Veloce ergo lever intermittent problem - what am I missing?

[AndyK]

The other week the lever return spring went 'sproing' on my Campagnolo Veloce 9-speed Ergopower lever (vintage 2007 or thereabouts, I think - Ultrashift anyway). So I ordered a new spring, dismantled the whole lever, cleaned it and put everything back together with the aid of the exploded parts diagram and the official Campagnolo how-to video. And much to my relief, it all worked. I was a bit worried that the mechanism seemed to flex a bit more than seemed right, so I took it apart again, double checked I had all the right washers in the right places and that nothing looked excessively worn or broken, reassembled it, made sure the main bolt was done up tightly, and it still worked.

Except.

Every now and then, the 'up' lever won't catch - it just swings easily without clicking or pulling the cable. After a few seconds of frantic wiggling it will catch again and start working. This only seems to happen when I've taken it all the way down to the bottom (i.e. shoved the thumb lever all the way) and want to start changing up again. If I stop the downshift one click before the bottom

So, has anyone seen this before? And if so, can you suggest what I should be looking for when I bite the bullet and disassemble it again? Informed suggestions gratefully received.

Other possibly-relevant facts:

• It can happen regardless of whether the cable is under tension or not.
• No problems with changing down (thumb lever).
• I'm fairly sure it never happens on any ratchet position other than the very bottom one. I've done whole rides being careful not to change all the way down and it's been fine.
• I think it started happening on the same ride that the return spring broke (i.e. before I first disassembled it). At the time I assumed it was something to do with the lever not flipping back into position properly because of the broken spring.

Thanks for any pointers.

[fausto99]

Dismantle again and check the teeth on the upshift ratchet?

[Polisman]

To be honest, I've had this problem myself. It's mostly the plastics worn out, which is simply inevitable over time. Last time this happened to me, I just stuck the good lever on ebay, took the 20 quid and bought myself a bang up to date pair in perfect, low use condition. Repairing old worn levers is a labour of love too far for me

[Brucey]

there are no stupid fast-wearing plastic parts involved in an ultrashift shifter, which is why you should persevere with the repair.

With reference to this diagram



if there is insufficent preload in spring #5 and/or the secondary (longitudinal axis) pivot in the paddle assembly (#8) is binding, the the downshift ratchet (#10) won't engage. The small spring shown as part of #8 serves a dual function; it springs the paddle front to rear but it also controls the movement of the paddle sideways around the secondary pivot, which is essential for the downshift ratchet to be engaged correctly.

If you look from underneath at the paddle pivots, you should see a subtle difference in the movement near the pivot depending on whether the downshift ratchet engages or not.

cheers

[AndyK]

Thanks for the encouragement, Brucey. You have strengthened my resolve.

Spring #5 in your diagram is the one that had to be replaced. I guess I should start by looking at whether I installed that with the right tension, though I didn't think there was any way to alter it. The paddle assembly seems to move freely enough, but again it's a clue worth following up.

I've just read elsewhere that there is a right way and a wrong way round for the ratchet at #10, which I didn't realise when assembling it, so I can check whether I got that wrong. Incidentally, this being the left-hand lever, isn't that the upshift ratchet? It feels like it ought to be as it's nearest the upshift lever.

By the way I've just rechecked the diagram I got from Campag and this must be a 2005 model, as that was the last year they did 9-speed Veloce. (I got it in a sale in 2009.)

I'm loath to give up on it as everything else is working OK and has at least another winter in it, and I'd rather try and repair my own lever than buy someone else's second-hand one - at least I know where mine's been. I hate throwing things away if it's feasible to fix them.

[Brucey]

yes that is the upshift ratchet if that is the left hand lever. Yes you can get this ratchet the wrong way round, but I don't think that is the problem.

However it is also worth noting there are a few other things that might easily go awry with the left shifter especially.

