Campy Ergo rebuild blues

[thwart]

Alright. As I try to improve my skills (now that I've built up a few wheels and other such bike mech stuff) I tackled one of these yesterday.

Older (2003) Record 10 speed, right shifter. EBay purchase from a couple of years ago. Seller neglected to mention it needed a rebuild. :rolleyes:

Used the Youtube videos from Campagnolo and Zinn's book as references. As the old adage goes: watch one, do one, teach one. Skipped the first part.

Disassembly went fine, and as I suspected, the G springs were toast. On re-assembly I had a helluva time getting the thumbshifter disc rotated around in position on the thumb button return spring... but after 5-10 minutes I was able to do so. Moved through the remaining steps and tightened down the main bolt. Ran through the clicks... nice and sharp and precise both ways... sweet.

Whoops. Noticed that I had used an edge of the shifter body as the stop for the coil spring on top of the thumbshifter disc, instead of the little stop inside the body itself.

So, took it apart to redo things correctly...

Again, the same struggle with the thumb button return spring. This time I bent the coil of the spring upward a bit while struggling with it, and rather than re-use it, I decided I'd just replace it and try again. Branford Bike, here we go...

So... any thoughts on that difficult step? Is it just hand strength, or is it not knowing the right technique?

[saab2000]

I rebuilt one this autumn. It was a bit of a PITA but a learning experience. Nevertheless, I was not happy with the results. Mine is going to go somewhere too. Maybe just the LBS though. They ordered the parts and the mechanic there seemed to really know what he was talking about.

But being a fairly experienced wrench myself and being somewhat adept with the fingers I thought I'd give it a shot.

The clicks are not especially crisp. Maybe a bit better than before, but not as good as I had expected.

[Dave]

Getting the thumb lever positioned is one of the hardest parts. I slip the small hooked end of the spring into the thumb lever first, then poke the long tail into the hole in the ergo body. The tricky part is rotating the thumb button into the proper position and inserting the small aluminum part into the hole in the thumb lever. The spring always wants to block the hole. I just push on the aluminum part with a screwdriver and use it to force the spring out of the way.

I don't follow the video, since I never viewed it until recently. I install the center bolt to be sure the center aluminum part is engaged with the main index shaft and set to the proper angle. I only tighten the bolt lightly at this point. I then install the large coil spring, slipping the hook at the center under the retaining bolt. I use a hook tool, made from a small screwdriver, to swing the other end of the coil spring over to the post on the g-spring retainer. As a final step, I carefully remove the center bolt and install the cover plate of the large coil spring.

The video shows to hook the end of the big coil over the post first, then use a screwdriver to turn the aluminum part so it engages that main shaft, with a small fraction of a turn of wind-up. That obviously works too.

One critical thing is to support the ergo lever from the main index shaft with a 5mm hex wrench, held by a bench vise. If the main shaft is not supported, you'll never engage the aluminum part holding the tail of the large coil spring.

Another thing that might not be noticed is the shifter must be in the large-cog position when the coil spring is installed. With the lever supported by the main index shaft, you twist the ergo body rather than shift the finger lever to this position.

I've got some lengthy instructions I can e-mail.

The 2009 ultrashift levers are MUCH easier to work on. Only one spring in the back half and it's a piece of cake.

[Viper]

Send it to handsomerob. Get him a gift certificate for pulled pork.

[thwart]

Send it to handsomerob. Get him a gift certificate for pulled pork. Are you pulling my leg?

Nahh... I'm a stubborn SOB. I'm going to give it one more try when that part from Branford arrives.

Many thanks for the suggestions!

[Ahneida Ride]

My LBS guru does them all the time ... His Ottrott is Campy.

Call Rick at Mtn. Cycology, Ludlow Vt.

He'll help you out for sure.

One of the last remaining Bike Shops, not a Bike store.