Kaffenback SRAMpagnolo tourer

A few weeks ago I did a three day trip on a 1980s pro race frame with a 10 speed triple setup. Whilst it was perfectly comfortable it did make me realise that I don't have anything in the fleet that could realistically do a lengthy tour.

I'd put a PX Kaffenback together last year as a hybrid for getting to work on icy days, but it sat in readiness shod with it's marathon winters all the way through the cold weather without leaving the shed.

Nowt wrong with a Kaffenback for touring, so off came the flat bar/full hydraulic/SRAM Apex... And of course the tungsten-carbide spiked tyres.

Now, all my fun bikes are Campag equipped and I wanted something with a low gearing for touring... preferably a triple... and didnt want to buy any new drivetrain and so the story begins...

The challenge was to get Campag on to disc brake hubs... easy... buy a Shimano splined cassette with Campag spacing. Ambrosio have made them for years I said to myself...Unfortunately, nobody seems to be making these any more.

Next option, buy a new, Campag-friendly hub and rebuild the rear wheel. Costed up, that was going to be nearly £200, so that fell by the wayside too.

And then came the breakthrough. Mr Zinn, who reckoned that Campag 10 speed ergos will interface with a SRAM 10 speed rear mech and Shimano cassette... so it got quickly set up to test... and it does work. Perfectly!

Re:

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet :mrgreen:

Went for a 40 mile spin over some lumps and loved it. It's got a completely different feel with drop bars. Really responsive, great road feel and it holds very well at speed.





The SRAMpagnolo drivetrain works almost as well as good old 10 speed Record in its pure form. There's the occasional under or over shift needing a trim and try again but I'd say over 98% of rear shifts were flawless.



With the best will in the world this is a heavy bike at 11.5kg, but as it's been built primarily as a tourer weight is immaterial.

So... The build:

Frame: Planet X Kaffenback 2 Disc frame and fork - Maxwall double butted Cromoly gaspipe.

Headset: PX/Holdsworth Gran Sport Threadless
Stem: PX/Holdsworth Gran Sport
Handlebar: PX/Holdsworth Gran Sport
Bar Tape: Ritchey fake leather

Brake Levers/Brifters: Campagnolo Record 10 speed
Brake Calipers: Acor/Juin Tech R1 disc
Brake Pads: Acor
Brake Cables: Lifeline Performance

Front Derailleur: Campagnolo Record Triple
Rear Derailleur: SRAM Apex 10 Speed
Derailleur Cables: Campagnolo ultra shift
Cassette: Shimano Tiagra 12-32
Chain: Shimano Ultegra 6701
Cranks: Campagnolo Racing T
Chainrings: TA Vento 50/40/30
Bottom Bracket: Campagnolo Centaur 111mm
Pedals: 1st Generation Crank Bros. Candy

Rims: H Plus Son Archetype 24F/28R
Hubs: Vision Metron 40 Disc (undoubtedly Novatec)
These are only on for zipping around. I have some Pacenti SL25's to build onto 32h Hope hubs for actual load carrying duty.

Tyres: Vittoria Voyager hyper

Saddle: SPA Cycles Aire Ti
Seatpost: PX/Holdsworth Gran Sport

Mudguards: SKS Longboard Latte Macchiato

Weight: 11.5kg

Been running this with a rear rack on the daily commute for the last couple of months and whilst it is noticeably slower than my normal commuter, it hasn't put a foot wrong.

The SRAM rear mech combined with Campag drivetrain and controls works really well and is how this bike will be set up for LEJOG later this year, although I do have a couple of upgrades ready to bolt on closer to the departure date...

Alloy Record triple chainset 30-40-50 to match front mech and shifters
SRAM Force rear mech
Home-mixed 16-32t 10sp cassette (Shimano)
32H Pacenti SL25 on Hope Pro4 wheels

I've also dropped the bars a few mm and cut the steerer down properly (the pics above show it in rough "test" mode)

When you doing LEJOG Ken ?

Not sure yet Clive.

Ideally, the second half of May but it's entirely dependant on some work related factors that will hopefully be a bit clearer in the next couple of weeks.

Re:

Looking good! How wide are those Voyagers? According to Planet-X, tire clearance is only 32mm, which I suspect is a bit conservative. I've been pondering getting a Kaff' for years, but prefer running fatter tires, so this has put me off.
By the way, 10 speed Campag works very well with 8 speed Shimano rear derailleurs and cassettes out of the box, or 9-speed with a kinked clamping of the RD cable: http://www.cxmagazine.com/shimano-campa ... patibility

Those Voyagers are 32mm. Thats definitely as big as you can go with guards on. Its worth mentioning that clearance at the front mech is really tight. I was only just able to dial out interference between mudguard and FD lever arm.

You can put 35's on, but not with guards, so not a lot of use for most of the UK