Dear Lennard Zinn;
I have an Ultegra-equipped bike but would like to replace the shifter/ brake piece with Veloce Ergopower shifter. Will this set up work? --AlbertDear Albert,
No, it will not work. The cable-pull per shift is different. However,you might find some words of wisdom (and hope) among the responses belowregarding converting old seven-speed systems to ErgoPower. --LennardHow long is the chain?
Dear Lennard,
Can you please confirm or comment on the relative lengths of Campyand Shimano chains? I have a Park chain length tool that shows expectedchain length on my Shimano chain but a much shorter length on my Campychain (different bikes). The tool has to be forced into the Campy chainand I know that it's not a chain width problem. The Campy chain seems tobe much shorter than the Shimano chain. Is the basic chain unit standarddifferent?One is newer than the other but both are relatively new. The Shimanochain reads about 1.25 on the Park chain checker and I verified that readingagainst a tool at the LBS. I have to force the tool into the Campy chain,so obviously it shows no stretch at all.The Campy chain is a 10-speed so it is a little narrower but I haveconfirmed that the pins on the tool will fit between the outside chainplates. Another local shop had a different type tool that showed my Campychain to have some wear. I hate to point the finger at myself, but couldthis be a case of pilot error? Maybe I should bring the bike AND my toolinto the LBS to have a professional assess the situation. I hate to throwin the towel. --MattDear Matt,
No, both are built on the same half-inch standard. Due to the narrownessproblem, try a ruler instead. Since chains are made on an inch standard,there should be exactly an integral number of links in a foot. Put oneend of the ruler against the edge of a pin, and see if the other end comesout on the edge of a pin 12 links (pairs) away. That will tell you howmuch the chain is worn (or not). --LennardWhatever happened to...?
Dear Lennard,
When I was a teenager and serious bike racer 25 years ago there wasa big crazy for replacement rear derailleur pulleys with ball bearings(or sealed bearings) accompanied by claims of small but measurably loweroverall powertrain friction. Now as I get back into cycling I never hearabout that anymore; the Campy Daytona pulleys on my fairly new Bianchiroad bike appear to be the usual crude plastic on brass, and the guys atthe local bike shop say that the stock ones are fine and they've heardonly vaguely of replacing them.Intuitively the idea from my youth makes sense. Whatever happened tothat fad? Was it a dumb idea, or a good idea that has been lost? -- MarkDear Matt,
It was indeed a good idea, and the good news is that it has gonebeyond the fad into regular usage. It just isn’t on Daytona level equipment.You will find that the jockey wheels on Campagnolo Record and Shimano Dura-Aceand XTR all have bearings in them, not just bushings. They work much betterand certainly reduce friction. You can still get replacement jockey wheelswith sealed bearings, probably most easily from Tacx. --LennardTri-ing alternatives
Dear Lennard,
Is it practical (i.e., not unreasonably expensive or time consuming)to switch back and forth between a tri and road set up? I have a LitespeedSaber set up as a tri bike with Dura-Ace components and bar end shifters.I use this bike for both training, racing and would like to compete inroad races in the off-season, but want to avoid buying another bike. CanI just swap out the bars and shifters for their road bike equivalents oris something more elaborate required? --MikeDear Mike,
Yes, you can do that. You can get a lot more fancy with the positionchanges, especially seat fore and aft, but that is all you physically needto do.
--LennardFollow-up on Ergopower with 7-speed:
1.) Regarding Campagnolo's response that you can't use Ergolevers with a seven-speed rear: Horse puckey! I'm doing it right now.I have a circa 1990 Daccordi (Italian) road frame that is spaced fora 7 speed rear hub. A little checking revealed that the cogs on 7 speedfreewheels and cassettes are spaced at 5 mm, and so are the cogs on 8 speedcassettes. Campagnolo no longer sells eight-speed Ergo shifters, but theydo sell the shift disks for 8 speed shifters. So I bought a new pair ofCampagnolo nine-speed shifters and rear derailleur (mine happen to be Veloce).I had my local bike shop install an 8 speed disk in the right shifter andvoila! I can now shift my seven-speed just fine. I'm prevented from usingthe 8th shift detent on the shifter by the rear derailleur large cog adjustmentscrew. Of course, I changed to modern shifter cable and housing since theolder stuff won't work with indexed shifting. I found that an eight-speedchain fits just fine in the Campagnolo "nine-speed" rear derailleur.
With a little looking, you can still find seven-speed freewheels. Becauseit is too easy to bend axles on these, I chose to use a NOS 7 speed ShimanoRSX cassette hub and seven-speed Shimano cassette.Another solution that does not work as well is to leave the shifternine-speeds and put 8 cogs from a nine-speed Shimano cassette on a 7 speedShimano cassette hub. Again, you lock out the last shift detent with thelarge cog adjusting screw on the rear derailleur. Although the cog spacingis not quite perfect, there is enough sideways tolerance built in to amodern indexing rear derailleur that it can be made to work. --Bob2.) In response to Tom's letter about using Ergo levers witha seven-speed cassette (I believe he meant screw-on freewheel), it canbe done. I used 8 speed Campy downtube index shifters on a seven-speedbike in the early 90's and it worked fine. When the change was made togo to 8 speeds, frame manufacturers began producing frames with 130mm spacingin the rear instead of the previous 126mm to accommodate the extra cog.The geometry of the Campy rear derailleurs did not change. Current 9/10-speedCampagnolo Ergo levers can be converted to 8 speeds with replacement camsavailable from www.branfordbike.com, or he can pick up a used eight-speedset of levers from EBay. The hi-lo adjustment of the rear derailleur willprevent the lever from clicking the extra cog and the seven-speed systemwill be retained.
--Gerald
Average everyday Campagnolo aficionado3.) A couple of thoughts that might help the guy who wanted toupgrade his seven-speed system to Ergo:A. It's possible that eight-speed Ergo levers will workwith the current system. I have been given to understand that MOST seven-speedsystems used common spacing for indexing. I have used Campy eight-speedErgos to set up my daughter’s bike with an otherwise Shimano seven-speeddrivetrain. Rock solid.B. If (A) doesn't work, he may still be able to shiftfrom the handlebars--SunTour made Command Shifters for a while, and twoversions are available of these shifters, which mount just inside the brakehoods. One version has a stand-off mount like an MTB thumb shifter andflying cables. The other, which I have used more, bracket-mounts flat upagainst the inside of the brake hood. These will index seven-speed systems,and I modified one to friction-shift an eight-speed bike. The left shifteris a very nice power-ratchet and will work with most any front derailleur.These shifters can sometimes be found NOS or used on eBay, or post to oneof the bicycling news groups and you should get some offers. --Andy
 A follow-up on clip-ons on carbon handlebars
In a February question, a reader asked if he could use clip-on aerobars with his Easton carbon handlebars, and the Easton rep correctly answeredno. He said you should not use clip-ons with any lightweight bars. Butthere is an alternative.The Kestrel carbon bar that weighs around 220 grams is rated for usewith clip-ons. I have been using them with Profile clip-ons for a yearwith no problems. Kestrel does plan to market an even lighter bar, around180 grams, which they say is definitely not rated for clip-ons. --Richard

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VeloNews technical writer Lennard Zinn is a frame builder, a former U.S. national team rider and author of several books on bikes and bike maintenance including the pair of successful maintenance guides " Zinn & the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance" and "Zinn & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance." Zinn's VeloNews.com column is devoted to addressing readers' technical questions about bikes, their care and feeding and how we as riders can use them as comfortably and efficiently as possible. Readers can send brief technical questions directly to Zinn. Zinn’s column appears each Tuesday here on VeloNews.com.