Installing Campagnolo Syncro II
#1
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Installing Campagnolo Syncro II
Hello,
I have problems installing Syncro II (C-Record I believe?) DT shifter.
I think all the required parts are here. The plate/mushroom shaped thing (how do you call it?) has a round and a keyed deeper section that I believe is for DT boss flats, but it is a tiny bit smaller, so it won't go on flats even using some force. Thus the whole assebly is loose.
Am I doing it right? I tried on two other bosses with the same result. Does Syncro II require a particular DT boss? Should the keyed part of this mushroom plate be filed a bit?
I have uploaded some photos to my album. For some reason at the moment I can't attach them directly to this post...
I have problems installing Syncro II (C-Record I believe?) DT shifter.
I think all the required parts are here. The plate/mushroom shaped thing (how do you call it?) has a round and a keyed deeper section that I believe is for DT boss flats, but it is a tiny bit smaller, so it won't go on flats even using some force. Thus the whole assebly is loose.
Am I doing it right? I tried on two other bosses with the same result. Does Syncro II require a particular DT boss? Should the keyed part of this mushroom plate be filed a bit?
I have uploaded some photos to my album. For some reason at the moment I can't attach them directly to this post...
#2
Senior Member
These are a couple of links I used when I first waded onto the Syncro pool.
Campagnolo Syncro II shifters ~ tears for gears
https://www.cadre.org/bike_stuff/Camp...moresyncro.jpg
I you follow the “Syncro” tag link on the tears for gears site it will pull up a couple of more articles.
I don’t think the brass washer next to the baseplate stop is in the proper place. The “mushroom” piece may also not be all the way seated onto the down tube fitting. When you insert it into the shifter body, rotate it with you thumb until it falls into place. You may have to rotate the whole shifter to do this, it’s been a couple years since I last set one up.

Quick pic of mine
Campagnolo Syncro II shifters ~ tears for gears
https://www.cadre.org/bike_stuff/Camp...moresyncro.jpg
I you follow the “Syncro” tag link on the tears for gears site it will pull up a couple of more articles.
I don’t think the brass washer next to the baseplate stop is in the proper place. The “mushroom” piece may also not be all the way seated onto the down tube fitting. When you insert it into the shifter body, rotate it with you thumb until it falls into place. You may have to rotate the whole shifter to do this, it’s been a couple years since I last set one up.

Quick pic of mine
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N = '96 Colnago C40, '04 Wilier Alpe D'Huez, '10 Colnago EPS, '85 Merckx Pro, '89 Merckx Century, '86 Tommasini Professional, '04 Teschner Aero FX Pro, '05 Alan Carbon Cross, '86 De Rosa Professional, '82 Colnago Super, '95 Gios Compact Pro, '95 Carrera Zeus, '84 Basso Gap, ‘89 Cinelli Supercorsa, ‘83 Bianchi Specialissima, ‘VO Randonneur, Ritchey Breakaway Steel, '84 Paletti Super Prestige, Heron Randonneur
Last edited by Spaghetti Legs; 11-29-22 at 08:16 AM.
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#3
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Spaghetti Legs, thaks for reply!
I the other link won't open. I checked Tears for gears content, but could not find images during installation.
The brass washer has its own place, where it fits nicelly. I also found exploded views, there is a washer just next to baseplate.
Now the mushroom piece won't go into where, I believe, it should go. Even without other shifter's pieces the "mushroom" would go until the keyed part leans against DT flats and any spinnig around does not help to seat it. It spins freely if it is not on DT flats, so I think it shoulg go deeper. In this position shifter would be just spinning around DT boss not engaging indexing ring.
I stil can't attach pictures, but I updated my album...
I the other link won't open. I checked Tears for gears content, but could not find images during installation.
The brass washer has its own place, where it fits nicelly. I also found exploded views, there is a washer just next to baseplate.
Now the mushroom piece won't go into where, I believe, it should go. Even without other shifter's pieces the "mushroom" would go until the keyed part leans against DT flats and any spinnig around does not help to seat it. It spins freely if it is not on DT flats, so I think it shoulg go deeper. In this position shifter would be just spinning around DT boss not engaging indexing ring.
I stil can't attach pictures, but I updated my album...
#5
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I seem to recall my dual mode shifter was really tight on the boss, I don't have it anymore so I can't check.
You might have to get the files out. Is it fouling on the round part of the boss or the flats?
You might have to get the files out. Is it fouling on the round part of the boss or the flats?
#6
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Paint thickness may not be your friend.
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#7
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Well I just went through my stash and pulled out a couple of those “mushroom” parts and tried them in the only unbuilt frame I have and neither really fit smoothly on the boss. That would tell me yours isn’t so much an outlier. I’d go with filing down the boss some to get a better fit.
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N = '96 Colnago C40, '04 Wilier Alpe D'Huez, '10 Colnago EPS, '85 Merckx Pro, '89 Merckx Century, '86 Tommasini Professional, '04 Teschner Aero FX Pro, '05 Alan Carbon Cross, '86 De Rosa Professional, '82 Colnago Super, '95 Gios Compact Pro, '95 Carrera Zeus, '84 Basso Gap, ‘89 Cinelli Supercorsa, ‘83 Bianchi Specialissima, ‘VO Randonneur, Ritchey Breakaway Steel, '84 Paletti Super Prestige, Heron Randonneur
#8
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Is yours the Syncro II for 7 speed, or the updated Syncro II that is 8 speed (sometimes called Syncro III and was the last version of Syncro). I thought there was some info on it at tearsforgears or velobase, but I just looked and didn't see it. I know when I was looking years ago, I found info somewhere. I did find the attached photo which might help, if you have these shifters.
The "Syncro III" looks a bit different than the Syncro II shown above, and I would imagine the small parts/installation are different too. The main distinguishing features in the "III"/updated one are a little micro-adjustment knob on the right shifter and the lack of the knurled knob on the right shifter - see second photo. When I installed mine years ago, IIRC, I was missing one of the little washer-looking parts, but was able to make do. These shifters work really well.

