# TT shifters - compatible?



## ishmaelmuscat (Oct 30, 2008)

Are Campagnolo bike setups compatible with SRAM or Shimano or any other brand of TT shifters?

Or should one stick to the groupset brand only for TT shifters? for e.g. Campagnolo set-up can only use Campagnolo TT shifters.

Can Campagnolo 11 speed use Shimano 10 speed shifter and switch the shifter to 'index' for the additional gear?

Please let me know.

Regards
Ishmael


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## Squidward (Dec 18, 2005)

Campy, Shimano, and SRAM all pull different amounts of cable per shift. Mixing and matching will not have the desired results here. Having said that, there are ways to get mismatched shifters to work if you are willing to deal with it. There are folks out there who are absolutely convinced that SRAM shifters will work with Campy derailleurs so long as you stick with 10-speeds and a Shimano-compatible cassette but, likewise, there are folks who don't believe that this works, neither.

With bar-end shifters (TT bikes use bar-end shifters) you can always go with the friction option and forego the indexed shifting but I would not recommend it with 9, 10, or 11-speeds as the amount of shift lever movement required to shift one gear is getting smaller and smaller as the number of gears goes up, making it more and more difficult to pull off a smooth shift with friction.


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## ishmaelmuscat (Oct 30, 2008)

*Solution to TT Campy 11?*



Squidward said:


> Campy, Shimano, and SRAM all pull different amounts of cable per shift. Mixing and matching will not have the desired results here. Having said that, there are ways to get mismatched shifters to work if you are willing to deal with it. There are folks out there who are absolutely convinced that SRAM shifters will work with Campy derailleurs so long as you stick with 10-speeds and a Shimano-compatible cassette but, likewise, there are folks who don't believe that this works, neither.
> 
> With bar-end shifters (TT bikes use bar-end shifters) you can always go with the friction option and forego the indexed shifting but I would not recommend it with 9, 10, or 11-speeds as the amount of shift lever movement required to shift one gear is getting smaller and smaller as the number of gears goes up, making it more and more difficult to pull off a smooth shift with friction.


Thank you for your much-appreciated reply! I am quite passionate about Campagnolo, as you can read below.

I have a TT frame, TT wheels, TT handlebar and other parts except for groupset. Just ordered FSA NeoPro crank (new 2010 FSA Vision crank is more expensive albeit same materials; just a different paint finish) and all I have left to purchase are the other groupset parts including TT shifters.

Campagnolo have not yet issued their 11 speed TT shifters and no one really knows if they will come out later this year. To be honest, I'm going mad day by day because my TT bike and parts are lying there waiting for the damn TT shifters.

I have two 10 speed Campy road bikes (2001 and 2003 groupsets) which I use for training and a Chorus 11 race bike (2009). I have contemplated setting up a 10 speed Campy TT bike groupset but putting on 2008 Record or Chorus parts seems to make no sense to me. My 2003 groupset is a Centuar and unlike my 2001 Record, its quite a difference performance from Centaur. So setting up with 10 speed 2009 Centaur is also out of the question.

Ideally, considering price/value setting up a TT bike with Chorus 11 seems the best solution albeit a TT bike would do with 9 or 10 sprockets. Yet, would you spend a similar amount of money setting up your TT bike with 2008 parts when for the same price you can get 2009 or maybe soon 2010 parts?

That's the daily dilemma I'm facing....

I have considered setting up my TT bike using SRAM or Shimano DuraAce but I feel Campagnolo's Carbon is well way ahead of DuraAce. Feeling the components is also a substantial difference and the wear and tear issue favours Campagnolo. Moreover, all my wheels are Campagnolo compatible freehubs.


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## ishmaelmuscat (Oct 30, 2008)

Forgot to add: Can anyone provide me with a solution if possible please?


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## stevesbike (Jun 3, 2002)

are you sure the FSA neo pro is compatible with campy 11 speed? FSA lists it as shimano/sram 10 speed compatible. If not, you should build it up around sram (which is better TT equipment in my opinion than Shimano, Since it sounds like you want to go high-end you could get SRAM's new R2C tt shifter (return to center, which is a nice feature). 

temp solution if the crank is 11-speed campy compatible. If you're set on staying campy you could always use the shimano tt shifters in friction mode until campy comes out with their shifters. Friction mode works fine and my guess is there would be enough range (you should check first about that - I'm not a big campy person so don't know how much cable reach is required).


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## Adjudic8r (Mar 11, 2007)

*2009 Centaur*

FWIW, I have 2009 Centaur on my TT bike and it works just fine. IMHO, 11 speed Chorus or Record would be overkill, unless you are using your TT bike in a crit. I'm an all Campy guy too (except for my Dura Ace pedals).


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## Squidward (Dec 18, 2005)

The way I see it, the TT bike has different shifters and brake levers (points of contact) so you can get away with Shimano or SRAM components and not miss it. OTOH, if you absolutely have to have Campy on your TT bike then run everything 11-speed and run Shimano shifters in friction mode as stevesbike states. Alternatively, run Campy 10-speed ('09 Centaur carbon or earlier Chorus/Record with pre-'09 10-speed bar-ends).


