Classic & Vintage - what is campy

ok,
at the risk of sounding like a total moron...
WTH is Campy?
I see it all the time, but I have not been able to pick up what it means....

Thanks.

Your'e joking right? This is a trick question? :eek:

Campy=Campagnolo=The King of fine Italian Components

Short for Campagnolo. Italian component manufacturer. Pioneeered the modern parralellogram derailleur design.

http://campagnolo.com/home.php

Currently, with Shimano, makers of a majority of road bike components on the road.

It's easier to type Campy than it is to remember how to spell Campagnolo

From Websters:

Main Entry: 3camp
Function: noun
Etymology: origin unknown
Date: circa 1909

a: something so outrageously artificial, affected, inappropriate, or out-of-date as to be considered amusing b: a style or mode of personal or creative expression that is absurdly exaggerated and often fuses elements of high and popular culture <a movie that celebrates camp>

Sorry, couldn't resist...............................

Pioneeered the modern parralellogram derailleur design.
Almost all my bikes are Campy but Suntour was the modern "slant parallelogram's" father.


1964 - Invention of the slant parallelogram rear derailleur

Nobuo Ozaki, the head of Product Development at Maeda, invented the slant parallelogram rear derailleur in 1964 and Maeda obtained worldwide patents on the design.

This was a significant invention. The jockey pulley tracked the angle of the freewheel sprockets and maintained a nearly constant distance (chain gap) between the jockey pulley and the sprocket. For the next twenty years, SunTour produced technically superior derailleurs. SunTour's slant parallelogram broke the image of Japanese components being cheap copies of European components.

SunTour had good patent attorneys and they vigorously defended the slant parallelogram design. All of the major derailleur makers incorporated slant parallelograms when the patent expired in 1984.


You will also see Campagnolo referred to as Campa and Campag across the pond.

Almost all my bikes are Campy but Suntour was the modern "slant parallelogram's" father.





Yes, SunTour or Shimano (don't mean to argue that point, sorry!) for the SLANT parallelogram, but Campagnolog pioneered a design that did not slant, starting I think in the '50s.

It's easier to type Campy than it is to remember how to spell Campagnolo

And most people don't know how to pronounce it properly.

Yes, SunTour or Shimano (don't mean to argue that point, sorry!) for the SLANT parallelogram, but Campagnolog pioneered a design that did not slant, starting I think in the '50s.

Not Suntour or Shimano - Suntour. They patented it, and were the only people to make them for around 10 years. When the patent ran out, that's when Suntour started to run out of steam.

What is Campy? Usually incredibly expensive, fine working bicycle components. Back in the 60's and 70's their stuff was usually head and shoulders above anybody else. This started to deteriorate with the full court press of Japanese (SunTour and Shimano) components, and had definitely disappeared by 1984 when Shimano brought out the Dura-Ace 7400-series.

Campagnolo continues to thrive (unlike ALL their former European competition) due to a combination of quality, staying technologically at least equal to Shimano (and occasionally getting ahead for a little while), and, above all . . . . . . . the snob value!!!!!!!!!!!

When you ride Campagnolo, you ride with your nose slightly in the air :rolleyes: - when you ride Campagnolo on a Masi frame, you're probably an insufferable prig who should be run off the road :D :D :D .

...When you ride Campagnolo, you ride with your nose slightly in the air :rolleyes: - when you ride Campagnolo on a Masi frame, you're probably an insufferable prig who should be run off the road :D :D :D .
...but if you ride Campagnolo on an Electro Forged Schwinn Continental frame, you're a fool who has too much time on his hands and knows how to find good bargains on ebay. :p
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p71/pastorbobnlnh/Continental/Campagnoloed%20Continental/CampyDrive1.jpg

Classic campy on an elctro forged Schwinn. Love it.

above all . . . . . . . the snob value!!!!!!!!!!!



