain?
"You don't say whether the crankset is designated 9-speed or 10-speed but it's possible a slightly wider chain _might_ do the trick:
SRAM PC89, KMC 10-speed, Wipperman* 10-speed - 6.2mm
SRAM PC99 - 6.4mm
Wipperman 9-speed - 6.5mm
Shimano 9-speed, KMC 9-speed - 6.6mm
*Stay away from the Wipperman ""Lightweight for Shimano 10"" (6.05mm)."
I believe the crankset is designed for 10 speed, but I am not sure. FSA's site does not say, although I found an online retailer that said campy 10 or shimano 9 or 10.
I have heard on the message boards that Ultegra does not work but dura ace does. Is the dura ace chain wider than the ultegra 10 speed? Maybe it's the chain width not the FD that needs to be changed.
Where is a good place to get the numbers you have provided? Barnett's?
Quality Bike Parts, the wholesaler - any bike shop can order you a copy of the consumer catalog (tho' you still have to order parts thru the shop).
DA and Ultegra chains are the same width. Are you running a 9-speed cassette or 10-speed?