Finally I can document it.
I wrote about the ErgoPower V3 before (→here)
and in the bonus section at the end, I mentioned
"The manufacturer's exploded diagram shows the right ErgoPower structure,
but the left ErgoPower's internals are different from the diagram."
I've already received comments confirming that's correct,
and even though I said I'd look into it, I actually knew the answer all along
but wanted to write about it in connection with Suntour's Command Shifter (※),
so I delayed writing the continuation.
※The reason for the polite "command" prefix is unclear
I could probably find one or two Command Shifters if I searched the whole house,
but it seemed faster to borrow one from an acquaintance,
so that's what you see in the photo above for documentation purposes.
The right lever can be switched between 7-speed, 8-speed, or friction mode.
The left lever is a friction shifter with a "power ratchet" mechanism,
where a steel ball on a spring presses against a gear
to overcome the return spring force of the front derailleur.
The Sugino 75 W-lever and the various W-levers currently produced by Yoshigai
use exactly the same structure.
Incidentally, I own three carbon W-levers—the Sugino 75, Offmega Mistral, and Modolo Chronos
(my own personal "big three" designation)—
but writing about those would get long again, so I'll skip it this time.
I disassembled the Command Shifter.
↑This steel ball
snaps into the holes in the click ring to establish each gear position.
While the sprocket spacing is uniform (※), the hole spacing is not,
particularly the gap between top and second gear is wider than others—
the same as in current rear shift components.
※There are parts that increase gearing by one speed by replacing a lockring with a sprocket,
and with those types of sprockets, the gear position and tooth tip phase
technically vary depending on how tightly the tool is adjusted... but it's negligible.
If you make click rings with holes positioned to match Shimano 9-speed or Campagnolo 10-speed and so on,
you can make Command Shifters with even more gears.
My spiritual mentor's shop sells them,
but they've made them with through-holes instead of half-drilled holes,
either because drilling half-holes is tedious or for better wear resistance.
For 11-speed they said the hole spacing gets too tight, so they don't make it.
Now for the main subject—the Record V3 left lever:
I disassembled it.
When you pop this open—
It's a Command Shifter! is what I wanted to say,
but I realized I needed to explain the Command Shifter's internals first.
Shimano precisely determines front positioning including trim,
but Campagnolo just tells you to find whichever of these 7 positions
doesn't make the front derailleur cage rub against the chain—figure it out yourself.
Interestingly, this approach actually has better redundancy for third-party cranks.
I wrote about the ErgoPower V3 before (→here)
and in the bonus section at the end, I mentioned
"The manufacturer's exploded diagram shows the right ErgoPower structure,
but the left ErgoPower's internals are different from the diagram."
I've already received comments confirming that's correct,
and even though I said I'd look into it, I actually knew the answer all along
but wanted to write about it in connection with Suntour's Command Shifter (※),
so I delayed writing the continuation.
※The reason for the polite "command" prefix is unclear
I could probably find one or two Command Shifters if I searched the whole house,
but it seemed faster to borrow one from an acquaintance,
so that's what you see in the photo above for documentation purposes.
The right lever can be switched between 7-speed, 8-speed, or friction mode.
The left lever is a friction shifter with a "power ratchet" mechanism,
where a steel ball on a spring presses against a gear
to overcome the return spring force of the front derailleur.
The Sugino 75 W-lever and the various W-levers currently produced by Yoshigai
use exactly the same structure.
Incidentally, I own three carbon W-levers—the Sugino 75, Offmega Mistral, and Modolo Chronos
(my own personal "big three" designation)—
but writing about those would get long again, so I'll skip it this time.
I disassembled the Command Shifter.
↑This steel ball
snaps into the holes in the click ring to establish each gear position.
While the sprocket spacing is uniform (※), the hole spacing is not,
particularly the gap between top and second gear is wider than others—
the same as in current rear shift components.
※There are parts that increase gearing by one speed by replacing a lockring with a sprocket,
and with those types of sprockets, the gear position and tooth tip phase
technically vary depending on how tightly the tool is adjusted... but it's negligible.
If you make click rings with holes positioned to match Shimano 9-speed or Campagnolo 10-speed and so on,
you can make Command Shifters with even more gears.
My spiritual mentor's shop sells them,
but they've made them with through-holes instead of half-drilled holes,
either because drilling half-holes is tedious or for better wear resistance.
For 11-speed they said the hole spacing gets too tight, so they don't make it.
Now for the main subject—the Record V3 left lever:
I disassembled it.
When you pop this open—
It's a Command Shifter! is what I wanted to say,
but I realized I needed to explain the Command Shifter's internals first.
Shimano precisely determines front positioning including trim,
but Campagnolo just tells you to find whichever of these 7 positions
doesn't make the front derailleur cage rub against the chain—figure it out yourself.
Interestingly, this approach actually has better redundancy for third-party cranks.