Quite true.
While once innovative and a mark of superior quality, Campy has been skating on their name for 30 years.
Top

...but if you ride Campagnolo on an Electro Forged Schwinn Continental frame, you're a fool who has too much time on his hands and knows how to find good bargains on ebay. :p

I love it.

I'd love it even more if it was on a bright yellow Varsity - none of this high class Continental stuff.

And most people don't know how to pronounce it properly.

I can pronounce Campagnolo alright, at least with my American accent - it's all the other names they use like Record, Chorus, Centaur, Xenon (I think I can figure out Veloce and Mirage as the former is clearly Italian and the later the same more or less in French or English)? They don't seem Italian. Are they pronounced in the French fashion or the English? Or does it depend on how snobby you are? :D Anybody out there Italian?

I love it.

I'd love it even more if it was on a bright yellow Varsity - none of this high class Continental stuff.
I could always swap out those Campy bits and hang them on this one. :)
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p71/pastorbobnlnh/Varsity/P1010001.jpg

From Websters:

Main Entry: campy
Function: noun
Etymology: origin unknown
Date: circa 1909

a: something so outrageously artificial, affected, inappropriate, or out-of-date as to be considered amusing b: a style or mode of personal or creative expression that is absurdly exaggerated and often fuses elements of high and popular culture <a movie that celebrates camp>

Sorry, couldn't resist...............................

Is that to say that Campy is slang for The Gong Show?

:roflmao:

-Kurt

Actually Campy is Gumby's cousin :D

I think you'll have a hard time getting that Record crankset on that Varsity's Ashtabula BB.

Back then we called it sh!tmano

Almost all my bikes are Campy but Suntour was the modern "slant parallelogram's" father.



You will also see Campagnolo referred to as Campa and Campag across the pond.

I wonder how many patent loopholes Campagnolo had to find to introduce the rally rear derailleur ;)

I wonder how many patent loopholes Campagnolo had to find to introduce the rally rear derailleur ;)

Hmmm..that's an interesting question. Didn't it go from an original slant parallelogram design back to a standard parallelogram that was just a NR with a longer cage? I read somewhere it was because customers wanted the NR design which was popular at the time but I wonder if there were threats of lawsuits or something that drove that? Either way I still want one. Either one :)

Hmmm..that's an interesting question. Didn't it go from an original slant parallelogram design back to a standard parallelogram that was just a NR with a longer cage? I read somewhere it was because customers wanted the NR design which was popular at the time but I wonder if there were threats of lawsuits or something that drove that? Either way I still want one. Either one :)

You're right - it did!

The Catalog 17 (1974) has the slant pantograph design while the Catalog 18 (1985) has a Nuovo Record type body with a longer cage. Most of the internal parts were the same between the two models though..


hmmmmmmm???

You're right - it did!

The Catalog 17 (1974) has the slant pantograph design while the Catalog 18 (1985) has a Nuovo Record type body with a longer cage. Most of the internal parts were the same between the two models though..


hmmmmmmm???

Actually it was not a slant parallogram, if it copied anyone it was Shimano (such as the Crane, early Dura-Ace and DA EX) prior to the 7400 series. The later version of the Rally was of questionable merit, lighter than the first version, but not a lot else going for it.

While "campy" is lingo for Campagnolo in the USA, Folk from Great Britian I have met such as Bob Jackson use the term "campag".

So it goes.

Actually Campy is Gumby's cousin :D

I think you'll have a hard time getting that Record crankset on that Varsity's Ashtabula BB.

Back then we called it sh!tmano
The Continental had the same set-up as the Varsity. Install one FMF adapter and a Shimano cartridge BB, and your good to go! Who says you can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear? ;)
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p71/pastorbobnlnh/Continental/Campagnoloed%20Continental/ValentinoFDSuperRecordCrankset.jpg

(You can see the FMF adapter peeking out behind the crankset in this picture.)


