Is Campagnolo disappearing?

neilophenia

Is it just me or is Campagnolo becoming a bit of a rarity on today’s bikes? Lots of bike shops don’t even stock it and I hardly ever see bikes equipped with it when I’m out and about.

thegreatdivide

No, Campagnolo isn't disappearing.

singleton

It's true that most new bikes are coming equipped with Shimano or SRAM, but I hope that doesn't mean that Campag are disappearing.

neilophenia

oxoman said:

Go to other countries and campag is very popular.

I live in the middle of Europe (still EU here ) and basically only see Shimano, some SRAM and very, very occasionally Campagnolo.

joe2019

I've never ridden anything but Campagnolo in 40 years of cycling, since I was a teenager.

neilophenia

joe2019 said:

I've never ridden anything but Campagnolo in 40 years of cycling, since I was a teenager.

Me neither, apart from my first bike.

pblakeney

joe2019 said:

I've never ridden anything but Campagnolo in 40 years of cycling, since I was a teenager.

Trouble is that younger riders will have a different experience and some will never have heard of Campagnolo. If nobody uses it then they will go out of business.
For the record (😉) I am a happy Campagnolo user.
Even Colnago spec Shimano on their complete bikes. 😱

neilophenia

I personally wouldn’t use Shimano for various reasons but as you say, the youth of today will most likely get a Shimano equipped bike and stick with the company. Poor things.

amrushton

A lot is driven by fashion and I'll guess Campag may not give big discounts to firms. Only cyclists care about Campag on an Italian bike. certainly Wilier/Colnago etc dont care and neither do any riders. As long as the gears work they are happy. Surprised Campagnolo hasnt been bought out tho given the fantastic brand history they have. I wouldnt buy it again, it's stupidly expensive compared to Ultegra or even DA.

bobmcstuff

neilophenia said:

I personally wouldn’t use Shimano for various reasons but as you say, the youth of today will most likely get a Shimano equipped bike and stick with the company. Poor things.

Shimano is a lot cheaper for spares (and whole groupsets), if your bike comes with it and it's perfectly serviceable, what's the issue?

I'd like to put Campag on my Condor, but I can't really justify it when the old Tiagra I have on it has been working fine since I got the bike (I've actually got 105 F&R derailleurs on there now, I assume the R broke at some point but I only remember the front one breaking. 22,000km on the bike.). Even though the frame is very much under-specced with that groupset, and would look much better with Chorus etc..

pblakeney

bobmcstuff said:

neilophenia said:

I personally wouldn’t use Shimano for various reasons but as you say, the youth of today will most likely get a Shimano equipped bike and stick with the company. Poor things.

Shimano is a lot cheaper for spares (and whole groupsets), if your bike comes with it and it's perfectly serviceable, what's the issue?

I'd like to put Campag on my Condor, but I can't really justify it when the old Tiagra I have on it has been working fine since I got the bike (I've actually got 105 F&R derailleurs on there now, I assume the R broke at some point but I only remember the front one breaking. 22,000km on the bike.). Even though the frame is very much under-specced with that groupset, and would look much better with Chorus etc..

Flip side of that is that I specced my Fratello with Chorus in 2011 and it hasn't missed a beat with @ 40-45,000 kms. (Now has Stronglight rings, Miche cassette and KMC chain but whatever 😉).

amrushton

No doubt because oem parts are stupidly priced. Sounds like my campag equipped bikes

neilophenia

I don’t want to get into a debate about the pros and cons of the main firms. It’s more about how Campagnolo seems to me to becoming rarer and rarer. Shimano dominates, SRAM is the popular new guy at school and Campagnolo seems to be falling into the background in the popularity stakes.

Darius_Jedburgh

My LBS reckons SRAM is the best electronic system, followed by Shimano with Campag somewhat distant in third place. He's thinking of ease of set up and ongoing reliability.

pblakeney

amrushton said:

No doubt because oem parts are stupidly priced. Sounds like my campag equipped bikes

To be fair, I did once find Chorus chains for the same price as KMC and did a batch buy. Saving them for the good bike. Not that I notice the difference though.

neilophenia

FrankYates said:

My LBS reckons SRAM is the best electronic system, followed by Shimano with Campag somewhat distant in third place. He's thinking of ease of set up and ongoing reliability.

