Disassembly of Campagnolo Record 9-speed era Brake Caliper
02-05-23, 07:23 PM
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Disassembly of Campagnolo Record 9-speed era Brake Caliper
TL;DR: Looking for a guide or video on disassembly of 90's era (8/9 speed) Campagnolo dual pivot brakes.
Friends, I am trying to reassemble a late 90's Campagnolo Record brake caliper and it is defeating me. I bought it a few months ago on Ebay, and the seller didn't disclose that once closed, the brake didn't re-open. I should have returned it, but I figured, what the hell, why not just fix it. It had a ton of road grime and dirt, so I figured maybe it just needed a good cleaning. I found a video on the internet of how to disassemble it, and took it apart piece by piece, cleaned and greased everything, and put it back together. That didn't fix the issue, so then I figured it must be the brake return spring. So I ordered a new spring.
Well, today I got around to trying to put the new spring in, but for the life of me I *cannot* find the video I used last time and trying to do the repair by intuition and a parts diagram alone is... not going well. I have spent over 4 hours on this darned thing now but I cannot get the spring into place. I have searched for the video with every combination of words I can think of, looked through my video search history, everything. I'm utterly perplexed. The specific issue I am running into would be a bit hard to explain through words, so I figured it might be easier to ask if anyone knows of a guide or video on disassembly/reassembly of Campy 8 and 9-speed era dual pivot brake calipers? They were largely the same in the 10 speed era I think too, so that would likely also work. If no one knows of a guide or video, I will re-post trying to walk through the issue I'm having.
Friends, I am trying to reassemble a late 90's Campagnolo Record brake caliper and it is defeating me. I bought it a few months ago on Ebay, and the seller didn't disclose that once closed, the brake didn't re-open. I should have returned it, but I figured, what the hell, why not just fix it. It had a ton of road grime and dirt, so I figured maybe it just needed a good cleaning. I found a video on the internet of how to disassemble it, and took it apart piece by piece, cleaned and greased everything, and put it back together. That didn't fix the issue, so then I figured it must be the brake return spring. So I ordered a new spring.
Well, today I got around to trying to put the new spring in, but for the life of me I *cannot* find the video I used last time and trying to do the repair by intuition and a parts diagram alone is... not going well. I have spent over 4 hours on this darned thing now but I cannot get the spring into place. I have searched for the video with every combination of words I can think of, looked through my video search history, everything. I'm utterly perplexed. The specific issue I am running into would be a bit hard to explain through words, so I figured it might be easier to ask if anyone knows of a guide or video on disassembly/reassembly of Campy 8 and 9-speed era dual pivot brake calipers? They were largely the same in the 10 speed era I think too, so that would likely also work. If no one knows of a guide or video, I will re-post trying to walk through the issue I'm having.
Last edited by J_Climacus; 02-05-23 at 07:24 PM. Reason: Edit: typo
02-06-23, 10:45 AM
#2
Senior Member
Remove nut and washer from central axle
Insert flattened end of spring into cavity once covered by nut and washer
Place and slightly tighten washer and nut on central axle
With a piece of string lift the other end of the spring into its small black plastic holder
Snugly tighten nut.
Insert flattened end of spring into cavity once covered by nut and washer
Place and slightly tighten washer and nut on central axle
With a piece of string lift the other end of the spring into its small black plastic holder
Snugly tighten nut.
02-06-23, 12:47 PM
#3
Senior Member
I've cleaned and reassembled a few of these. One of the few brakes where this is worth the effort; a nice piece of gear.
Mackers describes the process well. Some dual-pivot brakes such as Tektro or Shimano, it may be easier to fix the spring in the holder, and then force the opposite end of the spring in place by tightening the central bolt.
But not Campagnolo - you have to assemble the brake partially tight, and then push or pull the spring into place under the black plastic holder.
Do not mangle the plastic holder. Make sure that the alloy nuts with the tiny grub screws are not cracked. Most of these nuts I see in the wild are split, hence the reason for the sale.
Mackers describes the process well. Some dual-pivot brakes such as Tektro or Shimano, it may be easier to fix the spring in the holder, and then force the opposite end of the spring in place by tightening the central bolt.
But not Campagnolo - you have to assemble the brake partially tight, and then push or pull the spring into place under the black plastic holder.
Do not mangle the plastic holder. Make sure that the alloy nuts with the tiny grub screws are not cracked. Most of these nuts I see in the wild are split, hence the reason for the sale.
02-06-23, 01:11 PM
#4
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Dave Mayer and Mackers - Thank you for your responses. The string trick is a good idea; one of the reasons I was having so much difficulty is that I was trying to do this with my finger alone. Is the other main axel which holds the two sides of the brake together supposed to be fully tightened for this process, or do I secure the spring and central axel first, and *then* secure the other one? I think I will pass my 10-post limit with this reply, so if what I am saying doesn't make sense, let me know and I will take a picture pointing to the axel I'm referencing.
02-12-23, 07:08 PM
#5
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Just wanted to say thanks again -- the string trick worked. Great tip -- thanks again for taking the time to give it.
