I too bought a set of these in back in 1974. I used them for 1 or 2 rides and switched back to down tube levers, never to return until just recently.
I'm just finishing restoring an early 60s custom built frame that has braze-ons for bar end shifters. I'm assembling the bike mostly period correct so I dug out the old Campy bar end shifters to see if I could get them to work any better with modern lined cable housing etc.
My original reason for trying them in 1974 was to look cool and also so know one would know when I was going shift and try to make a jump on the pack. That was the in thing for a brief period.
The problem with the old Campy bar end shifters was that they had to be so tight so that they wouldn't "ghost shift" that the bars torqued significantly to one side or the other when trying to shift. Not cool in a pack.
I'm using Campy NR derailleurs and I want stick with them. I've already had to switch from a vintage 60s chain to a Sedisport and change to a better shifting freewheel to get the thing to shift acceptably. I haven't even test ridden the bike yet and I know that I'm going to have problems.
Chas. Colerich Oakland, CA
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