Campy shifter question

[Turkle]

Hi everyone - I'm running Campy Athena 11 on one of my bikes. I've noticed that the thumb lever on the right shifter (operating the rear derailleur) has become sluggish to return. Like, I'll press it down to shift, and I'll sometimes need to reach down and "help" the thumb lever travel back up. It's a little irritating, and I've never dealt with anything like it from either of the S's.

I don't know if it's something to do with the shifter - or maybe it's something stupid I did with the cable housing or something? I dunno.

Anyway, those of you who know lots more about Campy to me: is this common? Easily fixable? Is my shifter destroyed and I need to overhaul it? Just dump some WD-40 in there? Your advice and troubleshooting would be welcomed and appreciated.

Cheers - Turkle

[oliver1850]

Have you checked to make sure the hood is not rubbing on the mechanism?

[Turkle]

Just checked the hoods - doesn't appear to be getting caught there. Thanks for the suggestion.

[fmradio516]

That sounds annoying but I was gonna suggest the hood thing too. No other ideas.

[oliver1850]

Could be a failed spring. Probably an easy fix. Peter will know.

[henrygunst]

It could be your hood catches the outside lever. (Easy to check). The next most likely culprit is a frayed cable. If you haven't changed your cables recently that is very likely. And that is a problem that should be taken care of quickly, before it worsens.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by oliver1850

Could be a failed spring. Probably an easy fix. Peter will know.

There is a spring that 'helps' the thumb button come back up but if it failed, the thumb button would just flop around. I wonder if it's the spring that pivots the thumb button itself..I'd say some spray lube in there, around the spring pivot.

Is it Ultra or Power shift? One higher gear at a time via the thumb button or multiple? If Ultra, I have the thumb buttons and thumb button return springs.

If ya want to send it to me, I'd be happy to take a look at it.
This is Centaur but same spring for all Ultrashift.

[tellyho]

I doubt cable friction in the housing would cause this but could be an easy thing to check off. When did you last replace cables / housing? Even if it is not the cause, you might solve the actual problem in the disassembly / reassembly process.

[Kingson]

my first approach is to flush out the shifter's internal mechanisms with wd-40 or tri-flow in a spray can
a rebuild is the last resort

[Turkle]

Thanks folks. The cables and housing are all new so I don't think that's it.

Thanks for the diagram - I'm going to try to get in the shifter with some lube and see if that gets it going smoothly again. I'll also check as best I can that the spring appears to be functioning as expected.

For the record, it's the shifter that lets you shift multiple gears with either the thumb button or the paddle. Is that "ultra?"

Appreciate the help!

[Mark McM]

Yes, Ultra shift is the one that allows multiple shifts with one presss in either direction.

The Ultra-shift thumb button has two pivots - the whole of the button lever rotates around the central shaft (around the big hole in the photo below), but there is also a pivot in the middle of the lever (the silver rivet in the photo). The middle pivot has a weak spring, and sometimes the pivot can be a bit tight, preventing the button from springing back up. If the central pivot is stuck, the thumb button won't disengage with the shifting ratchet. This prevents shifting to larger sprockets with the paddle, but if you aren't at the small end of the cassette, you may still be able shift to smaller sprockets with the button. If the problem is friction in the central pivot, you can try flushing it with a solvent and then lubricating it.