# Campagnolo WiFli - 32T cassette



## tztag (Aug 15, 2010)

I have a few bikes, mostly Campy 11 but one is SRAM Red (2010). I live in hilly NorCal and have enjoyed the WiFli gearing that SRAM offers, especially the 12-32 PG-1070 cassette as I rarely need an 11t cog for more than a couple of minutes on serious downhills. I much prefer the 11 speed Campagnolo hoods and shifting to SRAM though, especially on long rides. The hood shape is far more comfortable for me, and the more tired I get the more shifts I miss with DoubleTap. My typical setup is 52/36 front and a 12-29 Chorus 11 cassette, but like to have the 32 bailout after 80 miles of hills.
So- I was glad to see that the SRAM and Shimano 11-speed cassettes should work fine with Campy 11, and since SRAM announced an 11-32 11-speed cassette I figured I could build out a Campy WiFli setup on my century bike- compact double front and a 32t rear cog.
The 11-32 11-speed from SRAM isn’t available yet that I can find, and looking at the specs it is the same ratios as their 12-32 just with an added 11t, which I don’t really need. Since I have a 12-32 10-speed setup, just for grins I swapped my SRAM 10-speed 12-32 wheel to a Campy bike to see if the derailleur can take a 32 and see how far off the shifting would be. 

Gear: Athena 11 shifters, 2010 Ultra Shift not the new de-featured single-click Power Shift. Record 11 crankset, Chorus 11 FD, Record 11 RD. Mavic Ksyrium wheels, SLs and Elites. Record 11 chain. SRAM PG-1070 12-32 cassette, Chorus 12-29 cassette.

1)	The standard short-cage 11-speed campy RDs will clear a 32t cog- worked on both bikes I tried it on, one didn’t even need the d-screw backed all the way out.
2)	Chain wrap can be an issue with the short cage. I set my chains up as long as possible without sag or mechanical contact with the RD, and on one bike the short-cage handled big-big and little-little fine, no mechanical contact or binding at either end. Other bike didn’t have perfect length chainstays apparently so the big-big worked but stretched the cage out far enough that the chain retainer tabs on the cage contacted the chain. Net- if you are lucky and have perfect length chainstays you can wrap a 32T cassette with the standard derailleur, it’s right on the edge.
3)	I ordered up an Athena 11 long cage triple derailleur. A couple of differences from the short cage (besides the longer cage): The lower knuckle offsets the upper pulley more for greater clearance, and for some reason the parallelogram spring is noticeable stiffer than the short cage Chorus or Record. Could be a Power Shift compatibility thing, just guessing. Once mounted the shifting effort doesn’t seem much heavier, but the thumb button needs a little less effort as you’d expect.
4)	I figured the 10-speed SRAM cassette would at least somewhat shift as the spacing center to center is only about .1mm different per shift from Shimano/SRAM 10 and Campy 11. I centered the RD on the 5th cog and I was surprised when I ran it up and down the cassette in both directions. The upper pulley play must be enough to make it shift far better than I expected, and I’m very picky about drivetrain noise. A little tick in the 13t was all I couldn’t tune out with the adjuster, otherwise the spacing worked incredibly well.
5)	I set the upper limit screw on the RD to lock out the 11th click on the shifter and went for a ~10 mile hilly ride. Net, the indexing is completely fine, and the little tick I heard on the 13t cog on the stand wasn’t even audible on the road. Upshifts (to a smaller cog in the back) were just like the SRAM Red bike- clunky but immediate. Downshifts (to a bigger cog) were more of a mixed bag- not nearly as smooth as the campy cassette, which I expected from riding SRAM plenty, but the SRAM twisted tooth profile seems to grab the Campy chain more aggressively instead of letting the chain find the next ramp for a smoother shift. Shifting was fine and there wasn’t any skipping, but not nearly as smooth as the Campy cassette and very similar to the all-SRAM setup on the other bike. No difference in the speed of the shifts between the long and short cage derailleur- I didn’t expect any but since there are always people saying that long cage derailleurs shift more slowly, just wanted to confirm that I couldn’t tell any difference in shifting speed.
6)	Overall- shifting is good enough that this is my century gearing until SRAM, Campy, or Shimano make a 12-32 11-speed cassette. Yes it’s 10 speed and I may break down and buy the SRAM 11-32 when it comes out, but if I do it won’t be because the shifting quality of this set up isn’t up to par. I really hope that one of the three make a 12-32 at some point, I’d rather have a 16 or something in the middle than the 11 at the end.

Hope this is helpful to some of you hill climbers that love SRAM WiFli gearing but would rather ride Campy.


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## tom_h (May 6, 2008)

Seems it would be all-around simpler, better shifting, & bonafide 11speed, by using Campy compact chainrings with Campy 12-29 Cassette: 

34/29 --> 31 gear-inch

Frankenstein SRAM/Campy 36/32 --> 30 gear-inch, which is only 3% "easier" & virtually unnoticeable.

Since you already have 52/36 that uses the Campy compact crank BCD, a set of either Campy or Stronglight "Type D" chainrings is a more elegant solution.

IMO, the Stronglight are just as good shifting as Campy, look just as nice, & are much cheaper (buy from XXcycle.com). Other makes of big rings don't have enough pins & ramps to equal Campy's shift quality.


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## tztag (Aug 15, 2010)

Should have been more clear- the point is to replicate the wifli gearing, so 50/34 and 32t rear. Was just using the 52 36 bike for testing, my other campy bike has 50 34.


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