Campagnolo Athena...awful?

[Mr Weirdo]

I bought a Raleigh bicycle that is equipped with Campag Athena Brakes/Gear Shift Levers and to say that they are wooly would be an understatement. I went to my LBS and had them adjusted but I'm still not that happy with them.

The bicycle is equipped with an Athena RD , Chorus FD and is 8 Speed.

Is it my fault as it may take time to get used to this sort of set up? I thought index was meant to be more precise?

Already I'm missing my Shimano components lol.

 

[hamster]

That doesn't sound right. Campag is a positive clunk type of shift, Shimano much lighter and clicky.

One thing that can make the change feel poor is when one of the two G-springs inside the shifter breaks. It's a £5 repair for the parts and the shifters feel much more positive afterwards. Parts are EC-RE209 and 210
https://www.merciancycles.co.uk/online-shop/campagnolo-ergospares/ec-re209/

 

[Ippikin]

I must say that I too prefer the Campag ergo levers and think the gear change is excellent. Mine are lowly Mirage 8 speed. Also you can easily trim the front mech and down-change several gears at a time. Try doing that with Sti
As hamster suggests you may have a failed part. Also worth spraying the ergo internals with GT85 or similar and then a few squirts ofwhite grease. Also make sure your cables are lubricated and routed sensibly.

 

[nicktait1]

I bought a Raleigh bicycle that is equipped with Campag Athena Brakes/Gear Shift Levers and to say that they are wooly would be an understatement. I went to my LBS and had them adjusted but I'm still not that happy with them.

The bicycle is equipped with an Athena RD , Chorus FD and is 8 Speed.

Is it my fault as it may take time to get used to this sort of set up? I thought index was meant to be more precise?

Already I'm missing my Shimano components lol.

It’s always worked well for me; is there any play in the rear mech? If it’s worn that can really hamper indexing.

 

[hamster]

It’s always worked well for me; is there any play in the rear mech? If it’s worn that can really hamper indexing.

Good point - the pivot shaft into the frame always seems the weak point that wears worst. Give the mech a wiggle from the bottom jockey.

 

[Mr Weirdo]

It’s always worked well for me; is there any play in the rear mech? If it’s worn that can really hamper indexing.

I will check it tomorrow, I was soo disappointed. It was all a bit vague.

 

[Mr Weirdo]

Good point - the pivot shaft into the frame always seems the weak point that wears worst. Give the mech a wiggle from the bottom jockey.

Will do thank you!

 

[Mr Weirdo]

That doesn't sound right. Campag is a positive clunk type of shift, Shimano much lighter and clicky.

One thing that can make the change feel poor is when one of the two G-springs inside the shifter breaks. It's a £5 repair for the parts and the shifters feel much more positive afterwards. Parts are EC-RE209 and 210
https://www.merciancycles.co.uk/online-shop/campagnolo-ergospares/ec-re209/

When changing gear I expected a more precise action it seemed to be lagging/slow to want to change. There was a click but no 'positive' movement. The levers to me had too much play in them. The chain kept slipping off as well. Thank you.

 

[Mr Weirdo]

I must say that I too prefer the Campag ergo levers and think the gear change is excellent. Mine are lowly Mirage 8 speed. Also you can easily trim the front mech and down-change several gears at a time. Try doing that with Sti
As hamster suggests you may have a failed part. Also worth spraying the ergo internals with GT85 or similar and then a few squirts ofwhite grease. Also make sure your cables are lubricated and routed sensibly.

Thank you...

 

[hamster]

I will check it tomorrow, I was soo disappointed. It was all a bit vague.

That sounds exactly like a failed spring. It only needs one to work, but the second one gives the snappiness in the shift. Note also that is it VERY easy to set the gear outer so that it is not 100% snug against the stop in the ergo body before you tape it into place and wrap the bar tape. The only symptom is that it's all a bit mushy. Also some fancy cable end stops don't sit happily inside the ergos. (Been there, done that!)

The best way to get it right is to cable it all up, set it onto bottom gear, then have a good tug onto the exposed inner to set all the outers into their stops, Finally tape the outers onto the bars with a couple of bits of insulating tape...then wrap.