thirdgenbird

that is such a beautiful group.

if the rims are on backorder i would look at offerings from dt swiss. i am very pleased with mine.

repechage

This group is gaining favor with me, not sure if they figured how to officially remove the non drive side crank though. I have also had to realign my view of the group names, one of the things Campagnolo has learned from other industries and should not have picked up on.

orangeology

to be honest w. you all, i feel very relieved seeing signor campagnolo's willing to keep it up in the good olde 'pure' campy way.
last thing i'd want to see in this world is a campy part with gold-oval m-i-big"C" sticker.
campy has been campy and will be campy. good news, at least IMO.

putting everything aside and 'we'll see' mode, the most desperate and needed thing for them NOW is finding and sponsoring a 'winner' in the big races, i guess. they just need a winner. appealing to the new generations, not by marketing not by advertising not by lawsuits — by showing the blue insignia on the winner's bike.

Alan Edwards

Campy needs to start a reissue program, go back and make Nuovo record again in Romania and sell it to the world. They would be in the same place they are now, selling every part that they make. What it is with having 5 reps in America? Campagnolo could sell more but they don't have the ability to expand to make or meet the sales. Growing pains or stagnent pains.

mkeller234

I found Campagnolo equipped bikes and components in a unexpected place last year. I live 30 minutes north of "Amish Country" in Ohio. There I found a bike shop with no electricity, lit with natural gas torches... filled with ultra high end bicycles. It was pretty weird / cool. It was a very plain building in the country with nothing but farms all around it.

Road Fan

Seems the opposite to me - they don't really have an entry level. The closest they have to it works essentially as well as the high end of the same system (10s v. 11s) and is usefully interchangeable, permitting upgrades by the owner. They've defined their concept of how a bike's riding and controls SHOULD work and are building their line on those concepts.

Michael Angelo 

When I ordered the Athena group set, I looked at all the other Campagnolo sets, almost bought Super Record.

cs1

I agree 100%. In no way was this a fluff piece. That article could have been used, or should be used in college business text books. It is a classic example of innovation over competition.

cs1

They do but what Campy considers entry level and everyone else does are two different things.

gomango

When I glanced the other day at Ribble, the Athena gruppo could be ordered for less than $500.

Order single pieces, not through the groupset section.

$160 for shifters
$85 for a crank
$60 for a bottom bracket
$35 for a front derailleur
$65 for a rear derailleur
another $50 for a chain

Make sure the Athena shifters come with the cabling set!

They have a holiday discount that knocks real $$$ off a set.

Tricky though, to find all pieces constantly in stock.

I also noticed Pro Bike kit had the Fulcrum 7 wheelset with Continental tires for $199, the Fulcrum 5s for just a little bit more.

So for around $750 or so, one could be right up to date.

Italuminium

I ride centaur, which should be the second tier gruppo for it's age. No way it compares to Tiagra in fit, finish or function.

jbkirby

In other articles I have read interviewing Valentino Campagnolo, they have no interest in being a wide-open, high-production manufacturer, but wish to rely on quality and innovation...all reasons enough to stick with them. They have to compete with Shimano which is a daunting task on any level. First, labor rates for the unionized, Italian workers are much higher than those Shimano pays to their workers, yet they still manage to have a price point that is consistent with their quality. I have experienced the poor quality of a Campy Gran Turismo RD in the past, replacing it with a then-new Shimano Crane GS. Both of my present bikes are equipped with NR dating back to 1971 or 1972 and all equipment works as you would expect as if they were new, and look like pieces of mobile art with their level of fit and finish. I have confidence that a certain market segment will sustain Campagnolo purely out of dedication to this marque, and I am one of those.

RobbieTunes

The ribble prices are good, but you have to find them in stock. PBK is right there, too.
I'll be picking up a set of shifters in the next couple of weeks, hoping the price stays right.
In order to maximize the shipping costs, I often order some disposables at the same time.

gomango is dead right about getting the cables. That's $30 right there, and they actually fit.

A guy at ribble told me the new styling is meant to evoke the era of fluted crank arms, etc.

rootboy 

I am one too, but I'm sure my gear buying habits won't help sustain the vaunted brand as I'm likely to buy 35 year old parts. But perhaps subsequent generations of consumers who have become the new tifosi, having been bitten by the alluring vintage gear of Campagnolo's heyday, will show their loyalty when buying new parts.

RobbieTunes

Bingo

Oregon Southpaw

And to that effect, I'm someone who has never really dabbled in Campy, but the article and the prospect of modernizing my bike with Campy - something I've always thought out of my price range - around $500 makes me want to go Campy and never look back.

Oregon Southpaw

Oh yeah that and that this forum should be receiving advertising dividends because I think about Ergo every day of the week (generally because of you guys).

gomango

As a long time Shimano guy, I was skeptical till I had a conversation a few years ago with OFG about Campy.

We spent on hour on the phone if I recall, and he gave me some great ideas/motivations for switching over to Campy.

I really haven't looked back since then.

However, I am thinking about Shimano again this winter, as I am building a 29er for a series of long distance gravel races in Minnesota next summer.

I know the Campy CX series looks great, but I've really enjoyed most XT or XTR equipped tourers/mtbs I've ridden, so I'll have to be convinced all over again.

Plus, I can pick up great condition XT off of the local CL for peanuts.

gomango

I really think you'd enjoy riding a bike or two of mine then.

10 speed Chorus would push you right over the edge.

Italuminium

So sad Campy never made it into the MTB world... I'd love to have a campy mtb, but as Gomango pointed out, for a modern 29'er, there is no alternative from Vicenza.

rootboy 

Well, they did make MTB components, didn't they? Or is your "never made it" just the point? I've never seen them but I understand they weren't memorable.

thirdgenbird

they still make mountain bike wheelsets.

bigbossman 

I've found this to be a pretty persistent myth, that Campagnolo is way more expensive than Shimano. Maybe a hold-over from ages ago? Anyway - a Campagnolo road group is usually the same or less expensive than Shimano. Plus, it looks and works better, and is more durable (not to mention rebuildable).

And take a wild guess who converted him.........

We spent many evenings talking on the phone about the stuff..... he was a hard one to convince, being an old hand in racing and having as deep a cycling equipment a knowledge has he has. Now that he's seen the light, he is an ardent Campagnolo proponent and has sold off or converted all of his DT shifting bikes.

I made a good friend in the bargain, too...... that's worth more than I can properly articulate.

Italuminium

Yeah they tried... But compared to the other offerings they never made the cut, and didn't establish a lasting production run. Frank (the Welder) speaks highly of the rims they offered in his recent charity auction, but other components seem to get only derision, except on the look and finish bit

divineAndbright

I can't say I can view Campagnolo for being innovative, maybe once upon a time in the 60s or 70s, but they seem to have been stuck more on tradition than anything else, or the least simply following others ideas to kind stay in the modern forefront. When splined BBs came out Campagnolo stuck with square taper all the way to outboard cup era (which I personally detest). Needless to say they had to come out with some kind of integrated shifter after shimano did it to at least continue to breathe some sort of life, the more aero equipment of the 80s was seemingly following shimanos AXs. Even the weird indexing Croce d’Aune was borrowing the DA AX idea. How long did Nuovo Record have its run, great to keep at with something but works but I just can't see the innovated claims having any reality here. I'm certainly not trying to bad mouth on Campagnolo, if it wasnt for their poor integrated brake/ shifter design (cant shift from the drops well!) I'd probably be using the stuff.