In most cases that I've seen the cable head that's stuck in a Campy shifter is not that of a Campy cable. This is not to say that you must only use genuine Campy cables with your vintage Campy shifters, but you should keep in mind that cables from Suntour, Shimano and most aftermarket suppliers have bigger heads than Campy and are much more likely to get stuck. The Campy cable heads are small enough that there is a bit of clearance within the seat, and it takes more corrosion build-up to fill that gap. With other brands the metals are basically in contact to begin with, and when you add a small amount of aluminum oxide...
By the way, Simplex shifters and cables are even smaller in the cable head / shifter seat dimensions, so while S-brand cables won't fit at all (thereby heading off possible problems) I think Campy cables will fit, albeit tightly, and a similar problem can then arise.
Tom Dalton
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania USA
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