...The later version of the Rally was of questionable merit, lighter than the first version, but not a lot else going for it.
I've read this same opinion about the newer Rally RDs, the ones which look like a Nuovo Record with a really long cage, but I have to disagree from experience. I wonder who came up with that idea? I have one on my Paramount and it shifts just fine. I can't say I have any complaints. I wish the picture showed the RD better.
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p71/pastorbobnlnh/April%2020%202007/66Paramount.jpg

to cadilacmike68 you are right, the first campagnolo rallys were copies of shimanos crane gs. shimano called their rear derailleur servo pantagraph which was an improvement to a simplex design.

You posted a day early, unless you meant to dig up a 4 year old thread the day before April Fools day.

Zombie thread!

http://www.cyclelicio.us/images/bicycle-zombie-slayer.jpg

Neal

Ignorance is bliss mcompton1973.

I have a great "campy" bicycle picture from the '70s I like, but it borders on the edge of porn... so I'm reluctant to share. ;)

Campy is a product you get cheap/free on old dumpster-dived bikes and subsequently part out and sell to hipsters at inflated prices so can finance your next restoration.

Zombie thread!

http://www.cyclelicio.us/images/bicycle-zombie-slayer.jpg

Neal

...and I thought I had killed this thread 4 years ago...

I can pronounce Campagnolo alright, at least with my American accent - it's all the other names they use like Record, Chorus, Centaur, Xenon (I think I can figure out Veloce and Mirage as the former is clearly Italian and the later the same more or less in French or English)? They don't seem Italian. Are they pronounced in the French fashion or the English? Or does it depend on how snobby you are? :D Anybody out there Italian?

The French will always laugh when we do not say "Veetoos" (Vitus)....Maybe they name their products just to make fun of people from the land that says "Nucular" and "Cutter" (Quatar)....
Heck!, how do you really pronounce the brand name "Miele" anyway....

Chombi

Actually it was not a slant parallogram, if it copied anyone it was Shimano (such as the Crane, early Dura-Ace and DA EX) prior to the 7400 series. The later version of the Rally was of questionable merit, lighter than the first version, but not a lot else going for it.

While "campy" is lingo for Campagnolo in the USA, Folk from Great Britian I have met such as Bob Jackson use the term "campag".

So it goes.

Too true, Repechage, you're so right old chap. Campag has to be the term used in the United Kingdom. Over here the word "Campy" suggests men who exhibit effeminate behaviour patterns! (Nothing against that in the right context, we're all individuals, but not really a term I'd want to hear when I'm clad in skin tight pink lycra (spandex)!

The French will always laugh when we do not say "Veetoos" (Vitus)....Maybe they name their products just to make fun of people from the land that says "Nucular" and "Cutter" (Quatar)....
Heck!, how do you really pronounce the brand name "Miele" anyway....

Chombi

Mee-el-ee ? That's just horribly anglophone guess.

The TV show "The Beverly Hillbillies" were considered "Campy". :rolleyes:

I'm so glad someone alerted me to the fact that tomorrow is AFD, now I have all afternoon to plot.

I have a great "campy" bicycle picture from the '70s I like, but it borders on the edge of porn... so I'm reluctant to share. ;)

I'm interested in this picture. Lol. Racy vintage ads are the best.

Quite true.
While once innovative and a mark of superior quality, Campy has been skating on their name for 30 years.
Top

Awkward late '80s to early 90's "Synchro" phase aside, I heartily disagree. Campagnolo's Ergo 8-11 system has been phenomenal, not just junk with a storied name.

EDIT:
Wow - just noticed the necro thread.

...so in England, do you pronounce the "g" ?

...so in England, do you pronounce the "g" ?

In England they supposedly say "Purrrjoe" when calling out the famous Gallic bicycle brand,....so what do they know??......:rolleyes::D

Chombi

Yes, SunTour or Shimano (don't mean to argue that point, sorry!) for the SLANT parallelogram, but Campagnolog pioneered a design that did not slant, starting I think in the '50s.

