# Converting Cannondale Tandem to Campy



## slowoldguy (Feb 3, 2009)

I am new to tandems, although I have been a serious road rider for decades. My wife and I just bought a 12 year old Cannondale RT1000 and are having a great time with it, so I can see us spending a lot of time on it. One thing that bugs me is the Shimano shifters, as my other road bikes are Campy equiped. I have started collecting used Campy 8-speed parts off of ebay when they are cheap, and now have just about everything I need to convert the tandem, but it is not going to be a trivial project. I am aware that it is financial suicide, but I figure if I ever sell the bike I will convert it back to Shimano first and just keep the Campy gear.

Has anyone else tried anything similar?


----------



## strathconaman (Jul 3, 2003)

If the shifters are the problem, get a set of campy 10 speed shifters and shimergo them. Works great.

Rear Shifting


----------



## slowoldguy (Feb 3, 2009)

Thanks, strathconaman. I had done some comparison of the 8 speed dimensions, but was unaware that 10 speed shifters would bolt right on. Now I feel silly, because I already bought some Campy 8 speed levers, and I just passed up a really cheap set of 10 speed shifters because I had no where to use them. Well, better to find out now rather than later.

Another thing I am not really happy about is my V-brakes with the Travel Agent mod. I have a great set of Campy dual pivot Record calipers that I would rather use, but it looks like I would need a different front fork to install them. Anyone have any experience with this?


----------



## TP_Mantis (Jan 20, 2009)

I have a cannondale RT 1000 and i put campy Record 10 speed shifters on it.
Mixed with a 10 sp X0 Sram Rear Derailer
10 Speed Sram Cassette
Shimano 105 front Derailer
Sram Chain.

Everything works great and very smooth shifting


----------



## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

slowoldguy said:


> ...Another thing I am not really happy about is my V-brakes with the Travel Agent mod. I have a great set of Campy dual pivot Record calipers that I would rather use, but it looks like I would need a different front fork to install them. Anyone have any experience with this?


The problem with fork substitutions on tandems is two fold;

First you need to make sure that the new fork is tandem approved by the manufacturer (do you really want to take chances on this?).

Second you need to make sure that the new fork has ALL the same dimensions including rake and drop or you could really mess up the steering. 

I'd suggest you try everything to improve the braking to your satisfaction without changing the fork.


----------



## slowoldguy (Feb 3, 2009)

*Happy ending follow-up*

I just wanted to let everyone know how my conversion worked out. I ended up buying some used Campy 10 speed Record Ultra shifters off of ebay, plus a new Campy Record Triple 10 speed front derailleur. Total cost was $180, but I could have saved money by going with non-Record components. I found I needed to order a Campy-style rear shift cable, as the local bike shops don't carry any that are long enough. I installed the new parts and adjusted them normally, and the results are magic. The biggest plus is that I now have the same shifters on my tandem as on my normal road bike so there is no adjustment when jumping back and forth. The shift action is also so much better with the Campy shifters that the tandem is now much more pleasant to ride. I used to dread trying to make shifts at the front, now it is precise and reliable. The Campy 10 speed front derailleur seems to work fine with the existing 8-speed chain. The gear spacing with the Shimano 8 speed rear cassette and rear derailleur seems to be exactly right and the rear shifting is precise and silent. All in all, a great success and one I would recommend to anyone with worn out 8-speed Shimano STI shifters that need replacement.


----------

