What Happened to Campagnolo?

[bikeworkshop]

Suntour started supplying low to midrange bicycle components for OE.

Campagnolo are aiming at the very upper echelons.

They are at risk of becoming niche, rather than ubiquitous.
If they are struggling, they will be bought by a big player with the risk of being badge-engineered onto a HappyHorse groupset and the factory sold off for housing.

 

[Woz]

Personally, I see no interest in SRAM nor Shimano (while well capable) to wipe out Campagnolo from the face of the planet.

There are patents running out, there is still on the very face of it a pitiful but niche component manufacture company highly competent with innovation and a following to learn from. The competition would be potentially very dumb and short sighted to enclose a total market for themselves when financially they actually do not need to buy out a "straggler" with hope but could not dominate like before.

 

[Rapparee87]

I have always had a liking for Sun tour . Their components from the 1970s until 1995 about were good as the two main players and in some cases better. I fear Campagnolo is heading the same way.

Didn't the WordPerfect team of the late 80s early 90s use SunTour? Van Hooydonck may have won a Flanders with it, but I'm open to correction.

 

[Frankenorange]

Didn't the WordPerfect team of the late 80s early 90s use SunTour? Van Hooydonck may have won a Flanders with it, but I'm open to correction.

Correct.

https://handbuiltbicyclenews.com/c23-bicycles/358-andre-haaks-1991-colnago-master-tall-cool-one

 

[sjcprojects]

For what it’s worth, I get the feeling that the actual demise of Campagnolo is not on the cards at this point. I can understand why some people saw them not having their kit on any bikes in the pro peloton as a death knell, but it’s easy to read too much into that, I’d say.

 

[highlandsflyer]

What Campy need is a more snappy brand name.

 

[bagpuss]

There is only so much design, engineering that can go in bicycle components.
Rim brakes history? Apparently we should have disc . Gear cable ? Nope electric batteries etc . Isn't the idea of automatic gear shifting been toyed with .
What ever next ,e bikes ! You don't have to raise a sweat when going up hill.
Why not have a bike than can go out on it's own . Drone bikes .....

Rant over .

 

[bikeworkshop]

Many of the
Campagnolo Chorusline
Will sing the praises of:
cup'n'cone, repairability
Friction, friction friction
Highly polished calipers
Engraving, embossing,
Mahoosive chainrings
Charming Threaded headsets

Yet here&now we find campagnolo looking to the futurists:
Electronic gearing
Disc
Hydro
A zillion gears,
(including some little ones)
Black plastic everything

Bring on the IT specialists, the architects, the Web Designers...

 

[pigman]

What Campy need is a more snappy brand name.

It's Campag, never Campy...... unless you're American or into effeminate tents

 

[Canuk]

Campagnolo will do alright. They still have a big following in Europe and enough 'Campag only' users from retro years gone by to keep on buying. What worry me if I was a Campagnolo distributor is the next gen of kids coming up who immediately lash out the cash on what they see the pros riding, ie SRAM and Shimano.

Probably a bad move to move out of the professional team equipped arena, as that's where they found their success and marketing tool in the first place.