cassettes and cogs

Campagnolo freehub bodies...Which do you have?

Original 7 and 8 speed Campagnolo freehub. 

Note the 8 equal width splines (valleys) and raised ridges. Designed for original Campagnolo cassette cogs that depended upon a series of letters stamped on each cog for proper orientation. 7 speed bodies were 5mm shorter than 8 speed bodies. Current Campagnolo 8 speed cassettes fit both bodies fine. Drop a cog from the current Campagnolo 8 speed cassette to use with 7 speed drivetrains.

Exa-Drive 8 speed Campagnolo freehub.

 
Note the wider ridge at 12 o'clock and the thinner spline (valley) at 1 o'clock. Designed for Exa-Drive Campagnolo 8 speed cassette cogs. The thinner spline insured proper cog orientation. Current Campagnolo 8 speed cassettes fit this body fine.

Original 9 Speed Campagnolo Freehub.

Note the wider ridge at 5 and stepped ridge at 7 o'clock. Note the thinner splines (valley) at 6 and 8 o'clock. Designed for Exa-Drive Campagnolo 9 speed cassettes. The thinner splines insured proper cog orientation. May be retrograded for use with 8 speed drivetrains by employing a Campagnolo 9 speed loose cog cassette, dropping a cog and adding Wheels Mfg Shift-8 spacers.

8 Speed Titanium Campagnolo Freehub. 

Note the wider ridges at 5 and 7 o'clock and the thinner splines (valley) at 6 and 8 o'clock. Designed for Exa-Drive Campagnolo 8 speed Titanium cassettes which are no longer produced. The thinner splines insured proper cog orientation. Current Campagnolo loose cog 9 speed cassettes may be easily notched to fit this body perfectly. Drop a cog and use Wheels Mfg Shift-8 spacers for proper 8 speed cog spacing.

10-11 speed Campagnolo freehub. 

Note the wider ridge at 7 and stepped ridge at 9 o'clock. Note the thinner splines (valley) at 8 and 10 o'clock. Designed for Campagnolo 10 and 11 speed cassettes. The thinner splines insure proper cog orientation. Fits ALL Campagnolo 9, 10, & 11 speed cassettes. May be retrograded for use with 8 speed drivetrains by employing a Campagnolo 9 speed loose cog cassette, dropping a cog and adding Wheels Mfg Shift-8 spacers.
On this body and some 9 speed bodies Campagnolo curved three valleys to save weight. The trimming did not affect cog fit.

Exa Drive vs. Ultra Drive

EXA Drive and Ultra Drive - How they differ...

The above photo shows an EXA Drive cog on the left and a modern 10 speed, Ultra Drive cog on the right. Note how the two step, machined indentation slightly varies between both cogs. The "O" stamping plays no mechanical role; it is there only as a visual indicator for proper cog stacking.
This machined indentation is responsible for helping to pick up your chain when you up shift, and move it on to the next cog. EXA Drive indentations were originally designed for Campy 8 speed chains and cassettes back in the mid 1990's. It is designed to engage the chain rivet head first and then the outside chain plate. EXA Drive works very well with both 8 and 9 speed systems.
Campagnolo 10 speed chains do not have protruding rivet heads and pose a problem for EXA Drive. Thus the invention of Ultra Drive. The Ultra Drive indentation is designed to catch the chain's outer plate and assist the chain up to the next cog.
In early spring 2000, Campagnolo quietly started to introduce Ultra Drive cogs on all of their 10 speed cassettes. In late 2000 they made it official and raised the price to cover the new design and machining costs.
Ultra Drive is essential for smooth shifting on 10 and 11 speed sytems. It is also designed to work with all Campy 9 speed systems and chains. We noticed a large improvement in shifting with 10 speeds but only a slight difference with 9 speed systems. Both EXA Drive and Ultra Drive cassettes work perfectly with all past and current Campagnolo 9 speed systems. You can even mix Ultra Drive and Exa Drive cogs on a cassette.

Campagnolo 10 Speed Cassette Spacers

Record and Chorus                                                                             Record and Chorus
12-25, 13-26 and 13-29 Spacer Profile                                               11-21 and 11-23 Spacer Profile

Campagnolo 10 Speed Cassette Spacers:

• Campagnolo 10 speed Record and Chorus cassettes use five alloy spacers as pictured above.

• Centaur and Veloce 10 speed cassettes use six or seven spacers as pictured below.

• The width of the "F" spacers that separate the individual cogs on a Record, Chorus or Centaur 10 speed cassette is 2.4 mm.

• Record and Chorus 10 Speed cassettes also use two, thicker spacers to separate the largest two, cog clusters. For easy reference all 10 speed spacers are colored in blue in the above and below technical drawings. The actual color is smoked chrome or black.

• Record and Chorus cassettes that start with an 11 tooth cog require a 2.5 mm alloy "G" spacer to separate the 6th and 7th position cog clusters. A 4.8 mm "H" spacer is used to separate the 7th and 8th position cog clusters. Three, 2.4 mm "F" spacers are employed to separate the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th position cogs.
  For reference, the first position cog is always the smallest diameter cog.

• Centaur cassettes that start with an 11 tooth cog require a 2.5 mm alloy "G" spacer to separate the 6th and 7th position cog clusters. A 2.4 mm, ridged, "N" spacer is used to separate the 7th and 8th position cog clusters. Three, 2.4 mm "F" spacers are employed to separate the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th position cogs.

• Record and Chorus cassettes that start with an 12 or 13 tooth cog require a 5 mm alloy "i" spacer to separate the 5th and 6th position cog clusters. A 3.9 mm "L" spacer is used to separate the 6th and 7th position cog clusters. Three, 2.4 mm "F" spacers are employed to separate the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th position cogs.
  For reference, the first position cog is always the smallest diameter cog.

• Veloce 10 speed cassettes use a thinner, blue anodized, spacer to separate the 9 and 10th position cogs. Those two cogs on a Centaur cassette are riveted to an alloy carrier.

• Made in Italy by Campagnolo and backed with a three year warranty.

• Warranty service and help with technical questions is available from Campagnolo USA in Carlsbad, California USA. Call Campagnolo USA at (760) 931-0106, or visit them at Campagnolo.com by clicking on the underlined text .