Am I alone in thinking that the greatest name in the history of cycling, Campagnolo, will cease to exist in the coming years? 
In recent weeks, we have seen the introduction of 12 speed Record, and two things stand out for me. Firstly, I don't know anyone who has requested this, saying that 11 speed is too few gears. And secondly, in my opinion, it is the most hideous groupset I have ever seen. When I saw the rear mech, I assumed it was a pre-production prototype. but no - it really is the mech you can actually buy!
Is it just me but selling top end components made of plastic rather than carbon fibre that look very cheap is a bit of commercial suicide?
I remember my first 'serious' road bike groupset I got was 8-speed Record which was just superb, in a word. The quality was very obvious. I still have a pair of silver Campagnolo Shamal wheels from 1995 that are as good today as when I took them out of the shop after purchase.
Compare that to my girlfriend's road race bike, with 10 speed Record, that feels just flimsy. After a number of years persevering with a gearshift that cannot be trusted so that the gear shifts under load seemingly randomly, we have finally given up and gone to Shimano. The internals are made of plastic, apparently, and are designed to wear out after a number of years; nothing like the proper metal parts that were in my 1990-era Ergopower levers. This compares to the 7400-series Dura-Ace levers on my winter bike, that are still going strong and feel as accurate now as they did when they were new, 20-odd years ago.
Given the current boom in cycling, you would think a company such as Campagnolo would be thriving; yet no one seems to use it. People I speak to say it is too expensive; a local professional, who rode for a team that used Campagnolo, says that the Super Record EPS is rubbish, basically. And countless mechanics say it is a nightmare to set up. In fact, Shimano is embarrassingly superior.
OK, so maybe Campagnolo is aiming at the top end of the market? If so, you would expect to see Super Record to be the default choice on bikes costing £8k+. But what do we see? Shimano Dura-Ace DI2 and SRAM Etap.
A very sad state of affairs. Comments?
In recent weeks, we have seen the introduction of 12 speed Record, and two things stand out for me. Firstly, I don't know anyone who has requested this, saying that 11 speed is too few gears. And secondly, in my opinion, it is the most hideous groupset I have ever seen. When I saw the rear mech, I assumed it was a pre-production prototype. but no - it really is the mech you can actually buy!
Is it just me but selling top end components made of plastic rather than carbon fibre that look very cheap is a bit of commercial suicide?
I remember my first 'serious' road bike groupset I got was 8-speed Record which was just superb, in a word. The quality was very obvious. I still have a pair of silver Campagnolo Shamal wheels from 1995 that are as good today as when I took them out of the shop after purchase.
Compare that to my girlfriend's road race bike, with 10 speed Record, that feels just flimsy. After a number of years persevering with a gearshift that cannot be trusted so that the gear shifts under load seemingly randomly, we have finally given up and gone to Shimano. The internals are made of plastic, apparently, and are designed to wear out after a number of years; nothing like the proper metal parts that were in my 1990-era Ergopower levers. This compares to the 7400-series Dura-Ace levers on my winter bike, that are still going strong and feel as accurate now as they did when they were new, 20-odd years ago.
Given the current boom in cycling, you would think a company such as Campagnolo would be thriving; yet no one seems to use it. People I speak to say it is too expensive; a local professional, who rode for a team that used Campagnolo, says that the Super Record EPS is rubbish, basically. And countless mechanics say it is a nightmare to set up. In fact, Shimano is embarrassingly superior.
OK, so maybe Campagnolo is aiming at the top end of the market? If so, you would expect to see Super Record to be the default choice on bikes costing £8k+. But what do we see? Shimano Dura-Ace DI2 and SRAM Etap.
A very sad state of affairs. Comments?
