Shimergo - latest news

[mattsccm]

Now a triple with a close ratio block is great.

[Ray]

Now a triple with a close ratio block is great.

Some time during the 1980s I graduated from pinning a number on my shorts to carrying a brevet card in my back pocket and proceeded to wear out my close-ratio blocks (13-18, 14-19) paired with a 26-36-46. Then came Shimergo, and I've never looked back. More rear sprockets now, and with more teeth, but still enjoying a wide choice of closely-spaced gears.

A couple of years ago I bought a carbon plaything with a 'compact' double. It does respond well on a nice summer's day, but the big gear jumps are horrible (partly, I suppose, due to my aging legs!), so I won't make that mistake again.

[jackt]

Apologies for the thread resurrection. I read with interest CJ's discoveries on Campag 10 ergo shifters compatibility with GRX-400 rear mech and implemented on my audax bike. After about 9 months and 3000km the shifter cable had split inside the shifter body and was down to the last strands - made for a nervous end to a long audax last weekend. I expect longer service life from a gear cable.

Was I just unlucky with the cable, or is there perhaps an issue with the force required to move the GRX rear mech being different from a Campag rear mech, and this somehow contributing? Or could there be some other cause?

Considering my options now, whether to try again, or switch to Tiagra 4700 STIs which I believe are compatible with GRX-400.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

[iandusud]

I can't comment on Campag Ergos and cable wear. However I can say with authority that not all cables are equal. Brifters are hard on gear cables and I have found that good quality coated cable not only give better shifting but last MUCH longer. The other thing I can say is that the Tiagra 4700 series shifters and gears are the best Shimano STIs that I've used, i.e. better than 10 speed 105 and Ultegra which I have on other bikes.

[mattheus]

Was I just unlucky with the cable, or is there perhaps an issue with the force required to move the GRX rear mech being different from a Campag rear mech, and this somehow contributing? Or could there be some other cause?

I dont know - but I would think if the force was sufficiently different to stress your cable, you would notice it as a user, in your hand.
(until someone knowledgeable comes along, I'm suspecting a rogue cable, or - whispers - fitting error?!? )

[jackt]

Was I just unlucky with the cable, or is there perhaps an issue with the force required to move the GRX rear mech being different from a Campag rear mech, and this somehow contributing? Or could there be some other cause?

I dont know - but I would think if the force was sufficiently different to stress your cable, you would notice it as a user, in your hand.
(until someone knowledgeable comes along, I'm suspecting a rogue cable, or - whispers - fitting error?!? )

Could well be a fitting error (mine). Is there a correct procedure to follow?

I do notice that the shifting isn't as light as it is on other bikes I've ridden. And initially I had a Shimano front mech, and couldn't get it to work smoothly and accurately. Switching to a Campag front mech solved the problem instantly.

[jackt]

I can't comment on Campag Ergos and cable wear. However I can say with authority that not all cables are equal. Brifters are hard on gear cables and I have found that good quality coated cable not only give better shifting but last MUCH longer. The other thing I can say is that the Tiagra 4700 series shifters and gears are the best Shimano STIs that I've used, i.e. better than 10 speed 105 and Ultegra which I have on other bikes.

Slight hesitation about swapping to 4700 is that they may not have the correct brake pull for the brake calipers (the old Super SLR / NSSLR issue - viewtopic.php?t=141578 ) though the brake blocks are near the bottom of the slots so maybe not a problem.

[iandusud]

I can't comment on Campag Ergos and cable wear. However I can say with authority that not all cables are equal. Brifters are hard on gear cables and I have found that good quality coated cable not only give better shifting but last MUCH longer. The other thing I can say is that the Tiagra 4700 series shifters and gears are the best Shimano STIs that I've used, i.e. better than 10 speed 105 and Ultegra which I have on other bikes.

Slight hesitation about swapping to 4700 is that they may not have the correct brake pull for the brake calipers (the old Super SLR / NSSLR issue - viewtopic.php?t=141578 ) though the brake blocks are near the bottom of the slots so maybe not a problem.

What brakes are you using?

[jackt]

I can't comment on Campag Ergos and cable wear. However I can say with authority that not all cables are equal. Brifters are hard on gear cables and I have found that good quality coated cable not only give better shifting but last MUCH longer. The other thing I can say is that the Tiagra 4700 series shifters and gears are the best Shimano STIs that I've used, i.e. better than 10 speed 105 and Ultegra which I have on other bikes.

