swc7916

How can you tell, by inspection, whether Campy levers have the the Escape mechanism or not? My local LBS says that the Escape levers have a small, rounded thumb lever (one mechanic said that the thumb levers are "upside-down") and that the non-Escape levers have a larger thumb lever that is concave on top. Is this strictly true? How about Campy's new Ultra-Shift levers? They seem to have two different Veloce levers; is one Escape and the other non-Escape?

HillRider

There should be a functional difference. AFAIK, "Escape" only applies to Centaur and below groups and only from 2007 and later.

For front shifting, the Escape levers only provide one "click" to go from the big to the middle (triple) or small (double) chainring, only two trim positions over the middle/ small ring and none over the large ring. They work very much like Shimano STI's always have. New Record and Chorus front levers retain the multi-click micro-shifting mechanism that Campy always had.

For rear shifting, Escape levers upshift only one cog at a time and you cannot make multiple upshifts with one sweep of the mouse-ear. You can make multiple downshifts with a sweep of the main lever as always. Again, Record and Chorus retain the multiple upshift capacity.

well biked 

At least regarding Centaur, the 2009 group uses the older system. Apparently this was changed back from the 2007 and 2008 models that used Escape. My 2009 Centaur group definitely has front microshifting and the ability to sweep the whole cassette in the rear-

swc7916

I wasn't asking how the levers operate; I already know all that stuff and I don't like how the Escape mechanism works. What I was asking is how to tell the difference by inspection only - If someone handed you a Campagnolo Veloce or Mirage lever, could you tell whether or not they had the Escape mechanism merely by looking at them?

HillRider

That is good news. It seems Campy has realized they had a better system and have gone back to it.

Edit: I just checked the Campy web site and, sure enough, they say both Centaur and Veloce Ergos have micro shifting and multiple upshifting. Great!

I couldn't do it from their shape but if they had "QS" printed on them I would be pretty sure they were Escape brifters. The Escape "improvement" was introduced at the same time as the QS change. This applies to pre-2009 stuff as noted above. Also, Campy no longer lists Mirage on their US web site.

cuda2k

I believe your description of the thumb lever differences is correct. I have a set of Escape Centuars which have a different lever feel than the Chorus levers from the same year.

Shimagnolo

I went through the same hassle last spring when I was collecting parts to build a new bike. I finally found New-Old-Stock 2006 Centaur levers. From what I learned wrt Centaur:
- Brake levers are aluminum -> non-Escape
- Brake levers are carbon -> Escape

well biked 

At least one exception to that is that 2009 Centaur is not Escape, and the '09 Centaur levers are availabe in carbon or aluminum-

Shimagnolo

It is my understanding that Escape is gone for 2009.

well biked 

Right.

HillRider

Right. If you read the postings above, for 2009 Campy apparently realized the error of it's ways and went back to the previous pre-Escape shifter mechanisms. I, for one, consider this progress.

well biked 

I'm the one who pointed this out in the postings above.

HillRider

Credit duly given.

swc7916

According to Campagnolo's website, Veloce levers are available in both Escape and non-Escape. It appears that the new shaped levers are non-Escape.

himespau 

Sorry to resurrect an insanely old thread, but did anyone ever tell how to know by looks whether the low end stuff is escape or not? I'm trying to put together a 10S groupset with aluminum levers (most of the other pieces are centaur, but I'd take anything aluminum that matches and isn't priced too dear) and would like to be able to look at a listing on eBay and know that I don't have escape (or the newer powershift that isn't as bad but also loses as big of shifts) without having to ask a seller (since I've had issues with that in the past).

bluehills3149

Although I'd like others to chime in to back me up, I believe the downshift lever is the key.
This is Ultrashift, as found on Chorus and above but depending on the year was sometimes on Veloce and Centaur and even Mirage. Note the downshift lever is at 90deg to body.


If the lever points down, it is escape.

himespau 

Huh, that's a good trick, thanks. Do you know how the powershift (not quite escape, but also not quite ultrashift) fits in? Based on my memory, those are about 90 degrees as well.

Drew Eckhardt 

The Escape mechanism began with Xenon in 2005.

It ended with the Veloce/Centaur move to Ultrashift in 2009.

Starting in 2011, Athena and below used PowerShift which is the sequel to escape sharing the new UltraShift hood shape.

himespau 

OK, so if I don't want powershift, I want the old hood shape? I think I see someone above saying that escape (and the 2 years of return to "regular" shifting before powershift) were carbon only (the return to ultrashift for centaur had aluminum options). So, athena and centaur with aluminum levers and the old hood design should be ultrashift (especially if the downshift button is 90 degrees). Those are some great clues, thanks. I think I have a line on some centaurs that fit those rules (gunmetal rather than regular aluminum, but that's close enough). So often I contact a seller and they're either wrong or "I don't know anything about bikes". Thanks all.

Darth Lefty 

My current roadie has Powershift Veloce 10-speed levers from three or four years ago. The release buttons are symmetrical and droopy looking much like the Centaur shown above. They were sold as double but the front has enough pull for a triple. It six positions - three clicks of pull up to the middle and two more to the top. But the release is only two clicks down. I have it set up so that the first three clicks go to the top ring of the double, and the top two clicks are locked out by the FD limit screw.

I like them fine, fwiw. They are running Shimano RX100 derailleurs on a 14-speed, ha.

himespau 

Yeah, I have the carbon powershift centaur now (I was going to buy in 2010, but didn't have the frame ready to go, so I waited until 2011 and missed out on the ultrashift). It's mainly an aesthetic thing (the carbon levers don't look as fitting as aluminum on my 80's road bike, which needs recabling, new tape, and new headset bearings anyway - I also have another 80's frame I want to build up in the coming months once I get around to building some new wheels for both), but I figured if I was going to look loosely for shifters with alloy levers, I'd try to get the most functional ones that I can. Plus, the hood shape of the v2 ergos looks more fitting than the more modern shape (though the modern shape is comfortable). I tend to prefer triples so I'm stuck with nothing newer than 10 speed - plus, I already have all the other parts to stay at 10. Powershift works fine, but cable routing looks slightly easier with the older design - plus, it's rebuildable - if you can find the parts.

And honestly, the other frame I'm going to build up is a sports tourer that I'm going to set up to commute with (and dream about touring on), so it's going to have a shiftmate letting me run a wider range 10s shimano cassette - so it's definitely not going to be perfect or authentic looking in the end.

Openroad2015

so surprised no one gave a good answer. Escape and later Power-shift mechanism are similar. The thumb button can only click once at a time. By visual, the opening below the thumb button has a small opening for escape and Power-shift. On the hood, it is also a small opening/hole below the thumb button, while non-escape and Ultra-shift all have a long linear opening on the hood to accommodate the multiple shifts. You can see the index gear block through the opening on the hood.