Question: what year are these Campy shifters?

[ahumblecycler]

Hi there,

I cannot identify the year of these Campy Ergo 10-speed shifters. The right states "10-speed" and the left states "Carbon BB-System."

Any help would be appreciated.

[Mike748]

I'm thinking the Ultra came out in 2005... so I'd guess 2001-2004. Others here are smarter than me however.

[ahumblecycler]

That was what I was thinking.

Campy experts ... any advantage of the newer QS versus these? Online reviews do not paint a clear picture

[ergott]

That was what I was thinking.

Campy experts ... any advantage of the newer QS versus these? Online reviews do not paint a clear picture

QS shifters are better paired with QS mechs.

[oldpotatoe]

That was what I was thinking.

Campy experts ... any advantage of the newer QS versus these? Online reviews do not paint a clear picture

'QS' on Record/Chorus shifters are a sticker ONLY. The innards remained the same regardless of the 'QS' name until 2009. They do not need to be mated to a 'QS' front der.

2004 was the first year of 'Ultra' so probably 2000-2003 for the mentioned levers. 2000 was the first year for 10s.

[John M]

'QS' on Record/Chorus shifters are a sticker ONLY. The innards remained the same regardless of the 'QS' name until 2009. They do not need to be mated to a 'QS' front der.

+1. I have QS marked 2008 Chorus with a non-QS FD on one bike and it shifts the same as another bike with non-QS shifters. I haven't actually tried a QS FD, so that could be a little quicker. What I have is more than adequate.

[paulrad9]

'QS' on Record/Chorus shifters are a sticker ONLY. The innards remained the same regardless of the 'QS' name until 2009. They do not need to be mated to a 'QS' front der.

True, I have mine mated to Ultegra 6600 front and rear

[Dave]

[QUOTE=oldpotatoe]'QS' on Record/Chorus shifters are a sticker ONLY. The innards remained the same regardless of the 'QS' name until 2009.
QUOTE]

That is not correct. QS came out in 2007. What it does is reduce the amount of dead travel from the left finger lever (where the finger lever moves, but no cable movement occurs). You can convert an older shifter to QS just by changing the front rachet - about a $6 part - but it does require a complete teardown of the lever.

QS FDs were also introduced in '07. They have a longer lever arm and require one more click to cover the full range of travel. Older double FDs require 3 clicks and QS models require 4. The longer lever arm reduces the force required to actuate the FD.

You can use either QS or preQS shifters with either type of FD. If an older shifter is used with a QS FD, the left finger lever can make the 4-click sweep with no problem, it just requires more travel to do it. The opposite setup, of a QS shifter with an older FD is no problem at all.

Triple FDs require the maximum 5-click sweep of the left finger lever to shift from the little ring to the middle ring. That takes less movement of the finger lever if a newer QS shifter is used. The full range of travel takes 7 of the 12 clicks available. The remaining clicks have no use.

The new ultrashift levers (2009+) now only have 6 clicks from the left finger lever, but they can still operate a triple FD. There are no longer any unused clicks. The FDs were redesigned in 2009 to match the new shifters. They have returned to a much shorter lever arm. Oddly enough, they will still operate a QS FD just fine, with 4 clicks. I had an '08 Chorus QS FD and I've used it with the ultrashift levers, both 10 and 11 speed. The new shifters still have the QS feature in the left finger lever, but it's no longer advertised. The new ultrashift internal mechanism is the latest feature to advertise.