Replacing Campag Brake blocks

[Salvatore]

Any tips for inserting Campag brake blocks? 

They're  the sort where in theory you just remove the old bit of rubber and slide in the new one, but I can never get the new one to slide in as far as the end of the shoe. FWIW, the campag website says

slide out the worn pad from the holder and insert a new pad
... to facilitate insertion of the new brake pad, wet the inside of the brake shoe with alcohol

but somehow I suspect that won't be enough.

I've got to change them before the weekend, so any tips would be welcome

[eck]

... to facilitate insertion of the new brake pad, wet the inside of the brake shoe with alcohol

What a waste of alcohol  </mean Scotsman sterotype>

Right enough though, they are a bugger to insert.
I've resorted to squeezing them in very slowly, using a vice, in a sort of "in a bit, back a bit" fashion.
 
There must be better ways though.

[scampi]

Prise out the old brake block with a small flathead screwdriver.

Spray a bit of WD40 into the metal bit.

Don't forget to insert the threaded metal bit back into the metal holder, you're stuffed if you fit the new block not having done this!

Place the metal holder on end with the 'open' end uppermost.

Ease the new block in a few mms, then insert a larger flathead screwdriver into one of the slots on the new brake block. I think these slots are designed for water dispersal but they also make fitting the new block easier: use downward force to drive the new block down into the metal holder.

That's how I fit my ones anyway ... no vice required and if I can do it then anyone can 

[Salvatore]

Don't forget to insert the threaded metal bit back into the metal holder, you're stuffed if you fit the new block not having done this!

Sounds like you remove the shoe from the calipers - I thought the advantage of the replaceable blocks was that you didn't have to remove the shoe from the caliper, so no re-alignment was necessary. Remove the old pad and slide in the new one, as the Campag website so simply puts it.

Anyway, I managed to perform the replacement relatively quickly last night (without unscrewing the shoes). Just a brush with white spirit round the shoe, push in by hand and then pull from the front with some pliers.
The main difference from last time I did it was that I was in my garage with a workstand and a vast array of tools rather than in a muddy campsite on the outskirts of Paris.