Aren’t many SRAM and Shimano parts compatible? If so it would make more sense for LBSs to stock both of them. That said, any LBS should have the tools and know how to service and fit Campagnolo.

Where I live most of the LBSs have turned into ebike shops. I hardly see people out on normal bikes these days.

Darius_Jedburgh

neilophenia said:

Aren’t many SRAM and Shimano parts compatible? If so it would make more sense for LBSs to stock both of them.

He does.

neilophenia said:

That said, any LBS should have the tools and know how to service and fit Campagnolo.

He does.

thegreatdivide

FrankYates said:

My LBS reckons SRAM is the best electronic system, followed by Shimano with Campag somewhat distant in third place. He's thinking of ease of set up and ongoing reliability.

What’s the name of your LBS?

Darius_Jedburgh

thegreatdivide said:

FrankYates said:

My LBS reckons SRAM is the best electronic system, followed by Shimano with Campag somewhat distant in third place. He's thinking of ease of set up and ongoing reliability.

What’s the name of your LBS?

Why?

thegreatdivide

FrankYates said:

thegreatdivide said:

FrankYates said:

My LBS reckons SRAM is the best electronic system, followed by Shimano with Campag somewhat distant in third place. He's thinking of ease of set up and ongoing reliability.

What’s the name of your LBS?

Why?

Because he/they’re talking utter nonsense.

Darius_Jedburgh

thegreatdivide said:

FrankYates said:

thegreatdivide said:

FrankYates said:

My LBS reckons SRAM is the best electronic system, followed by Shimano with Campag somewhat distant in third place. He's thinking of ease of set up and ongoing reliability.

What’s the name of your LBS?

Why?

Because he/they’re talking utter nonsense.

Well give me your name, address and phone number and I'll ask the pro who works with this stuff all day every day to speak to a know all amateur spouting off anonymously on an internet forum.

leoluong

I have campagnolo and alfa romeo . I think the issue is the same. Very good stuff but nobody knows how to maintain ..or .. adjust properly anymore. The way the local bike shop set my camag group set was horrendous.. will never go to him again.

DeVlaeminck

Never used electronic but my experience of Campag mechanical is good - so much so I intend to go back to Campag next bike or groupset I buy.

ugo.santalucia

If we only talk about mechanical groupsets (basically because I know nothing about the electric ones), then none of the brands have come up with anything innovative for quite some time... having 4 bolts instead of 5 in your chainset doesn't make any difference... Shimano have these new derailleurs that can take large cassettes, but again, it's not an amazing feat of engineering.

So it comes down to price and reliability and Shimano is always cheaper than Campagnolo. They are both reliable enough, but sourcing spares for Shimano is easier and again cheaper. The toolset needed to service Shimano is also cheaper.
It becomes a bit difficult to justify buying Campagnolo, other than for the name

fatted864

I preferred my Campagnolo mechanical to Shimano, but now much prefer my Red eTAP . (with Campagnolo cassette, because that is the hub I have)

DeVlaeminck

ugo.santalucia said:

If we only talk about mechanical groupsets (basically because I know nothing about the electric ones), then none of the brands have come up with anything innovative for quite some time... having 4 bolts instead of 5 in your chainset doesn't make any difference... Shimano have these new derailleurs that can take large cassettes, but again, it's not an amazing feat of engineering.

So it comes down to price and reliability and Shimano is always cheaper than Campagnolo. They are both reliable enough, but sourcing spares for Shimano is easier and again cheaper. The toolset needed to service Shimano is also cheaper.
It becomes a bit difficult to justify buying Campagnolo, other than for the name

I just prefer the feel and my experience has been that it shifts better, lasts longer (glossing over the plastic levers on veloce 10spd) and is quieter.

mpatts

Campag on all my bikes*, my latest even came with potenza under the C2W limit.

