1x Campagnolo Ekar drivetrain

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Volsung
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by Volsung

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Volsung
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by Volsung

Per C-Bear they were apparently supposed to be 12/13. The 13/13 didn't clear the little derailleur cage brace thing and every outer link on my chain hit it.

The 13s I got were different from each other so I kinda doubt they picked it wrong, but that's what he says.

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andreszucs
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by andreszucs

Let me try this: anyone looking for a 9-42T Ekar cassette and willing to do a straight swap by a 9-36T? Very gently used, no signs of wear and there’s only about 200-300 miles in it. Pm if interested. If in the US I’ll pay for your shipping cost. Image


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Yoln
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by Yoln

eurperg wrote:
Sat Apr 23, 2022 9:12 am
henryz4 wrote:
Thu Apr 14, 2022 1:37 pm

Grat job! have you found some benefits in terms of resistance of the transmission? are you able to feel it?
Thanks
You can test the difference in drivetrain friction by pushing the derailleur cage forward to ease the back spring tension, and then spin the cranks backward. Or pull the cage backwards to increase tension, and then do the same. It's very noticeable. More tension = more friction.

The design of Ekar clutch is bad, because there is lots of back spring tension. A well designed clutch derailleur only has a heavy forward clutch force. Here's a good read: https://cyclingtips.com/2019/01/do-clut ... -friction/

I haven't noticed any chain slap after making the spring modification. Shift lever action is also now a bit lighter. I recommend this mod to anyone who cares about drivetrain friction and saving watts.
Would you have any pics of the spring modification?
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eurperg
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by eurperg

^Unfortunately I didn't take any pics. I used a Dremel sanding roll to remove material evenly from the inside of the spring. It was quite easy to make the spring evenly thinner by rotating the spring in my other hand while moving the sanding roll back and forth with my other hand. Had to wear gloves of course because the spring becomes hot and lots of sparkles are flying. I'll try to take pics and measure the current thickness of the spring some time soon. I still haven't dropped the chain and I think I have heard chain slap only once. I have probably ridden close to 2000 km after modifying the spring.

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eurperg
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by eurperg

Image

Here is the current thickness of the clutch spring. So if anyone else wants to go ahead and try, 2.15 mm is a good measure.

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eurperg
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by eurperg

I had problems installing new FC-EK009 BB bearings onto crank spindles. The new NDS bearing went on nicely, but on the DS the outer seal lip would always fold in and wrinkle while pressing, and then cause really heavy seal drag. I used lots of grease of course.

Using a Park Tool bearing press tool designed for the job, I tried pressing the bearing in slowly, and also tried tapping it in quickly with a plastic hammer. Same result.

Eventually I got so frustrated that I cut the lips of the seals off from both bearings with a hobby knife. The bearings won’t probably last long now, but at least there’s noticeably less seal drag…

Have you had this problem when replacing Ekar BB bearings?

Volsung
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by Volsung

My bearings were defective fresh from the box. I tried regular UT and a UT BB while waiting on Protech bearings to become available but they always squeaked.

Installing the new Protech ones went fine and the cranks spin normally finally.

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eurperg
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by eurperg

I ordered a second set of FC-EK009 bearings, and I'm going to try to stretch the outer bearing seal before installing it. I'm planning on pulling it over something bigger than the 25mm crank axle, maybe a 26mm diameter socket or a 27,2 sestpost and leaving there overnight. That should ease the installation and hopefully the seal can still recover back to its original size and not become too loose. We'll see how it goes...

andrewbn42
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by andrewbn42

Anyone try flattop chain with mechanical shifting? I like the cassette ratios and think this would be an ideal 1x road setup with the 10-44 and a larger chainring. Before you tell me that these ratios are enough, I did the math, and I know that for my use, the 44 chairing is insufficient. I’d rather not have to modify a chainring, and it doesn’t look like there’s an aftermarket one coming soon

Jdadour
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Joined: Sat Jun 26, 2021 5:51 pm

by Jdadour

andrewbn42 wrote:
Wed Aug 03, 2022 5:27 pm
Anyone try flattop chain with mechanical shifting? I like the cassette ratios and think this would be an ideal 1x road setup with the 10-44 and a larger chainring. Before you tell me that these ratios are enough, I did the math, and I know that for my use, the 44 chairing is insufficient. I’d rather not have to modify a chainring, and it doesn’t look like there’s an aftermarket one coming soon
I purchased the Ratio 1x13 kit, and will be testing it with a flat top chain and mechanical shifting (Rival 1 rear derailleur) soon. The kit comes with ekar specific pulley wheels, and I even got some rival axs flattop pulley wheels to see if they might work better. Waiting on a 9-42 cassette to arrive from Europe, so will report back soon.

If all these guys are using the flattop chain on the cassette with wireless, it seems clear the flat top chain is compatible with the cassette. The big question is how does it work with a mechanical shifter and how does it work with the pulley wheels.

Jdadour
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Joined: Sat Jun 26, 2021 5:51 pm

by Jdadour

Does anyone have detailed measurements of the Ekar chain like the link below? Curious to how it compares the the flattop chain

https://handsonbike.blogspot.com/2022/0 ... speed.html

gorkypl
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by gorkypl

According to my measurements from a moment ago (precision up to 0.02mm):
- roller diameter: 7.75 mm
- external width: 4.85 mm outer & 3.35 mm inner
- internal width: 3.40 mm outer & 1.75 mm inner
- thickness 0.72 mm outer & 0.80 mm inner

Fuji Cross 1.5 - Shimano 105 5800 | Cinelli Superstar Disc - Record 12s | Custom steel Karamba - Ekar 13s

Jdadour
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Joined: Sat Jun 26, 2021 5:51 pm

by Jdadour

gorkypl wrote:
Thu Aug 04, 2022 8:44 pm
According to my measurements from a moment ago (precision up to 0.02mm):
- roller diameter: 7.75 mm
- external width: 4.85 mm outer & 3.35 mm inner
- internal width: 3.40 mm outer & 1.75 mm inner
- thickness 0.72 mm outer & 0.80 mm inner
Excellent! Thanks so much. Here are the numbers side by side for reference, and this is assuming that the other website had the flattop chain measurements correct, which I believe to be true because he provided photos as well.


Ekar Flattop
Roller Diameter 7.75 7.9
External Width Outer 4.85 5.05
External Width Inner 3.35 3.68
Internal Width Outer 3.4 3.37
Internal Width Inner 1.75 2.21
Outer Thickness 0.72 0.65
Inner Thickness 0.8 0.58

gorkypl
Posts: 529
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Location: Poland

by gorkypl

Jdadour wrote:
Thu Aug 04, 2022 10:27 pm
Excellent! Thanks so much. Here are the numbers side by side for reference, and this is assuming that the other website had the flattop chain measurements correct, which I believe to be true because he provided photos as well.


Ekar Flattop
Roller Diameter 7.75 7.9
External Width Outer 4.85 5.05
External Width Inner 3.35 3.68
Internal Width Outer 3.4 3.37
Internal Width Inner 1.75 2.21
Outer Thickness 0.72 0.65
Inner Thickness 0.8 0.58
Seems a lot of difference comes from plate thickness. Campagnolo has to be thicker, as it does not have the burlier flat top. Topped with an overall narrower chain this leads to 0.5 mm (~25% !) narrower space between inner plates.
Funnily, the roller diameter does not differ that much.

Fuji Cross 1.5 - Shimano 105 5800 | Cinelli Superstar Disc - Record 12s | Custom steel Karamba - Ekar 13s

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