"Why do my Campagnolo levers lock up?"
Sometimes a customer will have a small problem with their Campagnolo shifters. Now, I say small because it's an easy fix, but obviously if your shifters aren't working properly, it's a major problem. I put this FAQ up because I get this question from long distance customers from time to time, and a lot of shops out there make this mistake.
Campagnolo ergo shifters have a small 'tooth' like nub on the inside/bottom part of the rubber hood. There is a notch in the brake lever body that is designed for this 'tooth' like nub to live in. The reason for this is to keep the rubber hood from pinching together. If this nub is not in its proper place, the hood will pinch together and restrict the thumb lever from returning completely to its resting position. It will look like its in its place, but it won't be. When it's not completely returned, then the lever will lock-up and won't shift. A quick pull upward on the thumb lever will fix the problem temporarily, but the next time a thumb shift is made, the problem will happen again.
Here's two close up pictures of the back side of a Campagnolo Ergo shifter to show you the nub and the notch that I'm talking about.The image on the left shows the nub properly in the notch, and the image on the right shows the nub not seated properly.
The fix is easy. The first thing to do is make sure that the handle bar tape is not preventing the nub from seating into the notch. If it is, you'll have to trim it first. In the below image (left), you'll see that the mechanic wrapped the tape over the notch, so the nub cannot seat. The image on the right shows the same tape after I used a knife to trim the offending tape away from the area.
Now all you have to do is get the nub into the notch and you're home free! Usually you can do this with your fingers, but sometimes a blunt tool like a philips head screwdriver is the key. The pictures below illustrate what the hood should and shouldn't look like. The first picture shows a 'bump' where the nub is not seated properly. The next picture shows me pushing the nub into the notch with a screwdriver. The last picture shows the hood fixed with no 'bump'.
