KevinF

My rear shifting had gone to crap recently, and my LBS diagnosed the problem to being that my right brifter needs an overhaul. I can do the other stuff myself (i.e., re-cabling it), but is it easy for the shop to know that the brifter has been repaired successfully if they don't have a bike to hook it up to? How hard is it to overhaul these things? I searched around a bit last night; I found somebody's step-by-step guide, but it looked like parts could go flying if you aren't careful. Is it pretty easy? Is there an official manual available somewhere on how to do it?

Also, my brifter only has about 7,000 miles on it, which seems awfully early for it needing an overhaul already. How durable are these things? It's a 2004 Centaur 10-speed version. The Campy manual itself recommends some TLC every 12,000 miles or so, so I figured I wouldn't need to worry about pulling it apart for a long time yet.

HillRider

Branford Bikes used to overhaul Campy brifters for a fairly reasonable cost. I don't know if their present owners still offer this service but it's worth a call or e-mail. (www.branfordbike.com)

And, yes, 7000 miles seems rather soon unless you shift a great deal more than most. A friend of mine wore out a set of 105 brifters in 8000 miles while mine were still working at 30,000 miles but he seems to shift every 100 feet.

cs1

I've done barcons and early 8 speed versions. The barcons are a snap. The Ergo's are a little tougher. You probably just need G-Springs. Cost about $10 - $15 per brifter. The busings will last forever. It helps to have the little Campy manual with you while you're doing the rebuild. Good luck

Tim

Rev.Chuck

There are two usual failure points, the G-springs and the G-spring retainer. There are a few other issues but one of those two are almost always the problem. Anyone that knows what they are looking at can tell what is wrong and if it works right when they have finished workiing on it. 7k is decent for the G-springs, rebuilding the shifters, every now and then, is the price you pay when you get something that is rebuildable

Don777

Please check out the following two URLs from YouTube on the assembly and disassembly of the ergo shifters. They are super. I only wished the person who put these together would have put sound with them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSAnAmBXYSY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t0ttU_Jm0Y

Kindly --- Don

Brian Ratliff

The G-spring retainer has a habit of breaking. I had to replace mine once. I just followed the instructions on the Branford bike website, bought all the parts as if the G-spring retainer had broken (I hadn't taken it apart yet to see). When I took it apart, again, in accordance with their instructions (I got the printed instructions as well), sure enough, the retainer had broken. The symptoms were sloppy shifting, like you reported.

Anyway, I replaced the components, reassembled the brifter, and it worked again, better than new, since it has new parts and is broken in.

YMMV, but I wouldn't trust the local bike shop on this one. It's not hard, you have to be good with mechanical things, but it requires a bit of dedication I'd only trust myself to provide. If you aren't confident, you can send it to Branford and they can do it for you.