Scooper

Campagnolo has a history of making well designed and executed components that are durable and can be economically repaired when they finally wear out. They've stumbled a few times over the years (the Gran Turismo boat anchor RD comes to mind), but for the most part Campy has set the standards. I'm a fan.

balindamood

My version:

Campagnolo was the best you could get for 15-20 years from the mid 50's through the mid 70's. It worked better than anything else, and the finish on their parts was very good. Further, the center of the bike racing culture was in Europe (still basically is), and top teams/racers predominantly (though far from exclusively) had Campy bits on their bikes. People saw this, and wanted campy bits on their bikes. Basic marketing principle.

Although Suntour had made some key developments in the 1960's, they did not really refine them and get them on the market in a big way until the early 1970's (V-series/ V-luxe, and then the Cyclone). They worked better, the finish was getting close to Campagnolo, but they were a fraction of the price. Due to loyalty/whatever, The European teams were not biting. Subsequently, Suntour was not considered the proper kit for the finest bicycles (basic marketing principal #2 ). I think initially, Suntour ws OK with this because they gobbled up the lion's share of the bike boom, but they clearly saw the issue as they started to develop and refine the Superbe line. Shimano, to the contrary, understood this, and tried to play both angles. The developed the Dura Ace line, marketed it directly towards the higher end market, and priced it accordingly. Never mind that it worked no better than Campagnolo (and worse than Suntour), or the finish was not always quite as good. They started to make inroads to the racer market early due to this strategy, and still managed to get some of the bike boom market, keeping Suntour honest.

I have/have had/worked on a number of high-end custom bikes (not just high-end production bikes) from the 1970's, and I have found the component mix to be interesting, but very consistent. These bikes were built for people who put a lot of miles on them, and they knew their parts. The kit consistently was Campagnolo or Phil Wood wheels, Campy headsets, chainwheels, pedals. Suntour F/R derailleurs and shifters, Dura Ace brakes. When talking to 2-3 of them (I always try to find the original owner to get the full story), they all say the same thing: Suntour worked the best and was the least expensive. Dura Ace brakes worked as well as Campy, but was half the price, and the Campy stuff was the best around at the time and worth it.

What Shimano did between 1975 and 1985 was dump an incredible amount of resources into R&D. I firmly believe that we would not have brifters and a number of other developments at this time if it were not for Shimano's relentless pushing the tech envelope. This does not mean that all they did was/is good...a different soap box. While Suntour was spending money on development, it was a fraction of Shimano. It seems to me that Campy was resting on it's reputation at the time and not reqally bringing much new to the market beyond refinements in materials. My the early 1980's, Shimano was pushing the industry. By the end of the 1980's, Suntour's grave was already dug, and Campagnolo was gasping for air. Although Suntour made some good parts al the way to the end, they had lost the technology war, and more importantly, they had lost the marketing war. Campy still had a loyal, but retracted following and survived on such.

Even today, Shimano, and new player SRAM, are pushing the innovation envelope. Campy keeps up, particularly in the development of Carbon fiber. What Campy has now is a finish that is impeccable, and parts that seem to be a bit more robust, and are rebuild-able where the others are throw-aways. However, it is SRAM and Shimano that are bringing the new innovations (e.g. electronic shifting) to market faster, and doing it very well.

So what do I like?

Pre 1970: Campagnolo
1975-1985: Suntour
1985-Present: Shimano

I still keep original stuff on bikes where I can. I have an '87 Serotta that I put Campagnolo Chorus on. I think the DA stuff of the time worked better, but the Chorus group, along with C-Record really defined a direction in styling which I loved. I could not afford C-Record at the time. My 3Rensho of the same period had DA. My 1999 Marin came with Campagnolo and I have no reason to change it.

Just my opinion.

Singlespd

^^ Fantastic reply, thank you @balindamood

gioscinelli 

Over the years I've used just about all the components made in, France, Spain, Germany, Japan, China and finally Italy. My favorite will always remain Campagnolo, no matter what year as long as it is Record and above. Since the advent of brifters, Campagnolo is still the best, imo! You can overhaul every Campagnolo component made and get parts that are available on the internet or lbs. The finish on Campagnolo parts are exquisite, the mechanical function is precise and accurate under any condition. The price is equal if not less then Shimano or Sram, do a comparison. What you get is quality, function, finish and value. Now this may appear that I'm advocating or advertizing Campagnolo, no it's just the facts. For example, using their brifters, no hesitation, just click-shift, up or down and lighting fast.

aixaix 

History: a number of the major improvements to racing bikes in the 50s and 60s came from Campagnolo. The design and durability of Campy parts was for a time way better than anything else, and raised the bar for other manufacturers. Racers embraced the stuff: lots of races were won on Campy-equipped bikes.

Beauty: Vicenza, where Campagnolo set up shop, was known for jewelry manufacture. His employees came with a built-in sense of aesthetics and the ability to make metal objects beautiful. The fit and finish of Campagnolo parts has always been superb (even on the lowly Valentino), and I suspect most people's lists of Most Beautiful Bike Parts Ever will feature more Campy parts than any other maker.

