Biggest rip-off in a cycle product? (courtesy of Campagnolo)

neeb

The newer (2011 on?) Campagnolo brake shoes make it easier to change the pads because they use a clip, and the blocks are looser fitting. It would be really useful to have a set of these on one of my bikes that has slightly older brakes (otherwise identical) to allow quick swapping of alloy and carbon-specific pads.

Easy I thought, I'll just buy a new set of brake shoes, they can't cost more than a tenner surely...

RRP is £76.99!!! For a set of brake shoes!!

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/campagnolo-new- ... -pads-blk/

Is any other cycling product a more blatant rip-off? I nominate this for a special prize. I may even get a trophy engraved and post it to Campagnolo in Italy. It wouldn't cost any more than a set of brake shoes after all.

Does anyone know if there are other shoes available that will fit the skeleton brakes and also take Reynolds blue carbon pads (which I think only come in Shimano and Campagnolo versions)?

arran77

Yes, but you get free Haribo

Wirral_paul

Crikey - must be the shoes that are the expensive parts - the inserts themselves are about £20 a set. For £77 you could (almost) get some Athena calipers with the shoes and inserts included!!

stoobydale

Yes, but you are paying for all that style and Italian heritage.

BillyMansell

neeb wrote:

Is any other cycling product a more blatant rip-off?

I'll probably be excommunicated for saying this but Oakley glasses would probably challenge those brake shoes for the title.

rolf_f

Lol - I bought a brand new pair of Super Record skeleton brakes with those shoes on Ebay for £125. Nice to know that the actual brakes only cost me less than £50

Mind you, expecting the shoes to be a tenner for four sounds a bit outrageously optimistic!

mk1fish

you seems surprised, you could always buy their cork screw RRP £77.99

http://www.gbcycles.co.uk/p/35522/Campa ... Opener?kw={keyword}&fl=1000&ci=27296360582&network=pla&gclid=CN2M1vjb8boCFYLHtAodKHMAhw#/images/product/Miro-Red-Bottle-Opener.thumb.jpg

lol

rickeverett

Welcome to the world of cycling products.

In recent times stuff has become a joke. We are all being ripped off when you consider how cheap the stuff is made for.

bobbymeister

Aztec do a Campag compatible shoe, which takes standard Shimano-pattern pads.
They're a whole lot cheaper.

trooperk

BillyMansell wrote:

neeb wrote:

Is any other cycling product a more blatant rip-off?

I'll probably be excommunicated for saying this but Oakley glasses would probably challenge those brake shoes for the title.

Yes it’s over price but it’s the only glasses that stays on my face and can withstand a shotgun blast from 10ft, so it’s money well spent knowing it protect my eyes if I crash into something sharp or pointy.

verylonglegs

trooperk wrote:

BillyMansell wrote:

neeb wrote:

Is any other cycling product a more blatant rip-off?

I'll probably be excommunicated for saying this but Oakley glasses would probably challenge those brake shoes for the title.

Yes it’s over price but it’s the only glasses that stays on my face and can withstand a shotgun blast from 10ft, so it’s money well spent knowing it protect my eyes if I crash into something sharp or pointy.

More to the point Oakley glasses, or any other glasses for that matter, are not a consumable. Unless you are very clumsy.

bernithebiker

trooperk wrote:

and can withstand a shotgun blast from 10ft,

that's a very useful feature to have, you never know when you might be cycling past a bank hold up next....



My vote goes to the Shimano 11 speed chain joining pin; I think it's about £20, which probably makes it worth it's weight in gold......

ddraver

The Italians have definitely got this competition licked...

elderone

trooperk wrote:

BillyMansell wrote:

neeb wrote:

Is any other cycling product a more blatant rip-off?

I'll probably be excommunicated for saying this but Oakley glasses would probably challenge those brake shoes for the title.

Yes it’s over price but it’s the only glasses that stays on my face and can withstand a shotgun blast from 10ft, so it’s money well spent knowing it protect my eyes if I crash into something sharp or pointy.

