converting 8 speed campag vento wheels to 9/10/11 speed?

[foz]

Can it be done? I know it's possible to swap the freehub body on some 8 speed hubs to 9/10/11 speed, but don't know which hubs, or more specifically the hubs on the vento wheels.

edit: having checked the catalogues, I'm pretty certain that the ventos I have are the 1995 version, so pre-HPW style hubs

anyone any idea?

 

[legrandefromage]

A messing around of spacer width and sprockets on the existing hub springs to mind for 9spd but I dont know how thick 10/11 spd sprockets are and if the spline pattern is the same (which I very much doubt) Easier if it was Shimano. I reverse engineered my 8spd Vento back to 7 as that was the only insert I could find at the time for the shifters. I didnt want to much space either side of the cassette for the chain to get jammed.

 

[stringfellow1946]

This might be of some help??

 

[foz]

Thanks, that might help but at first glance those are 96 or later ventos, with the HPW type hub (with a "bulb" shape instead of a more traditional flange on the NDS.

Will keep investigating, but even if it is possible, I'd still need to find a 9/10/11 speed freehub body, which might prove difficult and/or expensive

LGF, I'll look into playing with sprockets and spacers, but ideally I'd like to run them with a campag 10 speed cassette, so don't think it will be possible.

 

[BigFoz]

Re:

I did mine.

I bought a pair of 9 spd hubs off eBay swapped the freehubs over, sold the eBay hubs for slightly more than I paid for them as 8 spd! My Ventos currently run 9spd, but I ran a `10spd cassette when I was playing with 10s (Which I didn't like and converted everything back to 9). Bought in 1996 as 8spd, I've TT'd / Tri'd / Sportive'd' on them since, but only use when weather is nice.

The only iffy bit was making sure to get the 3 pawls/ springs as the freehub came out - the one that got away hit me and bounced back onto the bench luckily or it would have gone a long way! More modern factory wheels have a pawl spring that encircles the free hub, but the old 8 speed has the 3 separate pawls / springs. I assume a later 9/10/11 freehub with the later spring setup will also screw on - you need a 10MM Alan Key to unbolt the freehub IIRC

 

[stringfellow1946]

Be very careful if you do buy a hub, as all the later hubs used larger diameter axels!! this is the 1999 spares list for a Vento rear wheel. All the early hubs used a much smaller diameter Axel as in the first 2 diagrams I posted.
Also none of them are held on by a 10mm allen key, I think BigFoz is getting confused with Shimano rear hubs?
What holds the F/W body on is the part FH-RE026

 

[BigFoz]

8MM then? Was a big one.

 

[stringfellow1946]

8MM then? Was a big one.

Look at the diagrams there is NO Allen key 10mm or 8mm bolt holding the F/W body in place on the early cassette hubs.
the lock nut/axel spacer FH-RE020 which screws onto the axel, and then the tiny allen screw FH-RE019 that holds that place to stop it coming undone.
Once that part has been undone & removed the F/W body just slides off the axel.

 

[BigFoz]

Re:

9Spd on Zonda 8spd wheel, freehub swapped from a 9spd hub. IIRC the hub was late '90s. My Zondas are 1996 model, I bought them new at end of that season. I upgraded them to 9spd in 2005 to go on my Colnago CT2. As I recall, at the time a new 9/10 spd freehub was > £80, an unnused in the box set of hubs was £30 on eBay.

Possible you are right about the Alan key, though my memory from when I did this 10 years ago is pretty clear, but it could be flawed.

 

[foz]

I've had time to check the spares catalogues, and unless I'm mistaken, more or less all campagnolo hubs designated as 9 speed use the same spindle. And there is no internal difference between the tradtional flanged hubs and the HPW style. Once 10 speed is introduced, and some 9 speed hubs from the time just before 10 speed, the spindles are larger and not compatible with the wheels I have. So I need a 9 speed designated rear hub, freehub body, or wheel (I think!)