orbea up grade

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newbootclimbco
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Joined: 3 Feb 2012, 8:18pm

orbea up grade

Post by newbootclimbco »

i have just acquired an old ish Orbea, Moranco road bike, Kronos wheels, 9 speed Mirage compangola cassette, at my age i need all the help i can get climbing hills so, how big a new cassette can i fit ?. This looks like a nice bike so i want to get as much as possible out of it,any more ideas to its improvement please ?Thanks T.
Jdsk
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Re: orbea up grade

Post by Jdsk »

Please can you tell us how many teeth there are on the chainring(s) and the smallest and largest sprocket.

And add some side-on photos of the transmission.

Jonathan
hamster
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Re: orbea up grade

Post by hamster »

If you are running 9s Campag then it's easiest to fit a smaller chainset. 9s Campag mechs generally won't happily run larger than 26T, although there are limited workarounds.
mig
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Re: orbea up grade

Post by mig »

up what sort of hills are you planning to go?
newbootclimbco
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Joined: 3 Feb 2012, 8:18pm

Re: orbea up grade

Post by newbootclimbco »

there are 42/52 on the chainring and the cassette looks like 11/23 x 9 by my count

typical hills in my area are the Purbecks in Dorset. Big hills! the bigger the better

if i cant fit campangolo parts, can i fit Shimano?
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TrevA
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Re: orbea up grade

Post by TrevA »

You can fit a triple chainset. You’d just need to change the front changer. The LH shifter should have enough clicks to give the range required for a triple. I used to do this on my old Orbea Aspin, which had Campag Mirage shifters, I would fit a triple chainset for hilly rides and it all worked OK. That would give you a bottom gear of 30x26 if you bought a 13-26 cassette. You may also need a longer cage rear mech for the triple, depending on what you currently have.

Or you could fit an Alpine double chainset - perhaps a 42/32, or even lower. I fitted 42/32 on my son’s Pinarello Angliru, which also had a Mirage groupset, so I know it works OK. This would give you a lower top gear (42x13) and a bottom gear of 32x26, if you bought a 13-26 cassette. You just need to move the front mech down a bit and possibly take a couple of links out of your chain, though best to fit a new chain if fitting a new cassette. I fitted a Stronglight double chainset to my son’s bike (Spa Cycles sell them), you may also need a new bottom bracket, though we managed OK with the existing one.
Sherwood CC and Notts CTC.
A cart horse trapped in the body of a man.
http://www.jogler2009.blogspot.com
newbootclimbco
Posts: 155
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Re: orbea up grade

Post by newbootclimbco »

thanks Trev a, rather than fitting loads of new bits do you think it's possible just to fit an 8 speed, 34 x 11 cassette and also how old do you think this bike is. i'm actually looking forward to riding this bike, thanks T .
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willcee
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Re: orbea up grade

Post by willcee »

there is really no way with a campag equipped machine to do what you wish without some hurdles and expense.. you can borrow perhaps for a test run an 8 sp shimano rear wheel with a mtb ratios cassette fitted and try it, it will work if you , perhaps your local bike shop if you havent the savvy or tools to do this sort of manouvre .. it wont change sweetly on all the gears but it will usually work ok on the big sprockets and it would be the way that i would consider a work around and later change the front chainset and bracket to something like cyclo cross ratios eg 36/46 as has been suggested earlier..w
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willcee
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Re: orbea up grade

Post by willcee »

Discussing this issue with a friend and it happens he has an old 90's Moser with a Campagnolo triple and a semi long cage campag derailleur and a matched front, pics when he gets it over to me, and i'll know about costs when i remove clean and inspect it should you be interested.. if so pm me.. will
newbootclimbco
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Re: orbea up grade

Post by newbootclimbco »

thanks willcee not sure if i want to fit a triple but do i have many options, but yes i would certainly be interested when you have more news, i'm in dorset are you near ? cheers T .
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willcee
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Re: orbea up grade

Post by willcee »

No not even close,I'm across the Irish sea in N.Ireland up around the north coast close to where the UISCE BEATHA [Gaelic aka water of life]Whiskey is made at Bushmills..I should have some details for you by monday DV..IME I would jump on the triple as they don't come up often and would imo be easier ... than sourcing a Campagnolo cyclo X chainset.. but you decide..Will
newbootclimbco
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Re: orbea up grade

Post by newbootclimbco »

Willcee , Bushmills i remember the place well , a few years back i did a 3 week tour starting at Belfast up and around the coast anti clockwise, stopped at the the hostel and called into the local where i met a chap that worked at the distillery ,needless to say he forced me to try his handy work. I had a job viewing the Giants causeway the next morning let alone do 60 miles on my route, wonderful Irish hospitality i'll never forget. Anyway please keep me informed. cheers T .
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TrevA
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Re: orbea up grade

Post by TrevA »

newbootclimbco wrote: 2 Jun 2023, 8:20am thanks Trev a, rather than fitting loads of new bits do you think it's possible just to fit an 8 speed, 34 x 11 cassette and also how old do you think this bike is. i'm actually looking forward to riding this bike, thanks T .
I’d estimate your bike is from the mid-noughties- around 2003-2006.

Others have answered your first question. Unfortunately, Campag is not as versatile as Shimano, where you can mix MTB and Road components, so you are stuck with a 13-26, or perhaps 13-29 cassette for Campag, unless you go with a Frankenstein Shimergo set up.

The easiest way to lower your gears is to fit a smaller chainset. Your current one is probably 53/39. Maintaining the 14 tooth difference would be ideal, so perhaps a 44/30 or 46/32, but it would still work with a smaller tooth difference (My son had 42/32). You might have to change your bottom bracket too and take a few links out of your chain, but that’s all you need to do.

Campag 8 speed was more versatile as it had the same cassette spacing as Shimano, but your bike has 9 speed, which has a different spacing.
Sherwood CC and Notts CTC.
A cart horse trapped in the body of a man.
http://www.jogler2009.blogspot.com
newbootclimbco
Posts: 155
Joined: 3 Feb 2012, 8:18pm

Re: orbea up grade

Post by newbootclimbco »

Thanks, i did think the bike was perhaps 18/20 years old, it's actually a nice bike. If at the end the day it's i decide to keep it as is, i shall use it for quick flat roads or as a spare bike. cheers guys for all your input. T.
MartinC
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Re: orbea up grade

Post by MartinC »

IME some points (I'm still running 9 and 10 speed Campag):

You've got a short cage mech so it will have trouble handing the chain wrap for a triple.

13/28 and 14/28 9 speed Campag cassette were still available last time I looked (recently), technically too big for a short mech but will work on most frames.

Campag 8 speed spacing was the same as 7 speed (5mm), Shimano 8 speed is 4.8 mm. Neither a Campag 8 speed or any Shimano cassette will fit on your freehub.

You can get a Jtek Shiftmate (SJS Cycles) that will allow your Campag shifters to run a Shimano cassette if you change the wheel. What size big sprocket you'll be able to run will be a matter of experiment.

Changing the chainset to a sub compact (46/30 or even 42/26) will probably work, Campag front mechs are fairly forgiving. In the worst case you could try a MTB front mech - Ergo front shifters weren't indexed then and the cable pull isn't dissimilar to Shimano MTB. Edit: You'll need to change the BB to 'cos Campag is ISO tapers and everything is pretty much JIS now.

52/42 and 13/23 is what I used 40 years ago - I wouldn't dream of doing it now unless I rode in Norfolk on a calm day!
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