8 Speed Campagnolo Shifting Issues

[P!N20]

I'm having trouble with my Campy 8 speed setup - I'll try to keep it brief.

I installed a pair of 1st Gen Record shifting brake levers which didn't hold gear (rear), so I replaced the G-springs as is a common problem and put it back on. Things seemed okay in the high gears, but I couldn't get it to hold the low gears. It seemed to hold gear in my workstand, but if I applied a tiny bit more tension to the cable with my hand, it just pulled out of gear from the lever.

Thinking there was more problems in my shifter than just the G-springs, I put a later model Chorus shifter on (still 8 speed) for comparison - I even replaced the G-springs prior to installing it. To my surprise, it seems to be doing the same thing - fine in the high gears, no love in the low gears. It's also really hard to select the second to largest sprocket, from either direction. If I hold the lever in the position then very gently release it, sometimes it stays, but most of the time it just clicks back to 6.

So now I'm thinking the problem is not with the shifters and maybe the derailleur. I'm using a Chorus RD that probably wasn't specifically designed for 8 speed - would that matter? (This one: http://velobase.com/ViewComponent.aspx? ... &AbsPos=27)

I need to check that there's nothing applying additional friction on the cable and that the cable ends are seated properly, but I'm pretty confident that's all in check. Also pretty confident the derailleur hanger is straight, because I bent it last year and had to get it straightened.

Does anyone have any ideas what the problem might be?

Should I be sourcing an 8 speed derailleur to compare against?

PS I asked the brains trust at fixed.org.au the same question, but thought I'd cast the net wider.

[Thoglette]

Should I be sourcing an 8 speed derailleur to compare against?

8 sp or early 9 sp are the only ones that will work with an eight speed shifter. The reference article on this is from Cycling UK (aka CTC)


The way to identify which is which is in the B=screw location. Early Campag has a B screw where Shimano puts them, later has them at the bottom of the derailleur
Old

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(Roadbike review forums, this post by CliffordK)

[P!N20]

^ Alright, so my RD has the b-screw in the 'old' location, so it should be sweet, right?

[Thoglette]

^ Alright, so my RD has the b-screw in the 'old' location, so it should be sweet, right?

Should be. But the link to velobase suggests "Syncro" and/or "Syncro II", which had at least half a dozen different pull ratios available. Not something I'm familiar with.

What I am familiar with is getting "mixed marriages" to work. In your case you seem to be not pulling enough cable with each click. Something to try would be a "hubub". There's two ways to do this - mild, just turning the existing washer and wild, adding a second one (see photo below). If you can whip the chain off it's easier to see what's going on than with a chain.



Wild. From the CTC link below.

[Thoglette]

Ah, I think I thought your derailleur is not moving far enough - which means I've got that back to front - you need to use Sheldon's dura ace alternate routingset up to move more for the same cable pull. HUbub moves less.

[P!N20]

^ Thanks. I'm going to throw on a Chorus 8 speed RD and see if all my problems magically disappear.

[P!N20]

^ They did! But it wasn't quite that simple.

We attached a cable to a few different Campy levers to see if they would pull out of gear. Surprisingly, they all did, but mine seemed to take less effort to pull out.

So we swapped out the rear derailleur for a known 8 speed version and like magic, the chain danced up and down the cassette with each click of the lever. A chorus of angels sang.

The derailleur I was trying to use (http://velobase.com/ViewComponent.aspx? ... &AbsPos=27) has two parallelogram settings - A: drop and B: slant. It was set on A, so we thought if we changed it to the B setting we would get the same results as the 8 speed derailleur...er, no. While it was better than before, it still jumped sprockets and generally misbehaved.

So I don't know why, but the pre-8 speed derailleur that was designed for the Syncro II shifting system doesn't work with the 8 speed Ergo system. Probably sounds obvious now, but there was nothing that indicated that it wouldn't work. So now I'm going to put my 1st gen lever back on and fingers crossed it will all sing harmoniously.

Big thanks to WestCoast Pete for supplying tools, labour, counselling and spiritual guidance.

I'm also now looking for a Campy 8 speed derailleur if anyone has one lying around.