Chorus 2012 11sp shifter no thumb paddle engagement

[giverdada]

hey friends:

it seems the lady's shifter crapped out at the beginning of her trainer ride this morning. it's a 2012ish Chorus 11sp righthand shifter with several thousand miles on it. it works to shift into larger cogs, but there is no engagement of the thumb paddle when it is depressed. cable has appropriate tension.

new shifter body needed?
something slip out of where it goes in the body and needs a tightening?
help?

thanks eh.

nick.:help:

[CaptStash]

Rebuild time. I forget the name of that part, but I had the exact same issue with a Record 10 some years back. If you're handy, it's doable yourself. If not, you can send it to Branford Bikes (they will sell you the parts too) or maybe ask Pete (Old Potato himself) what he'd charge to do it.

CaptStash....

[Black Dog]

There are 2 small (3mm in think) bolts that hold the guts in place, one for and one aft. You need to remove the brake blade to get at the front one and the shifter from the handle bar clamp to get the rear one. If they work loose then the shifting gets wonky. I would try tightening them 1st and see if that is the culprit, if not then some further diagnosis is in order. There is no rebuilding possible and it is not needed as there is nothing to wear out in the shift mechanism. When Oldspud chimes in you will have some sage advice that will render everything I have written as a time filler... :)

So glad to hear that your lady is back at rebuilding fitness. All is getting better I hope.

[bigbill]

The thumb paddle pivots inward to engage when you push it down. If the pivot point is corroded or otherwise rusty (and they get that way), it can't pivot inwards and just pushes down without engagement. If it's not pivoting, put some triflow or similar in the pivot to free it up.

[ducati2]

Is it intermittent? Can you shift up with the lever and then shift down with the paddle? Three other things I have seen in this scenario....improper installation of the hood, improper installation of bar tape, shifting the paddle while touching the lever. Otherwise probably a rebuild. Branford is down the street from my house and have done good work for me in the past although I have heard other impressions of their service.

[cmbicycles]

The thumb paddle pivots inward to engage when you push it down. If the pivot point is corroded or otherwise rusty (and they get that way), it can't pivot inwards and just pushes down without engagement. If it's not pivoting, put some triflow or similar in the pivot to free it up.

I would check for the above issue first, especially if it's a trainer bike. You would just need to use some lube and work the pivot back and forth a few times til it moves freely on its own. If not send it to OldPotatoe, or your preferred Campy mechanic.

[giverdada]

alright friends. thanks to your suggestions, we got it working. and, unfortunately, it's not just a trainer bike; she needs it to ride to niagara next weekend so there's not a ton of time to send it to mr. chisolm for overhaul. alas...

the hood was the main problem, and with some moving of it around, i got the lever to engage and return after depression. this is good. it looks like a bunch of the visible ratchet that i can see when the hood is pulled off is pretty gunky, mostly grey matter, like metal and lube or something? maybe i should clean that? or just lube on top of it? i don't know what's appropriate to spray/drip into a campy shifter.

anyway, it's working now, and pretty consistently, but if i should lube it to ensure it always works, please let me know what is best. straight tri flow? (very hard to find in toronto of late) coconut oil? pam? just kidding...

[dddd]

I would use a tiny bit of oil from a drip bottle with applicator tube on any accessible mechanism like the ratchet teeth. A little lube goes a long way.
You don't want to apply anything from a hard-to-control aerosol, the overspray and foaming/expanding tendencies are likely to make it get under the rubber hood and cause a big problem with the hood!

I doubt if any lubing is urgent here if the shifting action is consistent in both directions. I can't see gunk on the wheel actually causing any problem.

[oldpotatoe]

hey friends:

it seems the lady's shifter crapped out at the beginning of her trainer ride this morning. it's a 2012ish Chorus 11sp righthand shifter with several thousand miles on it. it works to shift into larger cogs, but there is no engagement of the thumb paddle when it is depressed. cable has appropriate tension.

new shifter body needed?
something slip out of where it goes in the body and needs a tightening?
help?

thanks eh.

nick.:help:

Probably the wee bolt in back has come loose..NOT like 10s ERGO at all..no shift springs. NO shifter body needed certainly..very little to 'wear out' in lever. Lever off to see back bolt, another in front but need to take brake lever blade off to get at that one(easy tho..punch but notice the pin only goes in and out one direction).

I see above it may be hood fouling mechanism..a bit of lube on thumb button pivot point(it rotates down a bit to engage teeth of a disc in lever) and also on shift lever blade..spray lube is fine, it won't hurt the hood..

If it persists, I can look at it, one day turnaround. I have all the 11s shifter small bits..I buy body assemblies and strip for parts.

[dddd]

...I see above it may be hood fouling mechanism..a bit of lube on thumb button pivot point(it rotates down a bit to engage teeth of a disc in lever) and also on shift lever blade..spray lube is fine, it won't hurt the hood...

Lube creeping under the hood may not hurt the hood directly, but when hoods get to sliding on the lever body from "lubrication", they often end up becoming stretched out and loose-fitting, which is detrimental to the rider's feeling of control under hard riding conditions.
First time I saw this, I thought "strong rider and lots of sweat", until I replaced the hood that is, when the greasy interface became obvious, ...this was about 25 years ago and I've seen C and S-brand hoods similarly afflicted.
Most spray cans have no "volume" control, you apply pressure to the nozzle and nothing..., nothing..., then ...BLAST. In many cases that means a huge volume of foaming, expanding lube that creeps away aggressively in all directions. Any air gap path under the hood sucks the lube right up and presto, you've got a hood riding on lube.

[oldpotatoe]

Lube creeping under the hood may not hurt the hood directly, but when hoods get to sliding on the lever body from "lubrication", they often end up becoming stretched out and loose-fitting, which is detrimental to the rider's feeling of control under hard riding conditions.
First time I saw this, I thought "strong rider and lots of sweat", until I replaced the hood that is, when the greasy interface became obvious, ...this was about 25 years ago and I've seen C and S-brand hoods similarly afflicted.
Most spray cans have no "volume" control, you apply pressure to the nozzle and nothing..., nothing..., then ...BLAST. In many cases that means a huge volume of foaming, expanding lube that creeps away aggressively in all directions. Any air gap path under the hood sucks the lube right up and presto, you've got a hood riding on lube.

Modern hoods(I'm sure you know this), are VERY tight fitting and with all the wedges, plugs, holes, shelves, etc, to hold them in place, they don't slide around like those late 80s and early 90s CRecord hoods, did. BUT mostly on non-ERGO..good pic of Lemond somewhere with his white hoods all askew.