Is Campagnolo's stuff actually better than Shimano and SRAM's stuff?
From everything I've read Shimano's shifting is the best of the three. So what's justifying Campagnolo charging significantly more than Shimano? "Mystique"?
No wonder they are going under. Mystique is only if your stuff is better. If your stuff is worse, then you're just worse, the end.
Now let's say at the high end all the groups are so close that any "better" or "worse" is just picking at nothing. Ok, great. So if it's all the same, then why would anyone pay more? "Mystique" again?
It turns out that customers are actually rational. Who would have thought.
The prevalent thought through the 00's was that brand new Shimano is slightly smoother than Campag. Shimano of that era has a very light action and quiet shift and Campy is a more positive shift. Neither are loud or rough but the Shimano is smoother.
Campy doesn't really wear out though, it basically shifts perfectly forever and the Shimano gets sloppier over time. I've got two similarly aged bikes with similar groups - 10speed chorus and 9 speed Ultegra. In my experience this is true. The Campy lasts longer, stays smoother, and the shifters are rebuildable.
To me, for 25 year old stuff, this is a huge advantage.
The disadvantage is that all or almost all their stuff is only compatible with itself. You really can't mix Campy and Shimano. This feels like a bigger disadvantage for Campy only because most spare parts are Shimano.
For new stuff, I really like my Ekar group. The brakes are made by Magura and work amazing. The ergonomics of the hoods and shifters is perfect for me, it's almost like Ergo should be in the name. But, and this bothers me, my Ekar never quite feels perfect. It shifts well but it took me a while to dial it in. I watched some videos and learned more and got it pretty good. It's not as smooth as 10 speed Campy or even 12 speed SRAM. It's 4 stars for me, not 5.