gamby

I've been setting up some bikes at work--one model having a Campy Veloce gruppo on it. The rear derailleurs are really nice, but the fronts are a nightmare.

Here's my issue:

It's on a triple setup. When in the granny gear with the limit screw backed all the way off (to the point where the cage hits the frame) the chain is still very hesitant to drop down from the middle ring. When I angle the cage in (clockwise looking down on it) a bit, the chain will come down. At that point, it is impossible to get it to shift up to the middle without clicking twice on the lever (unnacceptable IMHO).

There is no micro/barrel adjuster on the front (major corner to cut IMHO), but regardless, when there is too much tension on the cable, the shifter goes "limp" and won't move the derailleur at all. I've had this happen on 3 of the same model bike w/ the same gruppo.

I can set up a Shimano front derailleur in literally 2 minutes. I stood over this one today for over a 1/2 hour and it still doesn't work.

Should I begin to develop distain for Campy Veloce??? As it is, I think I'll be recommending to my customers that they upgrade this derailleur.

Any "outside of the box" tricks/opintions???

Thanks...

Falkon 

Campy's front shifting index is just a bunch of clicks, and not 3 indexes like Shimano. IIRC so don't quote me on that.

cs1

Correct, Campy's front derailleur is almost like SunTour's old friction shifting. They have micro serrations instead of 3 separate clicks. This allows for trim. You should be able to adjust the cable on the down tube cable stops. One of the reasons people that switch from Shimano to Campy is its ability to trim the front derailleur.
If all else fails, call Campy USA directly. They usually are more than happy to help their dealers in situations like this. I take it that your shop is not an official Campy Certified Shop. Campy awards this to shops that they certify as being extremely knowledgeable in all things Campy.


Tim

HillRider

As noted, Campy front shifting is not so much "indexed" as it is "ratcheted". It has the advantage of allowing fine trim settings in each chainring and being very tolerant of any crank and front derailleur combination. My Campy triple setup requires 3-4 clicks to shift from the big ring to the middle and three more to the granny and the same numbers going the other way so that is normal.

As to reluctant downshifts, is your fd set low enough to just clear the big ring by 1-2 mm? Is your bottom bracket spindle the correct length? If the crank sits too close to the frame, there won't be enough derailleur throw to reach the granny no matter what the cable setting. One test is to see if it will shift to the granny with the cable disconnected and if you move the derailleur cage by hand.

BTW, no one, Shimano included, fits a cable adjustment barrel to their front derailleur. Fd cable adjustments are done with a barrel adjuster on the downtube or head tube.

gamby

It's an OE spec FD. I was thinking maybe they spec'ed the wrong width BB, since the problem is identical with every single bike.

There are no barrell adjusters ANYWHERE on this bike for the FD. Not on the cable, not on the downtube. Again, more headaches.

I understand the ratcheting. My concern is that it requires more than one "sweep" of the shift lever to get the chain to got to the middle ring. If it's acceptable to go "pump, pump" in order to get the chain up to the middle ring, the I guess that's OK. I've just never seen something like that.

I've been messing w/ cage height and angle w/ no success yet.

We aren't an authorized Campy dealer, but we've been to their product training, so the rep might be receptive to my questions. I also might have to swallow my pride and bring my issue to the (rather aloof) roadie at another store.

Here's the bike(s) it's happening on, FWIW.

https://www.decathloncycle.com/ (the go to Road > ROAD COMPETETION BIKE > 9.1

redtires

Wow, well I am perplexed. I have set up hundreds of campy veloce bikes, triples and doubles alike, and have never had a problem with this. I can completely understand that your wanting to pull your hair out on this one. I wouldn't use campy if I had to go through two complete shift cycles just to move one chainring either. The only thing that I can think of that has not been touched on yet is where you are actually attaching the cable, i.e which side of the bolt is the cable on, this can dramatically affect how a derailleur can shift. If everything else is good, then I would certainly get a campy rep in there. By the way, reps love to help! I have made valuable relationships in the bike industry through reps, so don't be afraid to chat it up in the shop with these guys!!!

HillRider

Possibly they used a double bb instead of a triple.

Decathalon's web site shows the bike with inline cable adjusters. Maybe they forgot to install them on yours.

Are you certain you hit the release lever several times to be sure the front Ergo shifter into the lowest possible click before you attached the cable?

fmw

You'll get the hang of the FD shifting pretty quickly. The FD control lever has just as many clicks as the RD one. Just press hard to go from one ring to another. It will actually be 2 to 4 clicks per shift depending on where it is when you start. The advantage, of course is that you can adjust the position of the FD while in use so that you never get chain rub. You can use any rear cog with any chain ring with Campy. Yes, cross chaining causes additional wear with Campy just like it does with Shimano. But you can do it if you like. You will grow to like the flexibility in the system. Almost everyone does.