campy doesn't use asian countries the only factory not in Italy is in Romania.
you know, where Vlad Campagnolo was from.

Romania.
Is manufacturing in Romania different than Taiwan or China?

They own the factory and manage it so it is different than some of the complete outsorcing that goes on.

Romania also has a long history of experience in machining.

Not to mention Romania is not that far away from Italy, so executives can check on the production easier than if they were farmed out to Asia.

I guess I just don't understand the euro only line of thinking.

Maybe it's because you're trying to understand 'euro only' when no one is saying that.

The Campagnolo freehub design is no more proprietary than the Shimano one and a whole lot less stupid. If Shimano really had their customers' best interest at heart, they'd dump their design and license Campy's.

+1

I am happy to see Campy's addition to the electronic shifting market. Not because I am interested in it, I'm very happy with my DA Di2. (I find the Campy hoods pretty ugly and the battery on the EPS is an eyesore)

But competition is always good for the consumer. Now if only SRAM would wake up and smell the coffee......

Why do you feel that is? I'd be interested in learning the reason some feel that their design is any better.

Let's put it this way, the Shimano/Sram splined design is the more common version. Another way to look at it: If there was a standardized hub design, I would be willing to buy their wheels, and/or run Campagnolo on one or more bikes, but it isn't, so I don't.

Wait...is that gollum or smiegel speaking?

http://velonews.competitor.com/files...ER_motor1.jpeg

Seriously? THIS is what Campagnolo has become? The beautiful, simple, cable-activated front derailleur has turned into this butt-ugly monstrosity?

Thank goodness it comes with that carbon fiber cage plate, THAT makes it all better.

Oh, come on. It's no worse than their current shifters.

Campy makes Shimano/Sram hubs for some of their branded wheel lines so you can ride a non campy group and roll campy wheels...

Shimano splined aluminum hub bodies get chewed up by steel cogs. Campy ones don't. Granted, there are spacers and steel clad hubs to get around this limitation, but if the spline pattern were designed right in the first place, it wouldn't be necessary.

Okay then. Thanks for answering my question.

the campagnolo freehub body was also widened when they switched to 9spd. campagnolo 11spd cogs are the same 1.6mm as shimano 10spd sprockets. i think this is one of the reasons shimano has been slow to go to 11spd. they will either need to go thinner than campagnolo in order to keep there current hub or switch to a wider freehub. switching to a wider freehub would either mean more dish or a wider hubs. neither option will be pleasant for people wanting backwards compatibility.

it would be best for everyone if shimano licensed the campagnolo freehub if they switch to 11. this would give shimano 11spd owner instant access to existing wheels, many good wheels can be converted over to campy use, and as a side benefit we would be one step closer to a wheel/sprocket standard. it would be great if they shared sprocket spacing but im not counting on it.

WRONG!

The main reason they are in Romania?

FIAT had a big manufacturing presence in Romania from the time of the dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, then FIAT got into trouble, Campy then saw the opportunity to take over a defunct FIAT factory and the relatively cheap labor (as compared to Italy). This is the main reason they are in Romania. Also, the car FIAT was manufacturing in Romania was a piece of s**t. And the labor pool was problematic. Think alcoholism on a huge scale.

Unfortunately, I don't see this happening. The last time Shimano made a tentative step towards a better spline pattern, on DA wheels, customers flipped out when they found out they couldn't run Ultegra cassettes on them. At some point, they have to do something to fix the problems, but it won't be a smooth trip to get there.

Probably not. It doesn't matter people will still buy it like people buy everything. It's all rather boring anyway..................

i completely agree with you. i just think it would be smart long term.

no, it really is different than many chinese/taiwanese comparisons. look at the schwinn example. they outsourced their production to giant and this allowed giant to become a big player in the market. (and where is schwinn today) campagnolo owns their factory in romania. this allows them to control the production, quality, and best practices. campagnolo will build and perfect a process in italy and then teach it to campagnolo employees in romania. it is nothing more than an extension of the italian factory.

edit: as noted before, proximity is also very important. campagnolo executives and engineers can access the romanian facility with ease. in manufacturing this is very valuable (i work for a company that owns several global locations)

I work in manufacturing and have lots of ex-Romanians kicking around in the industry over here. I am very familiar with the situation and history of manufacturing in Romania.

There are a lot of skilled machinists there and likely even an idiot can appreciate that it's easier to run a machine shop if you can find guys who know which buttons to push.

point taken.

This is huge! The Taiwanese and Chinese are way too ambitious to remain OEM manufacturers for western brands forever. If they can eat your lunch, you can bet your sweet beepy they will.

This to me is the main problem with western brands rushing to Taiwan and China. That, and the fact that the chinese legal system is just a piece of s**t when it comes to seeking redress for trade methods/technology/business stealing. Heck, the government itself, in all its communist glory is actively trying to steal trade/business secrets and technology in important industries from the USA and the rest of the west.

This is a very important lesson for the west to dlearn and digest. The implications are huge.