Weight Weenies

Hi Guys,

Who can help here. New levers (Chorus), new cables (genuine Campag) and a couple of seasons use Record rear gear.
On engaging a down shift, just not moving down - or moves after a few rotations of the crank. Or I have to double down-shift to get it to move quickly.
Probably done 300 miles on this new set-up, so should all be bedded-in.
I've undone & loosen off cables before retightening, have also adjusted up/down the cable tension, still slow on down changes !

Anybody had a similar experience & tips?

Cheers.

Sounds like you just need to get your derailleurs lined up properly. If they deraillers aren't spot on, you'll be off by enough to make it think long and hard about shifting.

Are you referring to the FD or RD? If it's the FD, those can be a little bit funny on Campy because of the multiple trim positions. If you mean the RD, you likely just need to get it fine tuned.

Another possibility--how worn is the cassette? If it's been shredded by years of use, it'll have a tough time shifting well.

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Adjust the cable tension so it's no tighter than necessary to make good shifts to larger cogs. If you continue to have hesitating shifts to smaller cogs, it's most likely a cable friction problem. The RD's return spring is not strong enough to pull the cable back to the proper position, due to excessive friction.

Hopefully you have new cable and housing. It's the housing that's critical. Cheap Shimano 4mm housing will work.

Also check your bottom bracket guide.

Cable friction "somewhere" is the place to focus.

2011 and newer rear ders also have a slightly stiffer return spring to make up for less than idea cabling.......from the OP's intro it sounds like his might be 2009 or 2010 which would have the ligher action spring...but even they can be used very well if you get the cable friction issue resolved (I have both and can't tell the difference).

I am having problems with my down shifts on both my Super Record and Record bikes
Moving from a smaller sprocket to a bigger sprocket is effortless.
But moving from a bigger to a smaller is a pain. It just doesnt engage as smooth as it should. When i shift one click down it jumps a while on the gear before engaging. I have tried new campy cable kits, and played around with settings, no joy. (new chain on both bikes and cluster - the cluster also works fine on my SR EPS bike)
I have had none of these issues with the ten speed campy.

Any ideas or fixes before i send the levers for refurbishing by the agents

I have tried a search.

Clearly not well. From 6 weeks ago...

That sounds like there's too much tension on the cable. Have you tried releasing some of the tension to the point where it struggles to shift to the larger cogs, then gradually increase until you hit the sweet spot? The 11 speed Campy is difinitely fuzzier to setup -- had the same issue and took me a while to get it right.

Doubt it's the levers.

It's either just adjustment, or there is too much friction in the system, indicating an installation problem.

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^+1
I was struggling with the same issue and it does take a little bit of work to get it right. One method I've found helful was to conduct the test that campy themselves recommend to see if there's too much friction in your cable routing setup. You have to hang a 1 kg weight off the shift cable and then see if your rear derailleur snaps back with ease after you push on it. Test is done before you get your chain installed though (instructions can be found on the campy site). Also, make sure that your rear derailleur cable housing has a wide enough radius. A shortened cable can contribute to the friction issue.


good luck