*Not on the CX bikes, I'm not a total lunatic.

Ben6899

DA7900 on the Donhou, Veloce on the Dolan, Athena/Mirage/Veloce on the Gios, Red on the Condor.

They're honestly all as good as the next, if maintained properly. The only negative comment I have is that the Red rim brake calipers are a nightmare to set up - I keep thinking I'll buy a pair of DA9000 to replace them.

teisetrotter

Campagnolo is a small company compared to Shimano. So whilst a new off the shelf groupset is not too different in price, in fact I think Potenza can be found marginally cheaper than Ultegra. You do need different tools and replacement parts are expensive plus Campy has two different systems and three different groupsets for each system which is madness. Don't forget they are also two brands Fulcrum and Campagnolo. A shed load of off the peg bikes come with Fulcrum wheels.

Manufacturers will also get mass discounts from Shimano and a better supply chain of various spare parts which if there is a delay in supply could cause them the reputational damage/lost revenue. That will also be true of bike shops, it can be difficult and expensive to get all the parts for a small percentage of the market. So it all starts to be mass Shimano dominance for price and convenience for everyone. Also if you have not ridden both systems enough you have no idea whether it is a thumb shifter that will drive you mad or the lack of a decent multi-downshift capability that will drive you mad and it's easier for big brands just to do one and not give you the choice.

I've ridden Campagnolo all my cycling life. But when I chose my last bike I wanted discs for winter. At the time Campagnolo hadn't released their disc brakes so it was Shimano, and I bought their first Ultegra solution. I thought I'd get used to the differences and join the Shimano masses for good, but in three years I have never got on with the Shimano downshift paddle or indeed the hood designs. So now I know it's the lack of a flexible 3 gear downshift that drives me mad, but I bet I am one of dwindling few who knows there is even a difference.

So I will be one of the rare people who'll be riding Chorus discs as I am building a new bike and it is not a cheap alternative to Shimano. So in the end whilst Campy' does have a more flexible gear change .... only a few care and even fewer will pay a premium for it and those few are not large bicycle companies.

yellowv2

teisetrotter said:

Campagnolo is a small company compared to Shimano. So whilst a new off the shelf groupset is not too different in price, in fact I think Potenza can be found marginally cheaper than Ultegra. You do need different tools and replacement parts are expensive plus Campy has two different systems and three different groupsets for each system which is madness. Don't forget they are also two brands Fulcrum and Campagnolo. A shed load of off the peg bikes come with Fulcrum wheels.

Manufacturers will also get mass discounts from Shimano and a better supply chain of various spare parts which if there is a delay in supply could cause them the reputational damage/lost revenue. That will also be true of bike shops, it can be difficult and expensive to get all the parts for a small percentage of the market. So it all starts to be mass Shimano dominance for price and convenience for everyone. Also if you have not ridden both systems enough you have no idea whether it is a thumb shifter that will drive you mad or the lack of a decent multi-downshift capability that will drive you mad and it's easier for big brands just to do one and not give you the choice.

I've ridden Campagnolo all my cycling life. But when I chose my last bike I wanted discs for winter. At the time Campagnolo hadn't released their disc brakes so it was Shimano, and I bought their first Ultegra solution. I thought I'd get used to the differences and join the Shimano masses for good, but in three years I have never got on with the Shimano downshift paddle or indeed the hood designs. So now I know it's the lack of a flexible 3 gear downshift that drives me mad, but I bet I am one of dwindling few who knows there is even a difference.

So I will be one of the rare people who'll be riding Chorus discs as I am building a new bike and it is not a cheap alternative to Shimano. So in the end whilst Campy' does have a more flexible gear change .... only a few care and even fewer will pay a premium for it and those few are not large bicycle companies.

Agree with all this, well written.
I also find Campagnolo much more comfortable for riding on the hoods and much prefer the one lever one operation design.

mpatts

I wrote a letter to Campag to say I wanted to give the person that designed the hoods on the new campag potenza gruppo a hug. They are lovely. Look lovely, feel lovely, a lot of love has gone into them.