campy record cheesy bit

[vqdriver]

i was a bike shop today to pickup a small part. and as i am wont to do, i lingered for bit looking over the boutique stuff. there were a couple pinarellos on display built up with campy record that i was checking out and i noticed that on the record shifters, the inside paddle. there's a bit of carbon fiber on the outside. i didn't want to pick at it, but it sure did look like a decal to me. is that thing a sticker???? how cheesy. or is it actually cf? if so, then less cheesy.... but still kinda. gees, if they're going to do it, just do the whole paddle.

[handsomerob]

i was a bike shop today to pickup a small part. and as i am wont to do, i lingered for bit looking over the boutique stuff. there were a couple pinarellos on display built up with campy record that i was checking out and i noticed that on the record shifters, the inside paddle. there's a bit of carbon fiber on the outside. i didn't want to pick at it, but it sure did look like a decal to me. is that thing a sticker???? how cheesy. or is it actually cf? if so, then less cheesy.... but still kinda. gees, if they're going to do it, just do the whole paddle.

For the life of me, I can't understand how someone (or a group of someones) thought that was a good idea. :confused:

[Steve in SLO]

Yup, that paddle CF is a sticker. The actual paddle is some sort of thermoplastic. Thankfully that's the only bit of Carbon Faux-ber on the gruppo.

[Dave]

The CF on the FD cage is kind of silly too. The cage is aluminum on the inside, where it contacts the chain. When comparing the Record and Chorus FDs this year, I opted for the Chorus since it was a lot cheaper and only a few grams heavier. Same with the crank, only 40 grams more and $200 cheaper.

[Erik.Lazdins]

Cheesy it is! I peeled mine off :beer: :beer:

[johnnymossville]

Yep, that piece of crap on there has been bothering me since the first time I saw it too. I'm glad I'm not the only one. cheese

[Enigma]

Not only does it look crappy, but the aluminum ones shift better. That thermal plastic is not as solid or as stiff as the aluminum Chorus Ergo shifters.

[majorpat]

Why doesn't Campy make an all alloy Chorus group for all the folks who want it for their older steel rides or newer custom lugged beauties. Looking on ebay, there is a market for it.

[rockdude]

It not uncommon for carbon items to paint or print a weave on them to make them look more like carbon. The weave pattern sales better than just a black part. You see this in tons of carbon items.

[johnnymossville]

It not uncommon for carbon items to paint or print a weave on them to make them look more like carbon. The weave pattern sales better than just a black part. You see this in tons of carbon items.

helmets are another place you see that junk. still looks like cheese, and not good cheese either.

[cmg]

Not only does it look crappy, but the aluminum ones shift better. That thermal plastic is not as solid or as stiff as the aluminum Chorus Ergo shifters.

have to agree, bought a set of record and a set chorus carbon shifters on eBay and swapped out 2 sets of Centaur alloy shifters. The alloy shifters have a more solid feel. everytime i shift the record i think i'm going to break off the paddles. Should of never changed the design. now i can't sell the centaurs incase i damage the carbon ones.

[vqdriver]

one thing i actually like is the aluminum small paddle on my shimano 8sp shifters. there's a plastic pad that you touch and they can match the color and what not, but the lever itself is aluminum. you get the best of both worlds there.

[CaptStash]

The CF on the FD cage is kind of silly too. The cage is aluminum on the inside, where it contacts the chain. When comparing the Record and Chorus FDs this year, I opted for the Chorus since it was a lot cheaper and only a few grams heavier. Same with the crank, only 40 grams more and $200 cheaper.

+1

the CF cage on my Record FD broke clean off for no apparent reason. I replaced the cage only with an older Chorus alloy one. Net weight gain of less than 10 grams.

CaptStash....

[cadence90]

The faux carbon bits on some Campa components are a bit cheesy, but THIS is the ultimate in cheesy:

Vittoria Corsa EVO CX belts
"Keep your pants up in style. Belts come long; just trim them down to your size."

http://img372.imageshack.us/img372/9204/vittoriaevocxbeltstv6.jpg


@ BBDAVE
I double-dare you:
The black/white version on the outside of your full-body Acqua & Sapone kit, for a kind of 2008/09 updated Elvis "Full-Cleveland" look;
or the yellow/black version belting the same kit, just for a bit more, extra, additional, increased "bumblebee-bling". Style on, brother....
:) ;) :D

[Ti Designs]

This is one of those times where the members on the Serotta forum are way ahead of the general public. I've been in retail for over 20 years in the bike biz, I've seen sales reports, I've seen what sells and what sits. There are some things you would swear would do absolutly nothing, and yet they sell. Example: When Cambridge Sound Works changed their pricing from round numbers ($40 to $39.99) they saw a sudden 5% increase in sales with no other change. It's what the population does, and they're sheep. When carbon tubes and parts started showing up most people got the impression that the carbon weave look was the only true carbon. Seven uses a filiment wound tube, people still ask me what material they use. They look at the Serotta and they know it's carbon (Kelly Bedford calls the outside layer wall paper). So yes, the carbon sticker on the Campy shifter is cheese, but I can name at least a dozen other fake carbon parts we sell all day long.

[weaponsgrade]

i admit that i once had a moment of weakness and bought carbon weave bar tape and chain stay protector. but to my credit, i realized my folly and traded it to a friend for regular tape. now i make fun of his bike.

[vqdriver]

i guess i'm just glad that my chorus shifters don't have this 'feature'

[MilanoTom]

This is atmo much ado about nothing. I thought the little piece of carbon (it might be glued on, but it does appear to be real carbon, not a printed piece) looks a little cheesy, but I don't see it when I ride, and don't really give a darn that it's there. It's certainly not worth boogering a set of levers by peeling it off.

The little carbon piece isn't much different than the little cutout that used to be on the smaller lever back in the old (8-speed) days. You could tell Record from afar by the cutout (yeah, I know that initially there was no cutout, but that was back in the very early Ergopower days, when there was only one level - Record - available).

I'd venture to say that a lot, if not most, of us buy Record simply because it's Record. If the model wasn't printed on it, we most likely wouldn't be able to tell the difference in performance, and even if we objectively (as opposed to "it feels different") detect a difference, it most likely would not affect how fast and/or far we can ride on a given day.

With very few exceptions, I suspect that buying Record (or Dura Ace, or Red) is about status and/or fantasy. We like riding what the pros ride, and many of us also like it when somebody notices and says "Nice bike!" to us. It's somewhat disingenuous (again, atmo) to buy Record for no good (e.g. based on a practical need) reason, then fuss that they add a bit to make it distinguishable at a glance from the next group down.

Regards.
Tom