This thread has officially jumped the shark.

and i know he was the COO.

don't like my wording? too bad.
sue me.
this is exactly why you are blocked.
your posts have zero real value, and border on total trolling.
bye.

I don't think you understand what "blocked" means, since you keep replying to people you claim to have blocked.

Oh, and a COO would not be in charge of manufacturing.

As for post "value": what on earth did your post have to do with Campagnolo?

It was in the Campagnolo thread.
Duh.

I heard Campy is working on a new derailleur pulley that's supposed to revolutionize shifting. They're waiting for some of Shimano's patents to expire. Then they'll copy their designs and use that new pulley to dominate the industry.

Wow this thread got big real fast. TL: DR. I'm not at all an authority on Campy, nor how they got here. Here's my take on what they might do going forward. Technically, for new development, it seems they are outgunned by other makers, as well as at a cost disadvantage.

So what I would do is, have Campy put together the highest quality, good functioning, durable groupo, that is also the most aesthetically pleasing in the industry, and sell it at mid-market prices. Offer a product that Shimano and SRAM no longer does. Don't reinvent the wheel, just dig into their archive of past designs for greatness. The most beautiful 5-arm-spider cranks, in polished silver, beautiful polished silver hubs, derailleurs, etc. No black, no 4-arm assym cranks, no electronics, etc. Components for frames that are also works of art. That is what I would buy, if I were in the market for a road bike. Something beautiful. Market it to the same people that buy beautiful expensive things like high quality cookware and knives, Hermes leather goods, expensive blued-steel sporting equipment, bamboo fly rods, waxed cotton outerwear, mechanical 4x5 film cameras (yes, they still make them), vacuum tube amplifiers, turntables for their vinyl record collection, etc. Advertise in Bicycle Quarterly. In fact, BQ helped save the Rene Herse brand of components, stylish and well made components aimed at the C&V market. Campy is still too valuable for Jan Heine to buy them (although maybe not, with their losses), but I think BQ is exactly the place to advertise them. Find framebuilders and boutique makers who are interested in parts as described above. Like perhaps Rivendell. Advertise in Vogue, get them to do some fashion photo shoots including the bikes. Put a bike on display in Ralph Lauren, they're big on imitation of classic styles.

That's all I got.

Quaint, but pretty out of touch with reality.

The midrange, silver groupset thing they tried already, like back around 2018, with 11 speed Athena. Let it suffice to say that you’re not the only one not in the market.

With regards to Heine/BQ “helping save Herse,” that’s ridiculous. Herse had been out of business for 30 years by the time Heine resurrected the brand. Heine resurrected Herse from the grave.

Even all that aside, Campagnolo is not a “C&V” company. It’s the most innovative component manufacturer in the world. Vintage stuff is completely antithetical to the company’s DNA, their capacities, and their market position.

Their market position is called moribund

Well, it sounds like you know more about Campy than me, not a surprise. If they can compete, more power to them, I want them to survive. The losses don't look good, but then, I guess most in the unpowered bike world are having the same issues. But reading in someone's comments that no one in the TdF is using their stuff, sounds like they are behind the tech curve. It's also a question of just how much further that derailleur systems can advance. The rate of innovation in the industry has really taken off the past 40 years. But how many more cogs can they fit on a road hub? Even the cheapest cogs have shift ramps.

In another industry that I cannot mention on this forum, an originator of two iconic designs, their sales have plummeted as patents expired and dozens of new manufacturers entered the market, many with innovations that surpass the originals. It's tough all over.

IIRC, Campy used to also make other things, like cast or forged aluminum wheels for some Italian auto makers, I don't know if that is still true.

Anyway, Campagnolo is a storied maker, I hope they recover.

Does Shimano pay pro teams to use their stuff as a marketing strategy?

That's just one of the many falsehoods presented in this thread. Campy was absent from the world tour for one year (2024), but returned in 2025.

More Campagnolo history:

https://bringatrailer.com/2018/03/20...-of-magnesium/

This thread is about how their market position is...less than ideal or coveted.
And countless opinions as well as industry articles tie their current market position to how they have positioned themselves within the market.

Fashion photo shoots? LOL. WTF...These are inanimate things. Not playboy girls.

I never look at my derailleur or other components on my bike and I doubt many others do either. As long as they are mechanically functional at a decent price that's what matters the most. Bikes aren't jewelry.

You want to market inexpensive stuff to people that buy expensive stuff?

Maybe you don't think so, but there are in fact many, many thousands of us who appreciate the aesthetics of a bike and nice-looking components.

There are. But it's a small minority.

Campy already appeals to a small market demographic. Targeting an even smaller market segment doesn't seem like an idea that would improve their bottom line.

So...like 54%? Or even smaller at 51%?

fify.

Probably smaller than that!!!

Social experiment...

Get together with some bike buddies and:

1.) Take note who has campy on their bike (probably nobody or very few)

2.) Take note who may be oogling over how the components look on the bike.

If the 20-30 people with whom I interact with any regularity while cycling, I can only think of two (including myself) who ride Campag - everyone else is on mid/upper-tier Shimano or SRAM (my impression is that SRAM is almost the default on new bikes here). However, I quite regularly get compliments on my bikes (older Litespeeds with recent 12sp Chorus mechanical). This isn't all down to the group sets, of course, although folks looking the bikes over usually comment on the Campag, probably because (i) it's unusual, and (ii) is a new mechanical drivetrain - no-one is buying mechanical new. I think aesthetics matter, so my bikes are well turned out - everything in its place, colors coordinating etc. It'd be that way regardless of what group set I was using, although the Chorus 12 does look pretty good.

My bike circle is probably about as large. Maybe even larger because I do all disciplines...Gravel, Road, Mountain and Fat so it's a good cross section of all sorts of people. No Campy to be seen anywhere. If anything SRAM AXS is what I'm starting to see more of than anything else these days.

Yeah, I was just joking about the 'small majority' comment. That stood out to me. It would clearly be fewer than 50% with Campy on their bike or oogling over a bike.

Antidentite