Help replacing shifting brake lever please.
 

Hello Guys,

Need help with my shifting brake lever on my ’94 Specialized Allez. The shift lever for the rear derailleur broke off. I took it into a local bike shop and they said they can’t get the piece and it’s really not worth fixing due to the age of the bike. I don’t necessarily disagree with that statement, but I refuse to let a perfectly good bike go to waste over a dang plastic piece.

He said even if I did find the piece it may not be compatible. Any specifics I should be looking for when searching for this piece to ensure its compatible? Concerns?

According to bikepedia it’s a Campagnolo Veloce Ergo.

Looks like this…
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Campagnolo-R...item460fc4ee81

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=359724

Does it have to be that shifter or will any 8 speed shifter work?

Really appreciate the time!

Hold it up to the Monitor , Ill reach through . :fred:

There is a lot of interchangeability between the Campy Ergo levers of the same design family. It looks like you have the early 8-speed versions. There are many used ones that come avaiable on EBay as well as their parts sometimes. Also you'll sometimes find a "good for parts only" lever. Some shops will have these older levers in their used bins too.

But there was a version of the Campy lever that used a different shift lever action then what's shown in your link (and from what i referenced). Make sure you don't have this different version. If you don't then reapirs should be only an issue of getting an older lever/part and the labor to install. If you have the version (that has the up and down shift action linked together on one lever piece, both ends of the lever move with either shift direction) then your search will likely be less sucessful. If this is the case consider switching to the more independent shift action levers design.

if you posted a photo of the broken part some of us (well, maybe me) might have a used replacement in out stash. Andy.

Great feedback, really appreciate it. Unfortunately, I think I have the hard to find version. Below are the pics. Pic 1 is the lever that broke off, its from the right shifter. The 2nd pic is a front view of the working left shifter.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=359790http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=359791

Yes, that is the less common (and sold as cheaper) version. I never took one of these apart so can't speak to it's internal complexity. But i doubt it's much worse then the more common twin levers versions. I have seen this type on Ebay at least once. When i viewed it there was no mention of the version/shift lever action. Only that it was a Campy unit. I wondered to myself if a buyer would know the difference... Again, consider replacing both sides if you don't find the original. Andy.

+1 on the ebay search for parts, though it sounds like your shop would be less than enthused to service it for you. Also, having serviced a few of those lower end brake/shift levers, I can't really recommend a diy approach without some hands-on guidance.

All that being said, this is a poor reason to replace a bike if that was what the shop was indeed suggesting(?) I would question both the integrity and intention of a mechanic that advised this. Finding replacement brake/shift levers should be easy to find for well under $100 of that era.

Actually the replacement cost, from Ebay, is typically around $100-150. I have quite a number of these vintages (note the correct use of "vintage":)) of Ergo levers. I fell for them back in the late 1990s and like to have all my bikes as similar as possible. Each gets rebuilt and converted to a 9 speed by changing out the index wheel. So i now have a glut of old 8 speed index wheels available for any one who needs one. Andy.

Might be a good time to think about upgrading to 10-speed. You'll need a new rear derailleur, though, since (IIRC) the Campag 8-speed had a different cable pull ratio than the more modern stuff.

Solid feedback guys, really appreciate it! Gonna keep an eye out for the missing piece and see if I can rectify this old steed.