Upgrading from twin to triple rings

[Bushyuk]

Hi guys,

I have a campagnolo veloce 172.5 crank with a twin set of rings but want to change to a triple set as I live in a hilly area.

I have seen a second hand campagnolo veloce 170mm triple crank I am considering buying. Would this be compatible with my existing or do I need more stuff?

The same guy has the front derailleur for sale although I have read that campy derailleurs are twin or triple compatible.

Any feedback would be appreciated

Cheers

[Painkiller]

Hello again. now for your triple conversion. I would suggest looking into what campy has for Touring in the lineup. It may be more cost effective to replace the rear derailluer, larger rear cluster, and if the front derailluer can handle a 2 tooth drop on the inner ring just may give you an acceptable gear ratio if not just by changing the rear cluster alone.
If you put a triple up front you may need to change your bottom bracket and your shifter, then bar tape and possibly the front derailluer as opposed to rearcluster/chain/rear derailluer
I would try that combo first, ride it and if I needed a pinch more then drop the inner ring 2 teeth. plus more time in the saddle the hills get easier
Just a thought, mull it over and maybe someone else will chime in

[GeorgeET]

Yep 10-4 to what PK said smaller inner ring and bigger rear cluster . Ride the bike for a while and determine what exactly you need .

For now I recommend cleaning and greasing all bearings, shifters and cables, etc, so you know it was done and have a start date.

Nice bike BTW......I think 250L is close to $500 USA

[Bushyuk]

Cheers guys, the rear derailleur is on a 9 speed indexed shifter built into the brake levers.

The reason I was looking at the triple front ring is I have seen one on eBay for literally pennies and think it is worth the punt, the guy is selling the front derailleur too. The front shifter is non indexed so should be ok with the change, it's just the crank length is 170mm whereas my existing is 172.5mm and also that the BB matches, although the existing is campy veloce so is the one I'm hoping to purchase. Hopefully they will match. Will the 2.5mm make that much difference?

I'm not with my bike currently as we are away I'm not sure what my current chainring sizes are but from looking online i would guess they are 53/39 and the triple I have seen on eBay is 30/40/50t. If these are the sizes, do you think the chain and gear ratios would be ok?

Cheers for all the advice guys.

George: I think £250 is about $400 which makes it an even sweeter purchase??

[Painkiller]

the 170mm crank would be fine, but you need the model # of the crank you are looking @ to spec the proper spindle length. I would suspect you would also need to change the BB for the mod that you want.

[Bushyuk]

Ahh ok, I'll bare this in mind.

Cheers dude.

[Joe_W]

(12-30-2012, 06:06 AM)Bushyuk Wrote:  The front shifter is non indexed so should be ok with the change,

Really? That sounds... weird to me. I would have thought the front shifters to be indexed, too. Plus the shifters need to pull more cable to reach the tird chain ring. Try to find out if there's some hidden setting under the hoods to change from two to three chain rings.

Quote: it's just the crank length is 170mm whereas my existing is 172.5mm and also that the BB matches, although the existing is campy veloce so is the one I'm hoping to purchase. Hopefully they will match. Will the 2.5mm make that much difference?

That depends. I have bikes with crank arms from 170mm - 175mm and I cannot really tell a difference (but I have not really focused on finding some). You will be able to spin faster on a 170mm.

Quote:I'm not with my bike currently as we are away I'm not sure what my current chainring sizes are but from looking online i would guess they are 53/39 and the triple I have seen on eBay is 30/40/50t. If these are the sizes, do you think the chain and gear ratios would be ok?

Depends what you want, where you ride etc. Climbing up to the Tiefenbachferner in the Austrian Alps I really needed the triple (30 - 27 I think)... The chain should be ok, the capacity of the rear dérailleur might be too small, though, to handle the additional difference of 9 teeth.