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I recently bought myself a second-hand Condor Fratello. It is fitted with Campy Veloce (mix) groupset, currently with a 12-25 cassette. I'm coming from riding a 105 (11-32 cassette) for years, and this new ratio is really tough for me. So, I want to upgrade the rear cassette and chain, but keep the other existing hardware.

As far as I can tell, I have a short Veloce rear derailleur (Given that you can buy two versions of this derailleur, a 'short' or 'medium' version, see here: https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/campagnolo-veloce-10sp-rear-derailleur/rp-prod57880). See below for a photo of the derailleur as it's mounted to the bike.

Here's my question: I'd love to get a cassette that provides the 'easiest' gearing possible, ideally something close to the ratio I had on my 105. Will the Veloce 13-29 (https://www.wiggle.co.uk/campagnolo-veloce-10-speed-cassette) work with this derailleur? Moreover, could I go ahead and grab a Campy cassette from a different product range with an even more comfortable gear ratio?

The 10-speed derailleur

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All the Campagnolo deraileurs of that era were rated for 29t. If you want to try 32, you will need to find a mid Potenza derailleur (which despite being branded 11sp, will work properly with your 10sp shifters) and use an aftermarket 10sp cassette that provides the 32t sprocket.

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  • Thanks for this info! I think I'm going to give the 29t cassette a go, see how that works out for me, and perhaps try this configuration in the future.
    – nikUoM
    May 20, 2021 at 13:40
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I don't have Campagnolo's specifications in front of me, but I suspect they will say that this combination is not compatible. (NB: see comments, I may be wrong.) However, I used to have a Record 10s rear derailleur from the mid 2000s. It did work acceptably with a 13-29 cassette. I recall several people discussing this or similar combinations on the Paceline forum and other forums. In other words, Campagnolo's chain wrap and largest cog specifications are often conservative, as are Shimano's. It may not work acceptable with all bicycles, but as long as you can adjust the B-tension screw enough, you should be able to make it work. I believe you can also get 10s 12-27 cassettes, although these may be under the Centaur or Potenza models.

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  • many thanks for your reply. I think I found the tech specs for the derailleur here - campagnolo.com/media/files/… - as far as I can tell from it, it works for up to 30 teeth, from a minimum of 11, but with a maximum difference of 16, suggesting that 28 would be the max size for the largest ring on the cassette. Do you think I understood this correctly?
    – nikUoM
    May 18, 2021 at 13:18
  • @nikUoM You're correct that that spec says the largest cog is 30t, so I am wrong if it applies to that model of Veloce RD (I think it should, but I haven't had Campy in some time and have lost track of the models). The value of 16 is the maximum allowable difference in front chainring sizes, e.g. a 50-34 crankset is at that max. The total capacity of 32 is the max value of the front chainring difference (e.g. 16) + cassette largest - smallest cog. A 13-29 cassette has a value of 16, so you'd be right at capacity with that combo, and you can often exceed the claimed capacity by 1-2 teeth.
    – Weiwen Ng
    May 18, 2021 at 18:31
  • thanks so much for the clarification. this, in conjunction with @JoeK's response really helps, and I think I'll try out the 29 cassette with the existing components I've got on the bike.
    – nikUoM
    May 20, 2021 at 13:40

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