Campy 11 Speed
As a Bob and I have discussed, both of us have been a little frustrated by the frequent adjustment to the Campy 11 speed RD cable tension that was seemed to be needed. We both had chalked it up to the closer spacing of the cogs.
I had a eureka moment last night as I was fussing with my Campy 11 cassettes. It hit me that the adjustment of the RD and the entire concept of shifting is different between Campy and Shimano. Duh, right?
Well first of all, my first 11-25 Record cassette on my Zipps is an older one without the recently released 2.3 mm spacer that goes lateral to the 2nd spider of 3 cogs. All the spacers are 2.2mm.
My newer 11-25 Chorus cassette on my PT wheel has the 2.3 mm spacer, but if anything, shifting was worse on my PT wheel based on how I was used to adjusting cable tension.
With Ultegra 9 sp, once a season I had to adjust the cable tension. I'd put it so it was tight, but just loose enough that the chain wasn't rattling against the next larger cog. Shifting was great. The cable would gradually loosen through the course of the season, but the cog spacing was wide enough that it didn't affect shifting performance.
With DA 7800, I had to loosen it a couple quarter turns from where I'd put the Ultegra cable tension. In other words, the tension had to be more "in the middle". But, I didn't have to adjust it very much at all - maybe a few times a year. Again, shifting was flawless.
With my new Campy Record 11, I have been frustrated by what seems to be every other ride adjustments that were needed and the lack of it truly being spot on. Well, I thought the spacer was the trick, but it turns out, I already have the correct 2.3mm spacer on my daily PT wheel training cassette. I spent a bit of time fiddling with the cable tension, then it dawned on me last night. The cable has to be loose enough to allow quick upshifts (to smaller cogs). Period, end. You can't exclusively (as with Ultegra 9) or primarily (as with 7800) adjust the cable tension based on the downshift tension. It seems you have to do the opposite with Campy 11: you have to make sure your cable tension is *just* loose enough that your upshifts are clean. But what does that do to the downshifting? Well if you are using your shifters like Shimano shifters (i.e. quick click without ensuring that the chain is engaged on the next cog) it will seem crappy. BUT, Campy has never been the "Light Action" company. Therefore, you have to downshift a bit differently. You have to push the downshift lever past the click (as with any other companies' shifters), but you have to allow the chain to engage the larger cog before releasing the lever. You either give it that split second longer to engage before releasing or you push just slightly farther past the click then you would with Shimano. Think of it more as a mechanical lever doing the downshifting rather than how Shimano has made the lever feel like a button that you just tap.
I did a ride this morning with my Campy 11 adjusted as above and with me downshifting as described above. FINALLY, flawless shifting. I just had to adjust my mind as much as the cable tension.
YRMV, just my .02 coming from a long-term Shimano user/home mechanic who recently switched over to the new Campy 11.