Snicklefritz

For people that use Campy, how did you get used to the thumb shifters when using them from the drops? I'm building a new bike and would like to put Campy on it, but since it's a bike that I'll be using primarily for crits, I'm not sure how to deal with the thumb shifters.

I have Campy Daytona on my original road bike and really love it. I find the thumb shifters great for shifting when I have my hands behind the hoods. Using them from teh drops doesn't feel that comfortable. Would it be a non-issue though for a crit where I might not be shifting a whole lot anyways?

roadfix

That's always been the case for me...

EURO

Depends if you have your shifters in the correct position.

Many people at the moment are following the fashion for running their handlebars to low, and as a consequence, try to make things more comfortable by running the shifters and bars higher than Campagnolo recommend. This makes shifting with the thumbs hard when in the drops.

If you run your bars like they are supposed to (no more than a 5 degree slope for the bottoms of the bars) and the shifters like they are supposed to (with the flat part of the shifters perfectly level with the ground) then you'll find shifting in the drops fine.

Red is Faster!

Switched from Shimano to Campy a few months ago. Never going back baby!

The first few weeks took some getting used to. After that it has been second nature. I bet you will just get more comfortable over time.

I thought it would be wierd bringing the thumb back to shift. Not now. Good luck.

roadfix

I think it has a lot to do with flexibility also. I've run my bars at saddle height and the thumbies become a lot easier to access from the drops.

EURO

Also note bar position.

EURO

I'd imagine Landis isn't very comfortable shifting in the drops

Fox Farm

In the drops, I can easily reach the thumb flipper with my, ah, thumb. I use Ritchey WCS ergo style bars. I have large hands.

2Rodies

I've never had a hard time with the thumb shifters. I have a harder time shift Shimano from the drops, for that matter I find the entire shimano ergonomics to be a PITA. But that's why I run Campy, it's purely an ergonomics thing!

2Rodies

I run my set up very close to what Landis has, and yes it is a compromise between being comfortable on the hoods and reach of the thumb shifter. I could increase the ease of reaching the thumb shifter but lower the comfort level of riding in hoods. Since I do much more riding in the hoods I've learned to adapt my thumb shifting to accommodate this bar/shifter position.

SoonerBent

I have the opposite problem. Years of Campy and my current bike has Shimano. I've had it about two years and sometimes I still find myself trying to find the thumb lever. My next bike is going back to Campy because I don't think I can ever completely re-program myself away from thumb shifting.


SS

simplyred

Neat Pic!

Any variation allowed? I mean some people have larger/smaller hands... I guess the middle pic is for people with "middle" sized hands?

lotek 

note that in the picture that Euro posted
those aren't ergo bend bars. Looks like a
standard Belgian drop (i.e. Deda 215 traditional).

traditional bars are alot more comfortable to me
than the ergo bars, more hand positions and
the thumb shifter isn't a problem.

Marty

DocRay

That cartoon is from the campy manual, it is warning not to pinch the path of the cables, but most Campy riders (like Landis in that photo) do mount them higher, and angle the bars back. The top of the hoods are usually setup to be parallel to the ground. I prefer the thumb shifters, but I wish campy would make different hoods for different size hands. This is one aspect SRAM will address with the new road set.

chuck731

It depends on the bar. FSA K-wing recommends that the bottom tip of the brake lever be 1-2 cm above the bottom part of the drop, rather like in the top picture. This probably is caused by K-wing's unusual ergonomic flattening just behind the brifter position.

I followed FSA's recommendation, and arranged the brifters so the top of the brifter forms a flat continuation of the ergonomic flattening at the turn of the bar. I have the opposite problem with the thumb lever. I am perfectly OKay with campy's thumb lever when shifting from the drop. My problem is with shifting from the hood. I have to relax my grid and shift my entire handin order to put my thumb over the thumb lever. Shimano brifters lets me shift with the index and middle fingers without relaxing the grip or shifting the hand. The main reason I prefer Campy over Shimano brifters is that, with the two levers so close together on the Ultegra brifter, even after almost 6 years, I still have to think about shifting the Ultegra Brifters. Campy brifters lets me shift by totally automatic reflex.

jim-bob

I'm running Veloce 10sp Ergo brifters on a set of Midge dirt drop bars, and they're great. I'm totally comfortable shifting from the drops.

pigmode

Yup, many Campy riders setup so they have to move their hands, you get used to it because there are other virtues that make it worth it. Even the guy who rides this bike has to move his hands to shift.