# where is the Campy Chorus brake relase lever?



## fredf (Aug 13, 2004)

Dumb question: was removing the wheel on my campy chorus equiped bike and didn't see a lever similar to the Shimano stuff to loosen the brake to make room for the rim to clear the brakes.
Where is it?


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## Allez Rouge (Jan 1, 1970)

There's a little push button on the upper end of the brake lever, right where it pivots. Push that through to the other side and presto, yer calipers will open like sesame.
View attachment 78230


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## curlybike (Jan 23, 2002)

And when there is a gap between the shifter lever and the brake lever that is greater than 1/4' the quick release is open, DON"T FORGET THAT, many do!


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## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

The brakes still work with the quick release open, just not as well. Personally, I prefer the Shimano method. Never quite understood the Campy logic behind hiding the release mechanism in the levers.


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## DieselDan (Sep 14, 2002)

tarwheel2 said:


> The brakes still work with the quick release open, just not as well. Personally, I prefer the Shimano method. Never quite understood the Campy logic behind hiding the release mechanism in the levers.


With a Campagnolo brake set up, you can open the brake caliper to accommodate an out of true wheel without stopping or slowing down much. Not that this is the reason behind the brake lever release button. 

I've noticed Cane Creek and Tekro has included this feature on their brake levers.


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## srf (Jun 28, 2004)

I've always thought the Campy method was ingeniously simple; plus when you forget to clamp the brakes back up after replacing a flat, it's easier to fix the problem.  Probably saves a gram or two...


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

*Aside.*

Just building up a downtube-shift retro Pacer and lo and behold, Cane Creek did a good job of copying Campy levers, release button and all.


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## The Walrus (Apr 2, 2000)

...and if you have a 'cross bike, it's a godsend when you're removing/installing wheels because there's no need to fiddle with barrel adjusters or to wrestle with a tight straddle wire on the cantis--just push the button, and there's plenty of slack.


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## GH-Mike (Jan 20, 2007)

Smack a Portland pot hole in the middle of dark rainy late ride home and the campy release is a nice option. Although I ride both - Campy and Shimano they each work just fine. Still prefer the campy option for the ease to release on the fly.

Anyone have thoughts on brake set up- like why do so many people run their brakes soooo tight. I have always preferred a loose “open” set-up. You can still lock the brakes (yikes) if needed and the brake release becomes almost useless. I also find it easier on my smallish hands. I often think the tight tolerance setup is simply the way the bike shop set it up to make it feel good on the showroom floor.


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## TACSTS (Feb 4, 2004)

I think one nice thing about the campy method is that if you forget to close your brakes and you're already riding and really need to brake you've still got all the power as normal, just your brake levers will be a little farther away. Kind of a nice safety feature I think.


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## foz (Sep 30, 2004)

the brakes work exactly the same with the levers 'open' as when they are in the normal position. you will still have full braking with the brake levers in the same position relative to the bars, the only difference is that they are futher away to begin with. with the release lever on the caliper, then depending on how the brakes are set up to begin with, it's possible to pull the brake lever all the way to the bars and not have full braking - opening the caliper reduces the braking force available, opening the lever does not.


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## towerscum (Mar 3, 2006)

*clean too*

I think the Campy brake looks cleaner without the cable release lever. Why do folks run their Shimano brakes with that lever in the open position?


towerscum


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## curlybike (Jan 23, 2002)

*They may*



towerscum said:


> I think the Campy brake looks cleaner without the cable release lever. Why do folks run their Shimano brakes with that lever in the open position?
> 
> 
> towerscum



Do that so that they can close the Q/R on the brakes and slow down a ride off thief at the coffee shoppe. I have heard that reasoning, BION


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## SaddleTime (Nov 23, 2009)

*Same on 11-speed Campy?*



Allez Rouge said:


> There's a little push button on the upper end of the brake lever, right where it pivots. Push that through to the other side and presto, yer calipers will open like sesame.
> View attachment 78230


I hate to resurrect such an old thread but I wanted to find out if the new 11-speed Campy brakes use this release method as well. I presume they do but thought I would check into it.

Thanks.


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## fflyr (May 18, 2007)

Same setup on the 11 shifters.


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## SubRider (Aug 19, 2012)

*Frozen release button*

Folks,

The rear release button of my Campy brakes is easy to engage and works fine.

However, the front release button will not detent with normal pressure, even after lubricating.

Is there a common fix before a brake lever tear-down?


Tanks,


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## Bill Silverman (Apr 2, 2007)

SubRider:

Do this at your own risk, but you might try removing the entire lever, support the lever body on a clean piece of wood, and try tapping the release button with either a rawhide mallet or a wood block and a hammer.

Most likely, lots of sweat got into the opening, dried, and now the alloy release button has electrochemically been fused to the brake lever body. Or if the body is carbon, then the salt crystals have formed a bond. Flushing it out with warm water might also do the trick.

Remember, proceed with caution, especially when it's carbon fiber.


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## SubRider (Aug 19, 2012)

*Thanks...what about swapping the release pins?*

Bill,

Thanks. I'll disassemble and clean (some time in the future).

The front wheel is the one I most often take off. So if cleaning the release pin does not free up its action, could I swap it with the rear brake lever?


Does anyone know of a supplier of individual Campy component parts?


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## orange_julius (Jan 24, 2003)

SubRider said:


> Bill,
> 
> Thanks. I'll disassemble and clean (some time in the future).
> 
> The front wheel is the one I most often take off. So if cleaning the release pin does not free up its action, could I swap it with the rear brake lever?


Release pins are identical, so sure. 

Before you do that, why don't you try releasing the brake cable from the front brake completely, and then see whether it will release or not. You do know that you have to engage the brake lever sufficiently (as if you were braking) before you try to push the release pin, right? 

My suspicion is this has more to do with the assembly than the pin itself, so you are likely to fix it just by dis-assembly and re-assembly. 



> Does anyone know of a supplier of individual Campy component parts?


Go to the Campa website, look under parts catalog, find the relevant part number(s) and then use google to search for the part number. Plenty of supplies (Branford, Lickbike, etc.) and they are all on the QBP catalog.


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

SubRider said:


> So if cleaning the release pin does not free up its action, could I swap it with the rear brake lever


In theory, you could. But when you tap it out, there's a good chance you destroy the (I think, plastic) bushing inside the lever that acts as a stop so the pin can't fall out during normal operation. And as far as I know, neither the pin nor that bushing are available as spare parts. But check anyway, things change and I'm not up on the latest any more.

Before trying to remove it, I'd try soaking it in WD-40 for an hour or so, then pushing it back and forth constantly for a few minutes. It may not budge right away, but keep trying. 

/w


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## SubRider (Aug 19, 2012)

*Ah-HA!*

Thanks Folks for your help so far.

Turns out the release pin was replaced with a solid pin. (The bastards.)
I'll see if Campy sells just a new pin.
If not, I just have to buy a new groupo.


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