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Reader and tinkerer webmaster@campyonly.com provides this update on his search for a one-hand shifting/braking setup for his road bike:

March 12, 2004--The record LH lever was duly purchased and fitted. I followed all the instructions to the letter, (Ergopower virgin, remember) except, of course, for the bit about fitting the LH lever to the front derailleur. Everything set up, cable tensioned, bike on the Turbo, I started to pedal, pushed the lever and...click, click, click -- the chain proceeded up the sprockets. I pressed the thumb button and...chk, chk, chk -- the chain jumped sprightly down the sprockets. Eureka! To say that I was happy would be an understatement.

Once I'd ascertained that the LH ergo could do the job (thanks to your correspondent), the problem was the brakes. Before, I'd used a tandem cable in an old Aero lever -- a very tidy solution. However, the more complex and finely-toleranced cable routing in an Ergopower lever meant that a brake splitter looked the most achievable option. Finding a brake splitter, however, was a nightmare. I finally sourced some NOS splitters from Profile (the current one advertised on their website is not available). I had to get these through Riders Cycles in Canada (Victoria, BC). Here you can see it on the handlebars:

It's basically a tube with a clamp inside to fix one cable to another. One cable remains continuous, so if the clamp loosens, you still have one brake functioning. However, this splitter really is a nasty piece of work. It's oversized for what it does, and there are no seats for the cable outer ends where the two cables exit the splitter body. This means the cables exit at an angle and rub on the endplate holes -- a very untidy solution that will promote brake cable wear. I think the best way I can describe this piece of kit is 'intellectually squalid'. I've got some Primo Pervert splitters on order, but these are non-continuous cable solutions -- a bit dangerous if the nut holding the inbound cable fails.

So, here's the set-up with the brakes connected and the handlebar tape in place. Braking is excellent (as you'd expect from Record calipers) although you need more force, naturally. But, hey, I'm used to it. The right-hand lever is a standard record Aero lever, just there for support. The front derailleur is still operated by a downtube lever, which is no problem. As an aside, I notice that this is a set-up used in the mountains with great success lately by a certain American rider whose name escapes me...However, in his case this solution seems to be forced on him by his insistence on using a clunky, over-engineered groupset from a Japanese company -- whose name also escapes me...

As for shifting...it just works. The only drawback (if you can call it that) is that I have to double-shift to go from the 3-4 sprocket and from the 7-8 sprocket. But think I can live with that ;0) However, the LH lever is a 2004 model, so may work better with a 10-speed setup. I've got all the bits to try this, I just need some help getting the chain on and off. I've also been told that the shifting may work better if I connect the derailleur cable to the wrong side of the cable clamp.

So, why does it work? The answer seems to be that the trimming stops (there are ten in all) for the front derailleur just happen to mesh nicely with the rear sprockets. Whether this is by accident or design, I just can't find out. One thing is sure: the Japanese company's offerings do not provide this functionality.

The view from the front (excuse camera shake). I'm sure there must be a more elegant solution. I'm going to experiment with the tandem cable set-up. I've already got it working on a Xenon lever with downtube shifting, but had to use the gear cable routing for the second cable. I may have to do a bit of judicious drilling and use some Teflon cable liners...

The final product. Bianchi SL Lite, Full Record and Nucleons. Note also the Record carbon-fibre bottle cage. Birthday present from Susi! I do actually have a Bianchi SL3 Alu/Carbon that I'm waiting to build up, but last night, while trying to take out the bottom bracket on the above bike, I had to strain so hard to loosen it that I tore an intercostal muscle and won't be back on the bike for a week :0(

The next step is to see what Electronic Record will do. I just hope that Campagnolo will allow us to buy it in a rear derailleur-only form. Apparently most of the engineering and cost has gone into getting the front derailleur to work properly.

So a big thank you to everyone who's given me help and advice on this subject and a big thank you to Campagnolo for making such wonderful products. Now, If only I'd known this ten years ago!

Best Wishes / Dymuniadau Gorau
Tim

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