Campagnolo out of the World Tour

[54ny77]

most groups these days are so darned ugly they all look like commoditized appliances anyway. sram, campy, shimano, whatever. can't tell what's what.

i'll go yell at clouds now.

[El Chaba]

Originally Posted by 54ny77

most groups these days are so darned ugly they all look like commoditized appliances anyway. sram, campy, shimano, whatever. can't tell what's what.

i'll go yell at clouds now.

No need to yell at clouds, it is a fact. Campagnolo has definitely added to their troubles significantly by not differentiating themselves from other products on the market by making components no better looking than their competitors. I have been a huge Campagnolo fan over the years, but they have given me fewer and fewer reasons to “upgrade/update” and I have just doubled down on ten speed. Campagnolo has apparently decided to provide their version of what their competitors are making and in doing so they have done away with most of the arguments for their existence….sadly…

[54ny77]

This to me was the aesthetic pinnacle of Dura Ace. I had the plain jane 9 and 10 spd versions and they worked flawlessly.



And I had Super Record on bikes in the 80's/90's, w/Simplex shifters. Gotta say I love modern shifting far better, hands down. Modern materials sure are light, it's amazing tech that they pack into those shifters. And braking is far better.

Originally Posted by El Chaba

No need to yell at clouds, it is a fact. Campagnolo has definitely added to their troubles significantly by not differentiating themselves from other products on the market by making components no better looking than their competitors. I have been a huge Campagnolo fan over the years, but they have given me fewer and fewer reasons to “upgrade/update” and I have just doubled down on ten speed. Campagnolo has apparently decided to provide their version of what their competitors are making and in doing so they have done away with most of the arguments for their existence….sadly…

[Marvinlungwitz]

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[Marvinlungwitz]

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[callmeishmael]

The WW thread on Campag is informative in this regard.

I personally think the company have lost their way. Their buyer base is ageing fast, and their ability to attract new customers is limited by recent choices (no electronic groupset below 5k, no WT representation, virtually no OEM supply).

I also think their consistent and absolute refusal to address the fact there may be an issue is actually the biggest problem. I've said before that the Rolex analogy doesn't work, and I simply don't see the 'niche luxury' idea working out: they're just not aspirational for most buyers, now.

And I say all this with a heavy heart: I have had at least one Campag bike for over 20 years.

Others are welcome to disagree, of course, and I think there's still time to turn the ship round, but I sadly don't see it happening.

[adub]

Mamma Mia!

[benb]

Campy was already on the way out when I started riding around 2000.. I knew a handful of people who had it over the years but it wasn't on many bikes in the shop and it already put you out on a limb where you needed to have your own tools and couldn't share or needed to be near the right shop if that was the way you were going.

That Fignon crash looks/sounds like BB, not an axle as mentioned, or did we mean they tried a Titanium axle?

I don't think the Rolex/Watch analogies work, watches are jewelry you wear out/around in a way average people will see and notice, bikes are not really like that. For that kind of buyer the bike is mostly going to sit in the garage and not get noticed. Out on a ride it probably doesn't impress the other riders like it would have used to.

Having the same thing as the Pros/World Tour is going to impress some riders if that's your thing, I think losing that is significant.

And it's sad just from a heritage/history standpoint.

For me personally a big thing that kept me from every trying it was just bad experiences and collective wisdom when dealing with Italian companies.. it seemed like lots of Italian brands weren't really "In" the US and you were perhaps going to have more trouble with warranty or parts or something as a result. There was at least a couple things I was sold by shops that were into Italian brands where I thought I was buying something that was supposed to be in the US with a US warranty and it wasn't really the case. Though I know that wasn't true with Campy.

[callmeishmael]

Originally Posted by benb

For me personally a big thing that kept me from every trying it was just bad experiences and collective wisdom when dealing with Italian companies.. it seemed like lots of Italian brands weren't really "In" the US and you were perhaps going to have more trouble with warranty or parts or something as a result. There was at least a couple things I was sold by shops that were into Italian brands where I thought I was buying something that was supposed to be in the US with a US warranty and it wasn't really the case. Though I know that wasn't true with Campy.

Dealing with Campag in the UK has got harder.

There are still a fair number of pro shops that deal with Campag, though they're getting fewer. My LBS used to be a specialist, and will tell you that 20 years ago, they always pushed it very hard. Now - and how much of this is commercial I really don't know - they very much push 105 mechanical or Ultegra Di2 for road, and GRX mechanical or AXS XPLR for gravel. They will absolutely sell you Chorus or Ekar if you know that's what you want, but if you're not committed, you'll be gently steered away.

When specialist shops, which tend to cater to higher end bikes and customers with a bit more to spend, are nudging people away from Campagnolo, that's indicative of a problem.

Perhaps part of the problem is the specialist service centres. We have 2 in the UK, and one is within 20 miles of me. But they are damn near impossible to deal with. I had an established problem with my Record groupset (shifter springs too stiff), and agreed with the service centre by phone that they would change them, but they simply failed to respond to emails trying actually to arrange it. In the end, after several weeks trying, I simply gave up.

In contrast, it took less than 5 days to get a replacement RD from SRAM. They were happy to take the LBS' word that the unit was faulty, and authorised them to take a unit out of stock to replace it. I dropped the bike off on a Tuesday and it was ready for me to ride on the Saturday.

[Marvinlungwitz]

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[benb]

Originally Posted by Marvinlungwitz

It was the titanium bottom bracket axle.
Not sure of your question, bottom brackets have axles - the things that ride on the bearings and attach to the crank arms.

Of course, but I think it would be more common to say the bottom bracket broke as opposed to the axle, as Phil said in the video. Just confusing, I think 9 out of 10 cyclists if you said an Axle broke they will think you meant a wheel axle.

I'm not even sure I can remember how many BBs I've changed, so of course I know it has an axle.

[earlfoss]

Whether in the world tour or not, the world is a better place with Campy in it.

Their design language seems to have lost its way in recent generations and accessability, in my opinion, has diminished greatly with the loss of ability to purchase at discounted prices from European sites. I remember buying full groups from a few British and Irish sites over the years at very reasonable prices. I think that's not unique to Campy though? Most manufacturers seem to have clamed down on distributors, pricing, etc.

[ColonelJLloyd]

Originally Posted by benb

Of course, but I think it would be more common to say the bottom bracket broke as opposed to the axle, as Phil said in the video. Just confusing, I think 9 out of 10 cyclists if you said an Axle broke they will think you meant a wheel axle.

I'm not even sure I can remember how many BBs I've changed, so of course I know it has an axle.

I refer to that specific part as a spindle and assumed most other Americans did as well.

[Marvinlungwitz]

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[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by ColonelJLloyd

I refer to that specific part as a spindle and assumed most other Americans did as well.

Campagnolo refers to it in their documentation as a "movimento centrale" (central movement).