What Happened to Campagnolo?

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

For @Guinessisgoodforyou
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That must have hurt

 

[wynne]

I've got the answer. It came to me this morning when I removed a friend's power torque cranks for him. Power torque - that is the point at which Campag waved two fingers at their loyal supporters and started slide downhill (with the exception of Ekar - which is very good).

 

[hamster]

Campy which was the dominant force in the pro peloton has been smashed in less than 30 years by a japanese innovative firm like Shimano who equips most of the pro team firm and left with one pro team, it says a lot. Even as oem , many italian brands choose Dura Ace over Record. Who invented SIS,STI and dual pivot brakes ? Shimano . Tullio couldn't bear than in 1974, the Flandria team won almost everything back then with Dura Ace.

...although nobody had ever won the TdF in a Shimano-equipped bike until Armstrong.

Also a lot of Shimano's innovations are more marketing than real innovation. Hollow BBs were a case in point: a strong story at the expense of undersized bearings with a pitiful life. Similarly a lot of the hubs with alloy axles. Likewise their cracked cranks - the recall continues...

 

[georges1]

...although nobody had ever won the TdF in a Shimano-equipped bike until Armstrong.

Also a lot of Shimano's innovations are more marketing than real innovation. Hollow BBs were a case in point: a strong story at the expense of undersized bearings with a pitiful life. Similarly a lot of the hubs with alloy axles. Likewise their cracked cranks - the recall continues...

Not really marketing , the STI and dual pivot brakes were innovation and it took a year later for Campy to catch with Ergopower and dual pivot brakes wich were pretty crappy. I have bb 7700 in my peugeot and never had a single issue with it despite many many miles on it. Had Dura Ace 7400 and 7700 hubs and never had problems. DI2 won the tour de France with Contador. I only use 7700/7800 forged aluminium Cranks or FSA ISIS Carbon cranks.Let's ask how many people have had downsides with Dura Ace 7700/7800 hubs, you will see a very little number of people as compared to Campy hubs which are finicky and not durable to say the least. Bonded cranks aren't worthy to be purchased. What has Campy become in the pro peloton and in terms of market ? A very minor player nowadays who is barely surviving.

 

[bagpuss]

Fishing reels for hubs ...

Give me Hope every time .

 

[bagpuss]

Got my paws on a pair of wheels built with Royce hubs at Bristol bespoke a few year back . Beautiful engineering ,the wallet just couldn't stretch that far .

 

[ferrus]

Got my paws on a pair of wheels built with Royce hubs at Bristol bespoke a few year back . Beautiful engineering ,the wallet just couldn't stretch that far .

Campag made quick releases for Royce back in the ‘80s. Seems surprising as they were sort-of competitors at the time with their very similar hubs and chainset’s. Royce had a slight edge with finer finishing and precision, but the skewers are identical quality.

 

[paton]

On the subject of the Flandria team using Shimano.
https://velo.outsideonline.com/road...ings-soul-survivor-recalls-races-bought-sold/

 

[georges1]

On the subject of the Flandria team using Shimano.
https://velo.outsideonline.com/road...ings-soul-survivor-recalls-races-bought-sold/View attachment 967983

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Tullio hated Shimano with a passion.

 

[LondonClassic]

Campagnolo started to be very finicky since the early 00's even their dual pivot brakes couldn't brake as perfectly as Shimano Dura Ace first generation Dual Pivot BR7410 brakes, their wheels are barely fixable and reliable over the long run. In most of other countries of Europe, people have Shimano or Sram. Spare parts availability is almost close to zero for older stuff and costs a premium. I have one bike with C Record and Delta brakes but I still prefer Dura Ace 7800 to Campy Record. Profitability will tell if Campy will survive and when a company like Campy which was the dominant force in the pro peloton has been smashed in less than 30 years by a japanese innovative firm like Shimano who equips most of the pro team firm and left with one pro team, it says a lot. Even as oem , many italian brands choose Dura Ace over Record. Who invented SIS,STI and dual pivot brakes ? Shimano . Tullio couldn't bear than in 1974, the Flandria team won almost everything back then with Dura Ace.

My Mrs' early 70s French mixte has dual pivot Weinmann brakes so the idea that Shimano invented that type of brake is a fantasy. The innovation from Shimano on things like indexing aren't to be ignored but lets not get carried away, eh? A quick google suggests Altenburger were first to dual pivots in the 1960s.

Also the effectiveness of brakes is a highly subjective matter - but I can't recall anyone ever saying there was some discernable advantage to Shimano dual pivots over Campagnolo. I was racing in the early 00s and used both DA and various Campagnolo brakes (Veloce and Daytona dual pivots). If anything it was the other way round. Plenty of crit racers with Shimano gruppos swapped out their calipers for Veloce, believe it or not - because the feeling was they were stiffer brakes.