Originally Posted by
MegaTom
You are right that Campagnolo was quite the innovator, long before Shimano. It is after Shimano came onto the market in such a big way that Campy began its decline. You are both missing the point and proving it at the same time.
Incorrect. Campy got the freehub spline pattern right, front derailleur trim, rear multi-shift, under tape cable routing, 11 speed, and carbon component fabrication right well before Shimano. It's somewhat telling that for weight and functionality, Shimano's top current mechanical group (DA 7900) is about on par with Campy's FIFTH level group (Centaur). In fact, Di2 may be seen as a desperate attempt by a company falling behind its main competitors' techonology to regain its edge.