New centaur ergos - no micro clicks on downshift?
 

I'm putting a new bike together, and have just set up the Centaur Ergos. To my horror, the front mech shifts down in huge jumps. I have been using Ergos for years and always loved the ability to trim the front mech with micro clicks. The micro clicks are still there on the upshift, but on the down shift, the mech moves a little when the button is pressed, then a whole lot more when the button is released.

I am hoping that someone will tell me that this behaviour indicates that they are broken, so I can return them for replacement. Failing that, is there a campag ergo that works the same as my lovely 1998 9 speed Chorus levers, with micro-clicks in both directions, and that will work with a 10 speed triple set-up?

From reading elsewhere in this forum (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ifter-question, but this thread is a couple of years old) I can see that Campag have experimented with ditching the micro clicks, but I thought they had reverted to micro clicks - have I been sold an old non-micro-click LH ergo? On the box, they are described as "Power-shift Ergopower control levers"

Sounds like it.

My condolences. Sounds like you have an "Escapement" version of the Centaur left-side Ergo made during the 2007-2008 period. These behave exactly as you describe with the shift from the large to the small ring being one big jump, just like Shimano has always done. Chorus and Record ergos from the same period retained the micro-clicks but Centaur and below used the "new improved" shifting. Campy realized this was a mistake and went back to their former clicks for (IIRC) 2009.

So, any pre-2007 or post-2009 Ergo should work or go upscale to Chorus or Record from the same period.

The new and "improved" 2011 Powershift mechanism works the same way for Veloce (10), Centaur (10), and Athena (11).

Welcome to Powershift.

For less money:

Pillage your lovely 1998 levers and replace the right rear ratchet with part # EC-RE061 or EC-RE161 (Record level low friction) and front ratchet with part # EC-RE062. Replace the G-springs while you're in there (EC-RE209) and don't be surprised to find a broken carrier (EC-RE111).

I neglected to swap the front ratchet parts when upgrading from 8 to 9 speeds and found that I couldn't shift 3 cogs bigger into the last cog until I added a bend to the lever; so I wouldn't skip that part.

For more money:

Purchase NOS 2010 Centaur Ultrashift levers with the new hood shape. Same parts as Chorus/Record/Super Record except for the brake blade, 10 speed index plate, and Veloce/Centaur/Chorus/Record rear ratchet which increases lever weight 7g above Super Record.

I bought a pair for about $200 from Shiny Bikes (note that you don't pay VAT as an American so the prices are lower than shown on the website when you don't log-in) because I didn't want to be stuck with crippled 2011 levers after deciding a 10 speed upgrade was imminent given a worn out 2000 and older ratio derailleur, the small part discontinuation for first generation ergo levers, and my cassette being on its last chain.

It's 2010 only since there was a running change in the middle of 2009 where they made the clicks stiffer and added ball bearings to the lower level shifters but when buying a 2009 shifter you can't guarantee you'll get it. Getting the old shifter and fixing it or a new Chorus lever and converting to 10 speeds isn't practical because Campagnolo discontinued Ultrashift lever small part sales in the middle of 2009 and a replacement right mechanism runs $90-$100.

Veloce and Centaur lost the Escape mechanism and moved to Ultrashift in 2009 which retains the classic behavior.

Then in 2011 Campagnolo introduced the crippled Powershift lever with the new hood shape for Athena and below.

The rear mechanism pull is the same as on the 11 speed levers so this isn't officially compatible with the rear triple derailleur that shares the 10-speed ratio used since 2000. Unofficially the increased actuation ratio results in an overshift and people have found that 11 speed derailleurs work fine with (old) 10 speed levers although with 11 speed shifters an old 10 speed derailleur can have problems reaching the big cog.

Have now ordered Centaur Ultra-shift levers
 

Thank you so much for the valuable information. I have now tracked down and ordered a pair of Centaur Ultra-shift levers (which seem to be very tricky to find). My 1998 Chorus levers are still doing a good job on a bike of that vintage, so I didn't want to replace their innards for 10-speed usage, but thanks again for the detailed info on how to do that.

I think Campagnolo are making a big mistake in moving away from micro-click front changing. I have been a Campagnolo fan for decades, but those new Centaur Power-shift levers are not at all to my liking - and not just because of the lack of micro-clicks. I just hope that the Centaur Ultra-shift levers will feel more like my 1998 Chorus ones.

Damn shame. Apparently they didn't learn from the 2007-2008 mistake or they are trying to get everyone to pay for the higher level groups.

U got powershift instead of the new old (2009 maybe) ultrashift. U still can get ultrashift centaur with the new shape tho.

No campy is not making a big mistake, if you are not racing why do you want micro adjust? Besides, this will make them sell more of the good stuff :p Good for them, bad for us, either way, the way to go is to get centaur ultrashift if you want to drop like 5 cogs in one click and have micro adjustment. The ultrashift model costs more just in case.

Good luck

So the front derailleur runs quietly over all three (yes three) chainrings using a fairly good selection of rear cogs. Maybe that's not important to you.

Well if you cross the chain badly obviously the 3 steps lever wont work. I have used both and I have a centaur ultrashift too and even using scape i never had problem just setting the FD in the right place because I don't suffer of a terrible disease (or bad custom) called "i like to ride with the chain super crossed".

Well the answer was for the op tho...

cheers :P

I never cross chain or come anywhere near it but on a 10-speed cassette, setting my front Ergo on the outermost click lets me use the top 4 cogs silently. Then one click in clears the next 4 and after that it down to the middle ring and repeat.

My point was that the micro-clicks are more versatile and less adjustment sensitive then the single big step Shimano (and Campy Powershift and Escapement) provide and let you mix-and-match cranks and front derailleurs with fewer limitations. I have and ride enough Shimano STI equipped bikes to appreciate the difference.

I'd be tempted to see if it's possible to modify the indexing bit with a dremel.