Some one should get Oakley to produce huge size lenses to be used as body armour for the troops.I for one wouldn,t want to be 10ft away from a shot gun blast,your eyes may be protected but the top of your head and jaw wont be in there normal position

jimwin

All my bikes are kitted out with Campag. But for the brakes, I use Shimano all the time. No compatibility issues; Shimano brakes work well with Campag brake levers.

rolf_f

jimwin wrote:

All my bikes are kitted out with Campag. But for the brakes, I use Shimano all the time. No compatibility issues; Shimano brakes work well with Campag brake levers.

As a matter of interest, why ever would you do that? Campag brakes are excellent. And you don't get a pointless extra release lever on the brake itself!

Sprool

brakes may be excellent but £77 for a pair of small rubber compound inserts? You gotta be hang a giraffe. They must have at least 7p worth of material in them, maybe £1 for the manufacturing, and £2.00 for the packaging. Thats a hefty markup for a small block of rubber. Fools and their money.......

mjbennett

They're so expensive because they are super record. The very best money can buy.
try these instead http://www.probikekit.co.uk/bicycle-bra ... tAod_1EApA
or
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/15085191 ... =83&ff19=0

Tom Dean

mk1fish wrote:

you seems surprised, you could always buy their cork screw RRP £77.99

http://www.gbcycles.co.uk/p/35522/Campa ... Opener?kw={keyword}&fl=1000&ci=27296360582&network=pla&gclid=CN2M1vjb8boCFYLHtAodKHMAhw#/images/product/Miro-Red-Bottle-Opener.thumb.jpg

lol

That is the cheapo version of the proper BIG Corkscrew! http://www.evanscycles.com/products/campagnolo/big-corkscrew-ec056471?country=GB&currency=GBP&utm_content=mkwid__pcrid_17321847296_kword__match__plid_&gclid=COeknqr38roCFRPItAodRRYArA

hibster

since when does anyone pay rrp?

mrushton

The 80th anniversary ser they brought out was some ridiculous price compared to the standard SR. And there is the special chain tool at £150 or buying a KMC link for £3(?) As for brakes? DA are arguably the best out there for the money and I use Campagnolo (I don't go that quick) and Shimano do 2 deep drop options. Of course they don't have the Italian 'heritage and design'

neeb

bobbymeister wrote:

Aztec do a Campag compatible shoe, which takes standard Shimano-pattern pads.
They're a whole lot cheaper.

Sounds great - do you know if the pads are easy to replace, i.e. can they be slid in and out without cursing and the use of blunt objects? This is why I need the new shoes, so I can regularly swap carbon & alloy pads - the newer campag ones have a clip so the pads go in very easily, but the old ones are really tight and a complete PITA to change.

Wirral_Paul wrote:

Crikey - must be the shoes that are the expensive parts - the inserts themselves are about £20 a set. For £77 you could (almost) get some Athena calipers with the shoes and inserts included!!

I thought about that, but as far as I can tell from pictures, it's only the SR, Record and Chorus callipers that have the new clip-in style pad holders. A classic case of Campagnolo artificially creating differences in their range to justify price differences - it can't cost any more to make the new style holders than the old ones. But I wonder how much I could flog a set of brand new Chorus callipers without the brake shoes for on ebay - probably more than the purchase price minus £70!

Oakley glasses - yes, they are definitely up there in the rip-off stakes but at least you are getting something with a bit of manufacturing complication and quality control involved - optically good lenses, coatings etc. And you are paying for the coolness factor created by the marketing, if that's your thing. Much as that is true for many Campagnolo products too, there's not much bling in a new set of brake shoes..

mrushton wrote:

And there is the special chain tool at £150 or buying a KMC link for £3(?)

I actually have both the 10sp and 11sp chain tools, and to be fair they are extremely well made and high-quality tools which get fairly regular use. I'm resigned to forking out £150 every time Campagnolo add another cog, which is probably only once every 5 to 10 years after all...

bernithebiker wrote:

My vote goes to the Shimano 11 speed chain joining pin; I think it's about £20, which probably makes it worth it's weight in gold......