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## ishmaelmuscat (Oct 30, 2008)

*Which shifter?*



Squidward said:


> The way I see it, the TT bike has different shifters and brake levers (points of contact) so you can get away with Shimano or SRAM components and not miss it. OTOH, if you absolutely have to have Campy on your TT bike then run everything 11-speed and run Shimano shifters in friction mode as stevesbike states. Alternatively, run Campy 10-speed ('09 Centaur carbon or earlier Chorus/Record with pre-'09 10-speed bar-ends).


Many thanks for your post! Much-appreciated!

What is 'OTOH'?

Can you please send me a link to the Shimano shifter in friction mode you are referring to?


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## ishmaelmuscat (Oct 30, 2008)

*Fwiw/imho?*



Adjudic8r said:


> FWIW, I have 2009 Centaur on my TT bike and it works just fine. IMHO, 11 speed Chorus or Record would be overkill, unless you are using your TT bike in a crit. I'm an all Campy guy too (except for my Dura Ace pedals).


Thank you for your reply.

What do 'FWIW' and 'IMHO' stand for?

What do you mean by overkill? The reason I want 11 speed is because it is the latest and I do not forsee building another TT bike maybe until another 10 years at least. So, having a bike with old components rather than the latest do not make sense to me especially since the difference in price between Centaur and Chorus is not much.

Moreover, I would like to have the 18 sprocket. I find it is very good to ride in.


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## ishmaelmuscat (Oct 30, 2008)

*Which Shimano TT shifter model has the friction option?*



stevesbike said:


> are you sure the FSA neo pro is compatible with campy 11 speed? FSA lists it as shimano/sram 10 speed compatible. If not, you should build it up around sram (which is better TT equipment in my opinion than Shimano, Since it sounds like you want to go high-end you could get SRAM's new R2C tt shifter (return to center, which is a nice feature).
> 
> temp solution if the crank is 11-speed campy compatible. If you're set on staying campy you could always use the shimano tt shifters in friction mode until campy comes out with their shifters. Friction mode works fine and my guess is there would be enough range (you should check first about that - I'm not a big campy person so don't know how much cable reach is required).


Thank you for your much-appreciated explanation!

Can you please indicate which Shimano TT Shifter model has the friction option?

SRAM's R2C is great, albeit expensive, but SRAM do not have an 11-21 cassette. Would an 11-21 Shimano cassette be compatible with SRAM's rear derailleur?

Can I intermix SRAM and Shimano components?


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## Adjudic8r (Mar 11, 2007)

ishmaelmuscat said:


> Thank you for your reply.
> 
> What do 'FWIW' and 'IMHO' stand for?
> 
> ...


FWIW = For what it's worth . . .
IMHO = In my humble opinion . . .

My point is that Centaur and 10 speed are perfectly fine for a TT bike as you will be riding in perhaps three gears most of the time and really don't require the rapid crisp shifting of Record or Chorus. A 12-23 cassette (which has the 18-teeth sprocket) or 11-23 (can't recall if it has the 18) ten-speed cassette should give you the gear range you need to maintain the steady intervals of a time trial.

BTW (by the way) I understand spending more for the latest as a long-term investment, but we all say that we are going to keep our components for 10 years or justify our major purchases by saying that this is the last bike we will ever buy. But I'm willing to bet that you will be thinking about upgrading to electronic shifting in about three years. 

That's just my opinion . . . I could be wrong.


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## ishmaelmuscat (Oct 30, 2008)

*Understood*



Adjudic8r said:


> FWIW = For what it's worth . . .
> IMHO = In my humble opinion . . .
> 
> My point is that Centaur and 10 speed are perfectly fine for a TT bike as you will be riding in perhaps three gears most of the time and really don't require the rapid crisp shifting of Record or Chorus. A 12-23 cassette (which has the 18-teeth sprocket) or 11-23 (can't recall if it has the 18) ten-speed cassette should give you the gear range you need to maintain the steady intervals of a time trial.
> ...



Thanks for the abbreviations' explanations.

I understand what you mean...  

Regarding electronic shifting I have seen the new DuraAce review but it's very pricey:aureola: and i think it will remain pricey unless most of us got for electronic shifting. Next up would be riding the bike without pedalling:thumbsup:


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## Squidward (Dec 18, 2005)

ishmaelmuscat said:


> Can you please indicate which Shimano TT Shifter model has the friction option?
> 
> SRAM's R2C is great, albeit expensive, but SRAM do not have an 11-21 cassette. Would an 11-21 Shimano cassette be compatible with SRAM's rear derailleur?
> 
> Can I intermix SRAM and Shimano components?


All Shimano bar-end shifters have a friction option, as far as I know.

You can use a Shimano or SRAM 10-speed cassette with a SRAM or Shimano drivetrain. You cannot mix shifters, though. Shimano shifters, Shimano rear derailleur, SRAM cassette, should work just fine. SRAM shifters, SRAM rear derailleur, Shimano cassette, should work just fine. Shimano shifters, SRAM derailleurs, doesn't matter which cassette, will not shift correctly unless you use the friction mode. SRAM shifters, Shimano derailleurs, doesn't matter which cassette, will not work at all.


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