Campag lay offs.

It’s a shame, but on my real bikes (not the retro show ponies) I want reliable kit that works and sadly Campagnolo stuff commands a premium but doesn’t offer performance to match.
Campy was always way overpriced and kinda finnicky. That is why except one bike that is equipped with CRecord that I am going to restore and sell to a neighbor, all of my other bikes have Dura Ace 7800 and all the other future bike projects will get it too.
 
Campagnolo ruled the roost for postwar racing bike componentry into the 1980s.
Many of their top components were eye-wateringly expensive.

I remember one old fella telling me his record derailleur cost over a weeks wages

The transition of expectations of performance, materials, aesthetics, compatibility has changed over the following decades.

Almost all of their aficionados, from racers to leisure riders to collectors, reach a point in this timeline where they stop buying.

I don't personally have any campagnolo of the 21st century, but on the right bike it still has its place -

But that place is still shrinking even now
 
for me you can’t get better than record 10 speed. Easy to set up, never needs adjusting, great brakes, light perfect shifting even under load and looks beautiful.

Every bike I have is Campagnolo equipped but then I started in the late 70s when every de ent bike had it. It’s stuck with me.

That early record and super record stuff can come apart completely and be polished up to like new.

For me Campagnolo’s real skill is in drop forged aluminium. It was (is) just beautiful stuff that has never been bettered.
 
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