Marketing: An all-Campy bike from the 1970s will have "Campagnolo", "Brev. Camp", "Brev Inter. Camp" "Pat. Camp", "C" and other logos, planets, wings, etc. appear in about 80 places. Tullio went to great lengths to let you know just whose parts you were abusing, and how proud he was of them. It might be your bike, but they were his parts and you were lucky to have his greatness rub off on you.

I think most of us older bike guys associate Campagnolo positively with our youth. It represented the best you could get for your escape vehicle, and conveyed prestige and camaraderie. Not totally rational, but not purely sentimental, either. The stuff worked well and didn't break.

dweenk

I don't have a single Campy part on any of my bikes. That is not to say I wouldn't if I chose to spend the $$. I would love to find a garage queen dripping with Campy - but that is not likely. I don't hate any of the parts manufacturers, I just shop frugally, and buy what works well at the best price point.

seedsbelize 

Great thread! @dweenk

Barrettscv 

Agreed;

gioscinelli 

Well I'll show off my Campy equipped Bike, too!








My nearly all French Peugeot!

gomango

I've converted to mostly Campagnolo systems but not on my mountain bikes.

Shimano is still my favorite there, but I can see White Industries gear easily enough on a future dream build.

Shimano SLX, XT and XTR are all no brainers and work well for me off road.

But I will take chances on my cross bikes.

Casey is doing a Campy build on my current cross bike, an older Merckx AluCross.

It will be fun to see how that holds up this season.

Trakhak

Imagine yourself starting out as a bike racer in 1965 (as I did); your choices for bike equipment were Simplex (the all-Delrin plastic era), Huret (pre-Jubilee era), Weinmann, Balilla, Altenburger, Lyotard, Universal, and a few more obscure brands such as Cyclo-Benelux. Or Campagnolo.

All the other brands catered to the commuter-level market, for the most part, although Universal (another Italian company) had some very good brakes in their line. Campagnolo alone designed no-compromise equipment for the professional.

An example of their level of commitment to quality: according to a Campy tech doing a presentation at a Campagnolo seminar in 1980, the company guaranteed that the Campagnolo headset bearing balls sold in a bag containing enough to service one headset were consistent in diameter within 4 microns. He then held up two bags. "We don't guarantee that the balls in this bag will be consistent within 4 microns with the balls in the other bag. Just that the balls in any one bag are within 4 microns of each other."

bradtx

balindamood, I couldn't have written it better.

Brad

auchencrow

Thanks @Singlespd , I'm feeling the love now!

iab

I'll be a bit picky. I'd say his improvements to racing bikes happened earlier. His quick release was gaining acceptance prior to the war and by the early 40s, the cambio corsa was winning Milan-Sanremo and Lombardy. Directly after the war, 46/47/48, the cambio corsa was the go-to derailleur (in Italy) over what Vittoria had to offer. The spring coils of the Simplex and Huret TdF kept the cambio corsa from dominating.

I would totally agree the success of the Gran Sport ushed the new era of cycling and allowed Campagnolo to dominate the market.

CustomSteel

I'm not a cultist per se, I just like stuff that's built well. I don't even own any Campy products yet, but I'll admit to being a fan.

Wheels Of Steel

Some, not all.

David Newton

Saying something is a cult following doesn't mean the following isn't based on solid reasoning, top quality, etc.

treal512

+1,000

SJX426 

OTT @Singlespd!

look171

Well, if you had to ask...

Why do people buy 6-8K stoves while a 800 Sears one will do?
Why do people buy 800 dollars faucet but a good Kohler ( I think they are a POS for the money) for 300 bucks that are just as good?

This list can go on and on for miles. I liked CAmpy and would not have anything else on my bike for the longest. Partly is because of the prestige and guys winning the biggest races are using them. Hell, they even looked better then most out there. I think the SR front derailleur is damn ugly and it looks like a dead fish, but i gotta have it. I raced on Suntour Superbe for several years. They held up fine and took a lot of beating. N ow, its all Shimano for me. I do have Sram on my new bike, it works fine.

gioscinelli 

It's fine, it's alright, it works ect... Where's the passion!

KonAaron Snake 

We're posting campy?

eja_ bottecchia

You took the words right out of my word processor.

Nothing else needs to be said.

jjhabbs 

Too good!!

Honestly. Look at my list of bicycles. Two bikes with Super Record, Two bikes with Nuovo Record, Two bikes with Gran sport, One bike with 90s mix of Chorus, Athena etc, I think its ART,, Beautiful.

Now, does it perform the best?? Well the bearing and race quality is second to none. The shift quality is not why I buy it. Suntour and Shimano shift better in my opinion. But the shine, hardness of the aluminum etc is so cool. I have one bike with retro Dura Ace and its cool.

Real Men have at least one Campy bike.

KonAaron Snake 

Put that Campy DOWN! Campy is for closers.