Campagnolo ergo shifter problem?

[d87francis]

Hi all,
I've encountered a problem which is confusing me somewhat. I've just changed my chainset from a standard double to a compact double, as I'm off cycle touring soon and wanted some lower gearing for when the bike is loaded. The new chainset altered the chain line by sticking out from the BB a little more - I've adjusted the front derailleur to accomodate for this, and it all seemed to work and shift fine with high and low limits dialed in. I've also removed two links from the chain to take up the slack created.

However, for some reason the right hand shifter for the RD started to jam, so I played around by trying the original chain length and the shortened one, and with some undoing the RD cable and playing around with it I managed to get the shifter working again. This then did it again 10 minutes later whilst trying to shift into one of the top cogs, after some playing again I got it working again. I immediately took the bike for a spin around the block but then the left hand shifter also then jammed. It was not the chain catching on anything as I could still pedal within that gear, I just was unable to change.

I've never experienced either jamming in the 5 months I've had the bike, and then they both do it straight after installing a new chainset. The strange thing is that with a gear cable undone and slackened off they still don't shift either way, making it feel like it's the shifters where the problem is, but then after some playing they start working again and I do the cable up again.

I was wondering if it's the cables as I bought the bike second hand and have kept the same cables, however I wasn't experiencing any shifting problems before the chainset change and they seem in good condition - plus I really can't afford a new campag cable set to find out that wasn't the problem right now. Does anyone have any ideas that I may have missed before I go on a desperate hunt to find a bike shop that will repair my 90s Campag ergo shifters within a week and a bit?

 

[d87francis]

Made some progress, the left shifter I think is from the FD being a bit sticky and used to having operated within the same parameters for years. Now that It's in a new position it doesn't like it/must have some gunk stopping it, so I shall strip is down and clean it tomorrow hopefully solving that one, as the left shifter would move when the cable was released. The right one is still sporadically jamming, but that one still doesn't move with the cable loose - making me think it's something in the shifter.

 

[brockers]

Sounds like you've done well to pretty much solve things yourself. It wouldn't harm things to whip out the inner cables, examine (or replace for a couple of quid - inner cable is inner cable as far as I'm concerned) and squirt through some solvent to clean out any gunk that might have lodged.. At least that's something else you've eliminated. Could you get hold of some pre-used Ergos off eBay in time to see if the fault lies there? You could then fix your existing ones at your leisure (or not), and then decide which ones to sell on.

 

[d87francis]

Thanks ever so much for the advice. I've managed to fix both now. It seems that if you undo the cables the shifters don't like to work. I presume as tension on the cable stops things from clogging up in the shifter.

Still good advice on the lubrication and new inners. I think I shall wait on the new inners for now as the next project after the touring is to strip down and get the frame re-painted and I shall use that opportunity to change the cables to a ponsey white set.

 

[accountantpete]

It seems that if you undo the cables the shifters don't like to work. I presume as tension on the cable stops things from clogging up in the shifter.

Sounds like you have Xenon/Centaur 10 speed models with the cheapo escape mechanism ( It works well but is decidedly cheap looking!).

They introduced a flimsy spring into these levers which were designed to work in conjunction with the springs in the front/rear mechs.

Due to the flimsy nature of the spring however, if you get muck in the lever it can become sticky - and the lever will only work properly if assisted by the spring from the derailleurs. In other words it relies entirely on the spring in the front/rear mech to work.

Hence them not shifting when the cable is not attached ( I'd recommend a squirt of WD40 inside the lever to get a bit of lubrication back in there) and perhaps jamming as originally reported due to cabling not running freely enough to allow the springs on the mechs to work through to the levers.

 

[mattsccm]

I give my shifters a damn good squirt if contact cleaner if the start to stick, This get as the grease and mank out. Then use the WD40