Bicycle Mechanics - How does a Campagnolo front Derailure operate?

I'm riding my first Campy group. I've only had 105 prior to this. I'm a little confused as to the operation of the front derailuer. It's 11 speed Athena with Powershift. The manual mentions it should take no more than "3 Steps" to shift. What does this mean? I have to operate the shifter 3 times to move the chain? Seems very inefficient, which I know Campagnolo is anything but, so this is more likely operator error. However I'd love some clarification.

Campy front shifters have a very fine ratchet system. It will take multiple clicks to switch between the chainrings, but you can accomplish the shift with a firmer push of the lever (multiple clicks in one go). This allows for a significant amount of trimming ability of the front derailleur- much more than is available on any other indexed shifting system.

basicly works like a grip shift. it should shift after you hear/feel 3 clicks

Thumb lever shifts to small ring just fine. Coming the other way is a real battle. The chain wont move unless I'm almost on the small cog on the back

but the FD itself works just like most others , return spring pulls to low, cable pulls to high.

sounds like you are concerned more about the Ergo Brifter., not the FD..

Thumb lever shifts to small ring just fine. Coming the other way is a real battle. The chain wont move unless I'm almost on the small cog on the back

what crankset do you have? are you pushing finger lever all the way over in one sweep?

what crankset do you have? are you pushing finger lever all the way over in one sweep?

Thumb only clicks once. Its the lever that sweeps. Ergopower shifters that are Powershift. Compact crank set. All athena

You will get used to it..
just make sure the cable housing run doesn't bind anywhere.

and all the slack is out of the cable in the low gear,inside position..

Thumb only clicks once. Its the lever that sweeps. Ergopower shifters that are Powershift. Compact crank set. All athena

it almost sounds like your high limit screw is in too far. the thumb lever should move more than one click.

Im sorry. It does click more than once, it just does not sweep like the record stuff. I dont think this is a getting used to thing. The chain is having a very hard time getting on the large ring. Sometimes not at all until I start shifting the rear

i did an all athena group on a cross bike a few weeks ago. nothing really to not about the build process. i have found setting the limit screws first and adjusting the tension last works better for me. the power torque crank with the 14mm hex seems ok. not a big fan of the design though

how much space is there between the derailleur cage and the big chain ring when the chain is in the small chainring?

can you take pictures?

how much space is there between the derailleur cage and the big chain ring when the chain is in the small chainring?

can you take pictures?

Theres about a dimes thickness there. It's not shifting at all now. I find the manual rather confusing. Am I supposed to set the limit screws with the cable off? On a side note, does your user name imply a certain car? I have one to if thats the case:)

Theres about a dimes thickness there. It's not shifting at all now. I find the manual rather confusing. Am I supposed to set the limit screws with the cable off? On a side note, does your user name imply a certain car? I have one to if thats the case:)

dime thickness should be good. i generally set the limits with the cable attached (so it will stay in the big ring position) but then i will remove it to check the tension when the limit screws are dialed in. campagnolo front shifting is very good. we must be missing something. i still vote pictures.


the sign in name is in fact for a car that i no longer own. ive since moved on to something lighter, more balanced, and um, more german... i will send you a few pics via pm.

Got you PM. Very nice ride. Nice pics. As for the shifting, I seem to have it working. I reset limits, and adjusted tension via the little thumb adjusters by the handlebars. The three clicks seem to apply to the shifter behind the brake lever. It shifts up to the big ring on the 3rd click now or one full sweep. The manual mentioned three steps for shifting to the big ring but does not mention it for the thumb shifter going down to the small ring.

for athena the thumb only goes 1 click at a time. the higher level campy stuff can dump all the gears in 1 push.

for athena the thumb only goes 1 click at a time. the higher level campy stuff can dump all the gears in 1 push.

this thread is about front shifting, not rear.