Ergo Lever Snapped...

Stwutter

Just out of interest, has anyone else had a Campag gear paddle snap on them?

This morning I had the bike in the stand, and pushed the paddle inwards to shift from the small to the big ring on the front, and it snapped clean off, just below the pivot.

The set up is Centaur, and I've been toying with getting Chorus/Record anyway, so I can shift up gears more than one at a time, and now I have the perfect excuse, but has anyone else had this happen? I've had the group set for 18 months, and it was bought brand new - I've not had any major bangs either that could have weakened it.

Monty Dog

More than likely due to the cable being trapped - happen to me once too. However, you're not scuppered, those nice people at Italian Cycle Products will either sell you a spare or even fix if for you. Cost of the lever assembly is about £25 - pull parts diagram on the Campag website.

pieinthesky

I have 2 sets of Centaur ergo levers (3 or 4 years old now) and they both do multiple gear changes in both directions. Have they changed the design recently?

magliaceleste

Yeah ,this year I believe (that's 2007 range). They've been downgraded :-(. You need Chorus or Record now.

pieinthesky

How many companies downgrade their products for the new season?

I could never fault Campag or their products before but that is a very poor state of affairs.

aracer

I don't suppose Campag would actually describe it as a downgrade, since it makes the levers lighter, and supposedly Simoni was using a similar mechanism in his Record levers to save weight, as he didn't feel the need for multiple upshifts.

magliaceleste

aracer wrote:

I don't suppose Campag would actually describe it as a downgrade, since it makes the levers lighter, and supposedly Simoni was using a similar mechanism in his Record levers to save weight, as he didn't feel the need for multiple upshifts.

Well I think it is. If it was better they'd downgrade sorry "upgrade" Record and Chorus to not multi-shift. Edit: IMO It's just a cynical ploy to get people to stump up for Chorus.

Edit: Bully for Simoni. He probably doesn't pay for his bike bits though. Maybe he was used to Shimano before Wonder what he saved in weight...

acorn_user

Well, if it is a downgrade, then the cost of the levers has come down too. Mirage qs levers can be had from 50 pounds. That's spectacular compared to STI. It would be cynical if the prices had stayed the same, but they have not. The other reason behind the change is that the escape mechanism does not need to be serviced, so you don't have to worry about changing springs and whatnot. IMHO, it's a sensible move, although I rather like chaning all my gears in one go!

magliaceleste

We're talking about the 'downgrade' to Centaur @ £90, but your point is valid.

It might be better value in price terms but it erodes one of Campagnolo's technological advantages IMO.

So basically buy 'high end' and get them serviced (but have multi-shift) or 'mid/low' end and not have to them serviced.

I sound like a broken record now, so I'll shut up

Cheers

Stwutter

Well, as I started this post, I guess I'll risk interupting you arguements...

I ended up buying Chorus 07 Ergos to replce my broken Centaur ones. £60 more, but I can shift up gears more than one sprocket at a time (not exactly a deal-breaker, but nevertheless...).

Having ridden the Centaur for 18 months, I took the bike for a spin once I'd fitted the new Ergos on Saturday. I was genuinely shocked by the increase in quality & feel of the shifting. Yes, there's a few grams penatly for the more advance shifting mecahnism, but the crispness & smoothness is definately improved, and I thought Centuar was excellent already.

I do agree with some comments, particularly the fact that it's only recently that you've had to buy Chrus or Record to be able to shift up in multiples, but I think you do get what you pay for with Chorus.

Garybee

I have Xenon on my training bike (9sp but essentially the same mechanism as the present Xenon-Centaur shifters) and if it wasn't for the crappy plastic brake levers would happily use them on my race bike. With a bit of careful setting up you can still 'trim' the front mech on the way up.

Although the shift is very 'clunky' it does feel very positive to me and actually easier to shift faster.

pliptrot

So there you have it: Campagnolo products fail and their reward is yet more custom from the cyclist let down by said failure. What incentive is that to not downgrade, or in fact give a damn at all? It appears the team in Vicenza don't, in fact.

Mavic used to make excellent hubs and rims - now they do not supply hubs at all and the rims have earned a dreadful reputation for poor reliability.

We are heading down a path where we will be fobbed off with junk at inflated prices (as is already happening in the frame world with some Taiwanese frames meeting both descriptors). Be warned. There is no excuse.

Monty Dog

OK, I broke a caron Ergo a few years ago - it cost me £25 to repair and it's been going fine ever since. However, my friend has had two pairs of DuraAce STIs fail - out of warranty - bin job and £100 each to replace. I'm not sure your statement on Mavic is that well qualified - Mavic wheels and rims have a better reputation than most. Go back 20 years, and even the best products broke and didn't last anything like as long - crank breakage was common and wheel axles would snap regularly.