Dave
09-16-2008, 02:41 PM
I’ve mounted my 2009 Centaur ergopower levers and have some info regarding the installation and my first riding impressions.
First the riding impressions. Even though I have small hands and short fingers, the new design is more comfortable than the old. Depending on the exact placement of the ergopower body, you may see an increase in reach to the brake hoods of 3-5mm, but the reach to the brake levers, from the hooks, has been reduced slightly. With my short fingers, I can still barely get the last joint of my middle finger around the brake lever, so I’ll soon make my standard reach reducing modification to these new levers. The right finger lever requires far less pressure and a shorter throw to make shifts to larger cogs. There is only the slightest audible click for each cog shift (still up to 3 with one sweep of the lever). This will take some getting used to since the clicks can scarcely be felt or heard. The force required to operate the thumb button has been reduced significantly, but there is still a distinct click for each cog that can both be heard and felt. The thumb button can shift up to 5 cogs smaller with one push.
The left lever functions much like the old one, but with reduced pressure to operate the finger lever and thumb button and a shorter stroke for the each click of the finger lever. Unlike the right finger lever, the left side has firmer and louder clicks. The left ergopower can operate any previous FD, including a triple. I measured the cable pull and found more than enough pull for a triple FD. There are no excess clicks, only the 7 needed to operate a triple FD. The instructions that came with my levers stated in bold lettering “not compatible with QS front derailleurs”. I hooked up my 2008 QS FD and it shifted perfectly, with 4 clicks, just like before.
Now to the installation details. First, buy a T25 (Torx) screwdriver. The clamping nut under the brake hood is now made of aluminum and like other aluminum fasteners from Campy, requires a Torx driver. The clamping nut can still be reached by inserting the driver under the front of the brake hood.
The instructions had some errors. They said to install the shift cable housing end with the preinstalled ferrule into the ergopower body. The new cables have no preinstalled ferrules and none is used at the ergopower end. Instead of a ferrule, there is a small metal disc in the bottom of the cable housing bore. Be sure not to lose it, since it can be pushed out if a cable housing is not in place when the cable is inserted. The ergopower body has a ceramic cable guide that makes a fairly sharp bend to guide the cable into the housing. Getting the cable around this bend and inserted into the tiny hole can be tricky. I got one cable into the hole by holding the end down into the groove of the ceramic guide with a small screwdriver, while I pushed on the cable from the underside of the ergopower body. The simple way to insert the cable is to extend several inches of cable, straight up, above the ergopower body, grab the end and insert it into the hole. The problem comes when you take the slack out of the big loop of cable – it will put a moderate kink in the cable, but it’s not too hard to straighten out.
The new Campy shift cable housing has been improved to reduce friction. The diameter is 4.1mm, but just about any common 4mm shift cable will probably work fine. I saw a minor problem with the optional shift cable routing, to the front of the bar. The opening for the cable housing at the very edge of the ergopower body can become too small, if the body is mounted too high up on the bars. I could easily see the need to carve away a little bit of the material to prevent pinching the cable housing. I’ve routed both shift and brake cable to the front of the bars for years, but with the Easton EC90 SLX3 bars, I decided to try routing the housing around the back of the bars, so the bend onto the top of the bars would have a larger radius and reduce friction.
Applying bar tape around the ergopower body is a little easier. When the tape reaches the lowest portion of the body, you no longer have to tuck the tape under the body. The groove for the thumb button is not as close to the bar. The tape can and should overlap the lower portion of the body by 5mm or so.
First the riding impressions. Even though I have small hands and short fingers, the new design is more comfortable than the old. Depending on the exact placement of the ergopower body, you may see an increase in reach to the brake hoods of 3-5mm, but the reach to the brake levers, from the hooks, has been reduced slightly. With my short fingers, I can still barely get the last joint of my middle finger around the brake lever, so I’ll soon make my standard reach reducing modification to these new levers. The right finger lever requires far less pressure and a shorter throw to make shifts to larger cogs. There is only the slightest audible click for each cog shift (still up to 3 with one sweep of the lever). This will take some getting used to since the clicks can scarcely be felt or heard. The force required to operate the thumb button has been reduced significantly, but there is still a distinct click for each cog that can both be heard and felt. The thumb button can shift up to 5 cogs smaller with one push.
The left lever functions much like the old one, but with reduced pressure to operate the finger lever and thumb button and a shorter stroke for the each click of the finger lever. Unlike the right finger lever, the left side has firmer and louder clicks. The left ergopower can operate any previous FD, including a triple. I measured the cable pull and found more than enough pull for a triple FD. There are no excess clicks, only the 7 needed to operate a triple FD. The instructions that came with my levers stated in bold lettering “not compatible with QS front derailleurs”. I hooked up my 2008 QS FD and it shifted perfectly, with 4 clicks, just like before.
Now to the installation details. First, buy a T25 (Torx) screwdriver. The clamping nut under the brake hood is now made of aluminum and like other aluminum fasteners from Campy, requires a Torx driver. The clamping nut can still be reached by inserting the driver under the front of the brake hood.
The instructions had some errors. They said to install the shift cable housing end with the preinstalled ferrule into the ergopower body. The new cables have no preinstalled ferrules and none is used at the ergopower end. Instead of a ferrule, there is a small metal disc in the bottom of the cable housing bore. Be sure not to lose it, since it can be pushed out if a cable housing is not in place when the cable is inserted. The ergopower body has a ceramic cable guide that makes a fairly sharp bend to guide the cable into the housing. Getting the cable around this bend and inserted into the tiny hole can be tricky. I got one cable into the hole by holding the end down into the groove of the ceramic guide with a small screwdriver, while I pushed on the cable from the underside of the ergopower body. The simple way to insert the cable is to extend several inches of cable, straight up, above the ergopower body, grab the end and insert it into the hole. The problem comes when you take the slack out of the big loop of cable – it will put a moderate kink in the cable, but it’s not too hard to straighten out.
The new Campy shift cable housing has been improved to reduce friction. The diameter is 4.1mm, but just about any common 4mm shift cable will probably work fine. I saw a minor problem with the optional shift cable routing, to the front of the bar. The opening for the cable housing at the very edge of the ergopower body can become too small, if the body is mounted too high up on the bars. I could easily see the need to carve away a little bit of the material to prevent pinching the cable housing. I’ve routed both shift and brake cable to the front of the bars for years, but with the Easton EC90 SLX3 bars, I decided to try routing the housing around the back of the bars, so the bend onto the top of the bars would have a larger radius and reduce friction.
Applying bar tape around the ergopower body is a little easier. When the tape reaches the lowest portion of the body, you no longer have to tuck the tape under the body. The groove for the thumb button is not as close to the bar. The tape can and should overlap the lower portion of the body by 5mm or so.