Campy Downtube Identification
 

Today I purchased these but have little info as to what they are and how to assemble them to a frame.

Hoping to get some info and instruction on assembly.

Most of all if its complete. Its a lot of parts compared to shimano DT shifters.

Here are the pics.

http://i.imgur.com/ax8hdk2.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/TGNzsDQ.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/wraYBvw.jpg

Those are Campagnolo "Syncro II" shift levers from the late 80's.
The rear derailleur shifter has an Index or friction setting that is controlled by that knurled ring that you pull out and turn to go from indexed shifting to regular friction.
You have to make sure that all the parts of that right hand lever is present for it to work properly. There are lots of pics and parts diagrams out there in the net to look at and check. Most critical part is the notched indexing ring that sits inside the right shift lever body. It provides the proper indexing detents on the lever as it operated. There are different rings to use with 6, 7 and 8 speed rear freewheels, all colored differently. You can find charts in the net that shows which ring to use with what freewheel.
These early Campagnolo indexed systems can be made to work decently with the proper combination of components, but they never really performed as well as their Japanese counterparts from that time.
There's really not that much different to mount these on the frame. Just make sure they are complete and they screw on to your frame's shifter bosses like any other lever set, using the D ring mounting/pivot bolts on the levers.
One thing I noticed though, you should not use any lubricant on these shifters (except for maybe just the indexing ring area, but not the friction bushings.) to make sure you get enough friction resistance to keep your derailleur settings while riding.

Unfortunately, the pictures indicate that not all the parts are there.

Shimano friction or indexing shifters? I suspect if your comparing these shimano index shifters the number of parts are similar. However the shimano units are “sealed” non repairable units. The CampI Synchro shifters are designed differently. You need a different indexing ring for different derailleurs and 6 or 7 Speed. For examp,e to use these with a C-Record derailleur and 6speed Suntour FW need say a green insert. If you want to run that RD with a 7spd shimano you might need a yellow insert.

Do a search for Synchro assembly instructions, there are a few diagrams posted.


I agree, there is no way of knowing if at least two parts I can think of are there.

Thank you all for the input. I did search for diagrams but wasn't sure what these were.

I didn't want to be going off Chorus diagrams by mistake when they're Synchro II

Its a bummer that the set is incomplete. Ill have to contact the seller to swap them for another bicycle component.

Campi used to share shifters across groups. During the “C-Record Era” they made regular DT shifters the much loved ‘retro friction’ shifters and the Synchro and then Synchro II units. The same shifter would be put on any group, Chorus, Athena, Croce de Anne or C-Record. In fact the Synchro shifters are “computable” with Victory and Triomphe as well.

The main issues with Synchro and why it fell from favor so quick was that it did not shift as smooth as Suntour or especially Shimano. There was a lot of play and over shifting required. As mentioned the different inserts being used depending on type of FW and strict chain types and most of all Campagnolo’s lack of a Slant Parrellogram RD made it unpopular

I did read somewhere on here that synchro shifters were a bit of a hassle. But one BF member has begun hoarding these.(ok maybe not hoarding)

I bought these locally so it shouldn't be a problem returning them.

Post more pictures to show what's actually missing. I have various spare Campy shifter parts from that era, and others here may as well. They can be made whole again.