There is some debate that Campagnolo created the parallelogram mechanism in the application of shifting bike gears, but they did win the argument as to overall design and execution and market share. Remember, if it had a Campagnolo patent, then there is no way others, Simplex for example would have made much in the 60's that looked anywhere like it. Suntour did have a solid slant parallelogram patent that ran out in 1985 +/-. If one looks at the patent applications of Campagnolo Spa. in the late 70's and early 80's they were really looking for an alternative. Prior to this Shimano rotated the links but kept them perpendicular to the cogs, and so did Campagnolo with the initial Rally's. Almost as good, but not.

I do credit Shimano to have done much development with the slant design while the patent was still alive, as when it expired they came right out with their own, and included indexing to a top tier ensemble. Campagnolo was too proud, and did not liberate the design till later.

As to what is campy, in England, most of who I spoke to called it Campag. They did not use the term Campy, at least in the 70's.

I'm interested in this picture. Lol. Racy vintage ads are the best.

Not an ad, and no Campagnolo involved, but kinda campy, and does have a bike in it.. I'll PM you a link. :)

And most people don't know how to pronounce it properly.

Okay, since someone resurrected this, it's safe to ask dumb question number 18,446,744,073,709,551,618. So how are you supposed to pronounce it, I suppose it's not how you would think, looking at it, unless your Italian....

I always thought it was short hand, like for "Look at that campy looking exterior gear system, inferior in every way to the proper internal gear hub".

[Note, you have to say that with the proper British upper-lip accent.]

:innocent:

The TV show "The Beverly Hillbillies" were considered "Campy". :rolleyes:

Only because the critics panned it, and the public loved it.

"Ain't that right, Uncle Jed?"

-Kurt

"Back-in-the-day" (in the late 1970s) when I was a poor college student wrenching at my LBS between classes to earn beer money, I observed first-hand that Campy stuff "broke-in" and all the other stuff "broke-down". Campy could take abuse, keep on working and be FIXED. The stuff from Suntour and Shimano might out-perform Campy on Frank Berto's legendary test stand new, but didn't work as well after a crash - hence the basis for the pro-peleton's long-standing love affair. Now Suntour is gone and Shimano has learned its lessons well, but Tullio Campagnolo's legacy endures.

Okay, since someone resurrected this, it's safe to ask dumb question number 18,446,744,073,709,551,618. So how are you supposed to pronounce it, I suppose it's not how you would think, looking at it, unless your Italian....

CAMP en YO low

This thread is so full of gratuitous Campy-bashing, it's really just sad. These comments serve no purpose beyond lame trolling and never did in the early days of the thread. It should be deleted.

The French will always laugh when we do not say "Veetoos" (Vitus)....Maybe they name their products just to make fun of people from the land that says "Nucular" and "Cutter" (Quatar)....
Heck!, how do you really pronounce the brand name "Miele" anyway....

Chombi

I always got a kick out of people trying to pronounce "Croce d'Aune" - and I don't think I ever saw that gruppo in person. That was pretty much Campy's low point. Then they changed to names pronounceable by Anglophones and invented Ergo Power.

I also get a kick out of Italian brand names that are just acronyms spelled out as syllables; eg Gipiemme (G.P.M.), Abici (A.B.C), Aelle (A.L.)

Meccalecca high mecha channy ho.
Long live Zombie.

Hey, let's all dig up our newbie threads for April Fool's Day!
We can see who has the most embarrassing first post.
I doubt anyone could beat "WTH is Campy" but it would
be interesting (and fun) to see what we got!

This thread is so full of gratuitous Campy-bashing, it's really just sad.

Well, there's a way around that...

http://www.jaysmarine.com/campagnolo_artsy.jpg

http://www.jaysmarine.com/displaycase_070410_4.jpg

http://www.jaysmarine.com/campagnolo_chorusrs_1.jpg

http://www.jaysmarine.com/campag_hf_hubs_jim_1.jpg

http://www.jaysmarine.com/campag_FD_shishkabob_1.jpg

Anyone for Campagnolo Shishkabob?

-Kurt