[Pepe]

I'm riding with some guys yesterday and one guy's Chorus RH ergo lever all of the sudden became a friction shifter. Having had this happen to me last summer on my RH Record lever, and having spent way too long taking it apart and fixing it, I immediately guessed it was a broken G spring. He brought it by my house later and I cracked it open and sure enough..... I had ordered an extra pair last summer just in case, and I replaced both G-springs (much more quickly this time), which fixed it. Okay, it sounds like I'm beating my chest, so on to the point.

Campagnolo suggests a rebuild every 10k miles for the RH shifter, but my buddy's bike's G-spring broke at about 3,000 miles, and mine broke at around 4,000 miles last summer. My question for you die hard Campy riders who rack up the miles is, were those just a couple of flukes? Neither shifter had been taken apart since new, or crashed. How long do these hold up in practice? They're inexpensive enough, and it's quick enough to rebuild them (once you get the hang), I'm wondering now if I should just replace them every year when I rewrap my bars as a routine maintenance item. Kind of a pain if they break on a century or after you've just rewrapped your bars, and it would seem it's pretty cheap insurance.

 

[PaulCL]

G-Spring

My right Record shifter lasted about 10,000 miles the first go around, then about 4000 miles the next time. The left shifter lasted about 15,000 miles

 

[Spiderman]

Getting 10k miles out of that is pretty impressive. It all depends on what conditions you ride in. If you ride a lot in the rain/wet/moisture/sand/salt environment than the won't last as long. It will also depend on what you are using to the lube the guts when you put the shifter back to gether. If it is too thick it will trap dirt and cause premature wear etc. I usually just use a teflon spray because customers like the feel of a crisp campy shift. It lasts just as long and is easy to reapply.

So....to answer your question, I think 10K would be very impressive. I got about 6k out of mine and that is it so far, I have about 1500 on it now and it works perfectly.

 

[lml1x]

I have about 8,000 miles on my 9spd chorus and no problems (knock on wood), so far.

 

[ultimobici]

I'm not trying to start a Campag/Shimano war, but 4000 miles?

I'm running Dura Ace 9 from 2001, which have been crashed a couple of times. I ride in all conditions year round, yet they run perfectly.

I commute 20 miles a day, 5 days a week, so have exceeded 25000 miles!

Touch wood, they're fine!

I work in the industry, but if I only got 4000 miles I'd be asking about warranty!

 

[divve]

4000 miles is rather short. However, it's not a real relevant figure as shifter wear normally depends on the number of shifts. I think service intervals are indeed shorter for the g-springs compared to broken Shimanos. They cost also almost nothing though...maybe $2 bucks or whatever for a set. Replacing them is a 10 minute job.

Shimano DA9 on the other had, is notorious for jamming up the small shifter blade. Even brand new it feels rather mushy (DA10 is much better in this respect and well worth the upgrade). Once it really breaks you're done and it's new shifter time. No repair options for blades after crash damage either.

 

[El Cheapo]

20,000 miles on 98 Record

Maybe I'm an exception but I have nearly 20,000 miles on the Ergo 98 Record pair and they are going strong with zero problems. I do hills every ride here in central Texas so I shift accordingly. Have only lubed the inside of the Ergos once with an aerosol shot of Slick 50 One Lube. Avoid riding in the rain if I can help it. I hate to think that I'm headed for possible disaster in the near future.

 

[DaveG]

12,000+

I had my Veloce levers rebuilt last year when they had about 12,000 miles. They replaced them during the overhaul but they seemed to be going strong.

 

[Pepe]

Thanks all!

I tend to shift a lot, since I ride some pretty hilly terrain (lots of rollers), so that may explain reduced mileage. Hearing similar experiences makes me feel better.

 

[Mark McM]

Ergobrain shift counter

Dear Campagnolo,

I would like to offer a product suggestion to improve your Ergo shifters. My friends and I have recently been discussing how long the G-Springs last in Ergo shifters. Some people say only 4,000 miles, some say 12,000 miles, and other get as many as 20,000 miles. Of course, not everybody shifts as often as everybody else, so how long the springs last really depends on how many times you shift, not on mileage.

So here's my suggestion for improving your shifters: Presently, your Ergobrain cyclometer keeps track of gear ratio by keeping track of everytime the rider shifts. This ability could be used to keep a running total of the number of times a rider shifts. This information could then be used to flash a message on the computer display at the end of the G-Springs useful life, alerting the rider that is time to bring the shifters into the LBS for service.

I hope you like this suggestion, and if you use it, please send me a royalty payment for each unit sold.

 

[DaveG]

good feature, but...

Dear Campagnolo,

I would like to offer a product suggestion to improve your Ergo shifters. My friends and I have recently been discussing how long the G-Springs last in Ergo shifters. Some people say only 4,000 miles, some say 12,000 miles, and other get as many as 20,000 miles. Of course, not everybody shifts as often as everybody else, so how long the springs last really depends on how many times you shift, not on mileage.

So here's my suggestion for improving your shifters: Presently, your Ergobrain cyclometer keeps track of gear ratio by keeping track of everytime the rider shifts. This ability could be used to keep a running total of the number of times a rider shifts. This information could then be used to flash a message on the computer display at the end of the G-Springs useful life, alerting the rider that is time to bring the shifters into the LBS for service.

I hope you like this suggestion, and if you use it, please send me a royalty payment for each unit sold.

That would be a good feature but for 150 bucks I would want it to walk the dog and make breakfast too.