The "Syncro III" looks a bit different than the Syncro II shown above, and I would imagine the small parts/installation are different too. The main distinguishing features in the "III"/updated one are a little micro-adjustment knob on the right shifter and the lack of the knurled knob on the right shifter - see second photo. When I installed mine years ago, IIRC, I was missing one of the little washer-looking parts, but was able to make do. These shifters work really well.


Last edited by Camilo; 11-29-22 at 11:54 PM.
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#9
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Thank you all for help!
Shifter is Syncro II, without the micro adjusting knob. The "mushroom" was fitting on the round part of DT boss, but not on flats.
I cleaned the flats, there were no paint or anything notable. I thought that I will file just the "mushroom" part and not the boss because if I'll ruin it , it will be the easily replacable shifter, not the boss.
So, after 30 mins of careful filing and checking I got the part snugly on flats, the rest of the shifter went on just fine, so shifter is in working order now
Shifter is Syncro II, without the micro adjusting knob. The "mushroom" was fitting on the round part of DT boss, but not on flats.
I cleaned the flats, there were no paint or anything notable. I thought that I will file just the "mushroom" part and not the boss because if I'll ruin it , it will be the easily replacable shifter, not the boss.
So, after 30 mins of careful filing and checking I got the part snugly on flats, the rest of the shifter went on just fine, so shifter is in working order now

#10
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Great to hear, now comes the hard part; getting the indexing to work!
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N = '96 Colnago C40, '04 Wilier Alpe D'Huez, '10 Colnago EPS, '85 Merckx Pro, '89 Merckx Century, '86 Tommasini Professional, '04 Teschner Aero FX Pro, '05 Alan Carbon Cross, '86 De Rosa Professional, '82 Colnago Super, '95 Gios Compact Pro, '95 Carrera Zeus, '84 Basso Gap, ‘89 Cinelli Supercorsa, ‘83 Bianchi Specialissima, ‘VO Randonneur, Ritchey Breakaway Steel, '84 Paletti Super Prestige, Heron Randonneur
N = '96 Colnago C40, '04 Wilier Alpe D'Huez, '10 Colnago EPS, '85 Merckx Pro, '89 Merckx Century, '86 Tommasini Professional, '04 Teschner Aero FX Pro, '05 Alan Carbon Cross, '86 De Rosa Professional, '82 Colnago Super, '95 Gios Compact Pro, '95 Carrera Zeus, '84 Basso Gap, ‘89 Cinelli Supercorsa, ‘83 Bianchi Specialissima, ‘VO Randonneur, Ritchey Breakaway Steel, '84 Paletti Super Prestige, Heron Randonneur
#11
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A forum member even managed to put the dual mode internals into a 10 speed shifter, thereby creating the world's only dual mode 10 speed downtube shifters!
I've never heard them called Syncro III, but sure, I guess they may have been - not by Campagnolo though.
The dual mode shifters like the OP's were also available in an 8 speed version with a larger barrel and 8 speed insert.
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#12
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Thanks for the info. Not pedantic at all. Its interesting to me as I've always found those eras of Campagnolo harder to keep straight than, say, Shimano.
As far as Syncro III goes, I probably saw it mentioned as a possible distinguishing term by someone in passing, so it's really one of those vague "people are saying" sort of things
So, my kind of 8 speed downtube shifters are accurately just called 8 speed indexed downtube shifters in layperson terms. Or did they have a name for them other than the model number you mentioned?
As far as Syncro III goes, I probably saw it mentioned as a possible distinguishing term by someone in passing, so it's really one of those vague "people are saying" sort of things
So, my kind of 8 speed downtube shifters are accurately just called 8 speed indexed downtube shifters in layperson terms. Or did they have a name for them other than the model number you mentioned?
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Pretty much. The shifters with the adjuster are Record, without the adjuster are Veloce. There were also friction shifters available, but they were just imaginatively called friction shifting levers.
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#14
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very interesting thanks for sharing
