1/29/14 12:06 AM

In the past I've changed a 9s Ergo shifter to a 10s shifter by replacing just the the ring and G springs inside the lever. Is it possible to change 10s Ergo shifter to 11s by the same method? I have a pair of ~ten year old Record 10s Ergo levers in good condition that I was thinking of converting if it is possible to do so. The existing chain and cassette are at the point of needing replacement, and I figured that if I only need to replace a part inside the shifter, then it's a real cheap conversion to 11s. I don't believe the bullshit from the manufacturers that you have to change the crankset and derailleurs as well...

Unfortunately, from a quick bit of Googling, it seems that from 2009 onwards, Campag changed the guts of their levers so that both 10s and 11s from that date aren't compatible with older levers, and they don't offer a part that would enable older 10s to be converted to 11s in the way that 9s could be converted to 10s.

OTOH, I can buy brand new Chorus 11s Ergo shifters from Wiggle for under $250, or Athena for under $200, which means that stuffing around with converting a lever is hardly worth it, even if it were possible.

1/29/14 8:17 AM

I'm no Campy expert but I believe you are right that they made a major change in their shifter internals about 2009, eliminating the G-springs and changing the front shifters to have fewer trim positions.

Chorus and Record retained the micro-shift front shifting but with the reduced number oftrim positions from 9 to 6 (called UltraShift) while Centaur and below have Shimano-like one-click front shifting with only one intermediate trim position (called PowerShift). Actually the more limited front shifting for Centaur and lower came about in 2007.

AFAIK these redesigned Ergos are not at all cross compatible with earlier versions and the PowerShift Ergos are not triple crank compatible but the UltraShift models are.

1/29/14 11:13 AM

For some reason, I've always had a much more-difficult time keeping track of these shifter changes with Campagnolo vs. Shimano's STI shifters, not that Shimano's are really serviceable or upgradable and with the caveat tha Shimano's triples could have interchangeability issues across gruppos...

There often just seems to be greater difficulty digging up the needed doc's with anything that's Italian in origin, remembering back a few years to a discussion on whether ITM or TTT was 26.0 or 25.8mm, not that it was a big difference.

It makes me wonder how much it follows the corporate goal of planned obsolescence.

1/30/14 6:35 AM

Not only has it been more difficult to find information on servicing Shimano shifters, but the parts are basically impossible to get. One reason I refuse to buy their stuff is their attitude of "If it breaks or wears out, throw it away and buy a new one." That's worse than planned obsolescence, as it applies to current products.

I've never has trouble finding Campy information online and in general, the parts are available. The same is true of SRAM. That's one key reason that these guys get my money.

1/30/14 7:01 AM

The only really non-serviceable Shimano parts that matter are the brifters and they are generally pretty durable in my experience.

Campy Ergos, are serviceable but they have obsoleted many designs and the older parts supply dried up quick enough that they aren't a long term purchase anyway.

I've never used SRAM and I'm not aware if their Double Tap brifters are serviceable and whether parts and service information are available. Apparently they are from what you say.

1/30/14 7:25 AM

From what I can tell they are serviceable.

I have noticed a trend on the net of the right brifters gutting themselves and being repaired.

1/31/14 6:37 AM

dp

Last edited by Brian Nystrom on 1/31/14 6:45 AM; edited 1 time in total

1/31/14 6:45 AM

You can download service manuals and parts lists from their site and the parts are available from multiple sources. They also have a number of good videos on servicing various products.

As for Campy, I've found that you can generally find parts for anything that's less than 10 years old, though many older parts are available. Common maintenance parts, like the springs for the shifters, are common across many models and generations, so they're not hard to find.

You can't get parts for Shimano stuff when it's new and in production, let alone for older models. Considering that the brifters are the most expensive component on most bikes and are commonly damaged in crashes, it truly sucks that you cannot buy parts for them. Just say "Shima-NO!" ;-)

1/31/14 9:41 AM

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Considering that the brifters are the most expensive component on most bikes and are commonly damaged in crashes....

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1/31/14 9:57 AM

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I expect a brifter damaged in a crash isn't going to be fixed with just a replacement spring or small internal part.

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