Slight hesitation about swapping to 4700 is that they may not have the correct brake pull for the brake calipers (the old Super SLR / NSSLR issue - viewtopic.php?t=141578 ) though the brake blocks are near the bottom of the slots so maybe not a problem.

What brakes are you using?

Tektro R737

[Mick F]

Campag cables are lubricated for life.
I changed mine as I wanted black outers, but the white outers were ok. New cables come "complete".

14,000miles on the first rear inner in the original white outers for instance. Zero maintenance.

[CJ]

Apologies for the thread resurrection. I read with interest CJ's discoveries on Campag 10 ergo shifters compatibility with GRX-400 rear mech and implemented on my audax bike. After about 9 months and 3000km the shifter cable had split inside the shifter body and was down to the last strands - made for a nervous end to a long audax last weekend. I expect longer service life from a gear cable.

Was I just unlucky with the cable, or is there perhaps an issue with the force required to move the GRX rear mech being different from a Campag rear mech, and this somehow contributing? Or could there be some other cause?

Considering my options now, whether to try again, or switch to Tiagra 4700 STIs which I believe are compatible with GRX-400.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

I find that cables do tend to fatigue in Ergopower 'brifters' more rapidly than in STIs. But I've never used anything other than Shimano mechs with either - although I am careful to use only Campag cable with Ergos. (It's slightly thinner, with a smaller nipple, so if you use a Shimano cable by mistake it can get stuck!) So if Campag mechs have weaker return springs I wouldn't know about that and wouldn't want to: I want mechs that can tolerate a bit of cable friction, because this is an imperfect world where some friction is inevitable. FWIW I think the Ergopowers must wrap and un-wrap the gear cable around a tighter radius curve when one shifts, than is the case within an STI brifter. And I think that rather-too-much friction sometimes is a more likely cause of my cable failures than too-strong Shimano springs.

I'm happy to replace a gear cable every few years now I know the signs to look out for (an increase in friction AND a cable that needs adjusting with increasing frequency always in the tightening direction), in exchange for the benefits of Shimergo:

• Lower gears rear and front
• Wider range of gears too
• The facility to shift down lots of gears or up three with one big press
• A brake lever that doesn't try to shift if you pull it a bit sideways

[tatanab]

I find that cables do tend to fatigue in Ergopower 'brifters' more rapidly than in STIs.

I think that is true of more modern designs of Ergopower. I have original pointed top and next generation with the rounded snub top with no problems at all. In the newer designs with the sloping sideways top, which I do not use any more, I have certainly frayed cables. This is when used with Campag mechs. Only in the last few years have I modified two machines to have 8 speed Shimergo using 10 speed Ergopower (rounded snub top) with Shimano XT rear mech, a combination that works very well, but I've not been using that set up long enough to notice any effect from Shimano spring in the rear mech.

[rjb]

I've been running an 8 speed shimergo system using xenon 10 speed shifters for over 12 years now. Shimano 105 rear mech (from 1989) and a Campag xenon front. Not had an issue. Carried me from le to jog.
I was aware of the stuck nipple issue so filed down the head of some universal cables and made sure they slipped in and out easily before committing. The levers fit my small hands much better than Shimano offerings.

[jackt]

Thanks all for the replies, esp CJ, very informative.

I’ve ordered some Campagnolo made cables (the previous were Lifeline) and will see what happens.

[NickJP]

I find that cables do tend to fatigue in Ergopower 'brifters' more rapidly than in STIs.

I think that is true of more modern designs of Ergopower. I have original pointed top and next generation with the rounded snub top with no problems at all.

After about a year of using a Shimergo setup of Chorus 11-speed shifter with Deore XT 9-speed rear derailleur and cassette (all components new when installed, including the Campag cables that came installed in the shifter), I noticed that the rear shifting was going out of whack. When I extracted the gear cable from the RH shifter, this is what I found:

Cables in the older washing line STI shifters seem to last rather better, as they're not subject to such a small diameter bend. I can't recall having any cable problems with the shift cables on a Dura-Ace 7700 groupset in the six or so years I used it (I think I replaced the cables once over that time), and I still have a pair of Shimano R700 shifters in use that have also had zero cable problems.

Alligator make 31-strand gear and brake cable inners that are less subject to problems caused by bending than normal 19-strand inners - I use them these days: https://www.alligatorcables.com/alligat ... cable.html.