Now, that's a serious rival for the prize! The Campagnolo ones are only £5-£6:
http://www.parker-international.co.uk/1 ... g-Pin.html

mrushton

Chain joining pins? What's wrong with a quick link. Links generally fail out on the road where I guess your £150 chain tool is not going to be as it's a workshop item?

ddraver

The optical quality of oakley lenses is outstanding though and (imo, although of course I ve not tried every manufacturer) unparalleled, although whether or not they re worth the extra cash is debatable (I got mine after a work trip abroad where I got a bonus). Also, they re significantly cheaper in their home country whereas Campagnolo is a rip off everywhere and no better/worse than it's competitors

Coach H

Whisper it quietly, but faced withthe same dilema I bought some...................................Shimano 105 shoes for £8 http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-t ... 4000000000 and put KoolStop Salmons in them.

Its not just the new brake shoes either, to get some of the old design Campag ones it was cheaper to by a set of Veloce calipers all in than buy just the pad holders

This post will self destruct in 15 minutes to preserve my vanity

neeb

mrushton wrote:

Chain joining pins? What's wrong with a quick link. Links generally fail out on the road where I guess your £150 chain tool is not going to be as it's a workshop item?

In many thousands of miles over many years I've never had a Campagnolo chain fail. I always install them 100% according to the specs and replace the chain when 0.75% worn. I'm sure the quick links are fine, but I just prefer to stick with what I know is completely reliable. Besides, I just like those chain tools!

neeb

Coach H wrote:

Whisper it quietly, but faced withthe same dilema I bought some...................................Shimano 105 shoes for £8 http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-t ... 4000000000 and put KoolStop Salmons in them.

Its not just the new brake shoes either, to get some of the old design Campag ones it was cheaper to by a set of Veloce calipers all in than buy just the pad holders

This post will self destruct in 15 minutes to preserve my vanity

So no compatibility problems between the Shimano shoes and the Campagnolo callipers?

mrushton

There are some who'll say there is more compatibility between the products than people let on.Obviously chains/chainsets/brakes are ok but I've seen one shifters work with another brands sprockets/front mech etc. leonard Zinn is clued up on this

rolf_f

neeb wrote:

bobbymeister wrote:

Aztec do a Campag compatible shoe, which takes standard Shimano-pattern pads.
They're a whole lot cheaper.

Sounds great - do you know if the pads are easy to replace, i.e. can they be slid in and out without cursing and the use of blunt objects? This is why I need the new shoes, so I can regularly swap carbon & alloy pads - the newer campag ones have a clip so the pads go in very easily, but the old ones are really tight and a complete PITA to change.

I tried this approach. The pads were still a tight fit so whipping them out to inspect for metal in tha pads without faff was still a no go. Furthermore, the horrible little screws that are meant to provide the security that having looser pads requires were made of cheese and became siezed on. When I did finally swap the pads over, I ended up with screw heads broken off and a lot of work with pliers and having to cut the old pads out. I've now gone back to Campag shoes and have absolutely no regrets. Probably use of soap, grease etc for pads and screws respectively might have made the whole thing less tedious but I can't be bothered. If you are doing this on a summer bike only then maybe it will work nicely but the Shimano setup is pretty poor IMO if used all year round. I'm sure others disagree!

ddraver

yep...

I have some BBB ones i ve used all years, no problems...

cost about 20 Euros for all 4 and braking performance is good

Coach H

neeb wrote:

Coach H wrote:

Whisper it quietly, but faced withthe same dilema I bought some...................................Shimano 105 shoes for £8 http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-t ... 4000000000 and put KoolStop Salmons in them.

Its not just the new brake shoes either, to get some of the old design Campag ones it was cheaper to by a set of Veloce calipers all in than buy just the pad holders

This post will self destruct in 15 minutes to preserve my vanity

So no compatibility problems between the Shimano shoes and the Campagnolo callipers?

No work fine