1) that the upshift ratchet might be fitted facing in the right direction, but 180 degrees out; there is a blank section on this wheel and you may have run into this at the wrong end of the cable travel

2) that there may not be enough preload in spring #19 (with a bare shifter not connected to the FD, the spring is usually strong enough that the mechanism won't sit in the furthest downshifted position).

3) that there may be a fault with the thumb button.

On point 1) when you are on the big ring you normally run into the blank section of the upshift ratchet, so that it can be seen in the mechanism, e.g. by slightly lifting the RH side of the LH hood.

On point 3) if the thumb button #3 doesn't return fully then it can simply block the movement of the main ratchet. On the left shifter the thumb button tends to seize up (because you make far fewer shifts using this shifter) and sweat/weather still gets into it. This means that the pivot in #3 tends to go draggy and cause the exact fault you describe.

On reflection point 3 would be the first thing I would check for, except it doesn't tally exactly with your description of 'flapping uselessly' ; it is more like the paddle movement is blocked.

cheers

[Gattonero]

The other week the lever return spring went 'sproing' on my Campagnolo Veloce 9-speed Ergopower lever (vintage 2007 or thereabouts, I think - Ultrashift anyway). So I ordered a new spring, dismantled the whole lever, cleaned it and put everything back together with the aid of the exploded parts diagram and the official Campagnolo how-to video. And much to my relief, it all worked. I was a bit worried that the mechanism seemed to flex a bit more than seemed right, so I took it apart again, double checked I had all the right washers in the right places and that nothing looked excessively worn or broken, reassembled it, made sure the main bolt was done up tightly, and it still worked.

Except.

Every now and then, the 'up' lever won't catch - it just swings easily without clicking or pulling the cable. After a few seconds of frantic wiggling it will catch again and start working. This only seems to happen when I've taken it all the way down to the bottom (i.e. shoved the thumb lever all the way) and want to start changing up again. If I stop the downshift one click before the bottom

So, has anyone seen this before? And if so, can you suggest what I should be looking for when I bite the bullet and disassemble it again? Informed suggestions gratefully received.

Other possibly-relevant facts:

• It can happen regardless of whether the cable is under tension or not.
• No problems with changing down (thumb lever).
• I'm fairly sure it never happens on any ratchet position other than the very bottom one. I've done whole rides being careful not to change all the way down and it's been fine.
• I think it started happening on the same ride that the return spring broke (i.e. before I first disassembled it). At the time I assumed it was something to do with the lever not flipping back into position properly because of the broken spring.

Thanks for any pointers.

I've seen many times the spring n.5 failing on a regular basis, this is due to several factors.
Best to check that you don't have excessive wear in the main pivot (part n.7) and that all the thin washers are in the right place, also that you have a positive action of the index springs (n.4) and back spring (n.19) because they are the ones that make the spring n.5 to "give" and get the front ratchet ring (n.10) to be engaged by the "tooth" on the shift lever (n.8 ).
Sometimes you can "trick" the thing by carefully bending the tip of the spring n.5, so to give it a higher preload rate, but it's not necessary when things are in correct working order.

[Mick F]

Number 8

New paddle perhaps.

[AndyK]

Well, I haven't got round to disassembling it yet - I've just been avoiding shifting right to the bottom while riding so that the problem doesn't occur, apart from the occasional glitch when I forgot and jabbed the thumb lever all the way down.

But...

I was thinking about what Brucey said about the pivot (#8) binding, so yesterday on a hunch I peeled back the hood, stuck the long straw in the nozzle of my can of TF2 spray, and gave the top of the paddle assembly a couple of squirts. (Yes, I know, spray lube on an ergo lever, call me a rebel.) Then I waggled the lever a bit and left it overnight.

Today I went for a ride and the problem had gone away completely.

Of course it may be a temporary fix, but until it goes wrong again I'll leave it alone on the "ain't broke, don't fix" principle. And if I do have to take it apart again, at least I know what to look out for. Thanks again to those who contributed practical suggestions.