What Happened to Campy Popularity?

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by LesMiner

I was at a bike swap meet last weekend. I tried to sell a Campy Vento wheelset, no interest! I had a few Campy 10 speed cassettes, no interest! Anything Shimano sold no problem. I have not tried the forum want ads or eBay. Pro bikes appear mostly Shimano. Trek, Specialized, Cannondale, and even Bianchi all configure their complete bikes with Shimano.

I was amazed at the number of people looking for 9 speed Shimano. Maybe a lot of older bikes used as winter bikes or commuter bikes? Or perhaps many frugal cyclists still using 9 speed?

Even tho 'bike shops' are on the wane, most of the bikes sold today, LBS or interweb, are shimano. Have been for over 3 decades. Campag, like Rolex, Ducati, Audi, Porsche, and lots of other 'Euro' brands are small in comparison to Casio/Seiko, Yamaha/Honda/Suzuki, Toyota, Honda...'Some' of these companies are quite happy to be the size they are and don't really wish to be the 'shimano' of their brand. Campagnolo sales have been pretty consistent for awhile, showing small gains each year. BUT they are teeny compared to shimano or even sram.

BUT even so, the big boy pro teams in Europe this year, all shimano, 3 Campagnolo, only one sram.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by DfCas

Does not Campy have much more market share in Europe, their core market?

Campagnolo's biggest market is Asia, followed by Europe, followed by the US. The US market for 'bicycles' is relatively small.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by fogrider

Campy will never reach any kind of OEM scale. They still make their stuff in Europe, pretty much all bikes are made in Asia.

Campy's EPS is overpriced and will never see any kind of volume. look at how many Ultegra Di2s have been sold. and Ultegra mechanical is really good and cost effective. and with eTap, why would anyone go with EPS? but at the right price, someone will be interested.

Apples to Apples, Record EPS and DA Di2 are 'about' the same $ as is etap. Volume wise, the electronic portion of sales is teeny for all 3. etap is a breeze to assemble, after assembly there is no real advantage over Di2 or EPS. Maybe something for the home wrench installing but for OE, doesn't make much difference. Potenza mechanical and ultegra also about the same $.

Whether carbon and ceramic and titanium are a good idea, I don't know but that's what makes SR so expensive.

[laupsi]

why campy then? started in this sport on campy equipped 7 speed components. when tech left downtube shifting and graduated to shifting from the hoods campy had it right w/thumb shifting. some of my friends thought the reach was too high to sprint and downshift from the drops, “luckily” for me, I was not winning w/my sprint. it just felt normal to downshift this way and you know what they say about old habits! strangely, I am intrigued by SRAM’s etap, everything I hear and read say it’s the bomb! given everything I ride today is campy 11 spd, I’m holding out that campy does get on board. the whole idea of shifting up/down w/same motion is just something “taboo” to me.

[Andreas]

to quote Richard Sachs as per NAHBS on insta yesterday:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfPOP8CD...herichardsachs

"I wish though that Campagnolo had the elan it once did, say maybe - many years ago. The brand has caved over time and a lot of the pieces seem cheesy"

Growing up in northern Europe and still riding there a few weeks every year with the homies - nobody is on campy. We all switched a long time ago.

[merckx]

Originally Posted by Andreas

to quote Richard Sachs as per NAHBS on insta yesterday:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfPOP8CD...herichardsachs

"I wish though that Campagnolo had the elan it once did, say maybe - many years ago. The brand has caved over time and a lot of the pieces seem cheesy"

Growing up in northern Europe and still riding there a few weeks every year with the homies - nobody is on campy. We all switched a long time ago.

It's the plastic. All the damned, black plastic.

[Andreas]

Originally Posted by merckx

it's the plastic. All the damned, black plastic.

+1

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by Andreas

to quote Richard Sachs as per NAHBS on insta yesterday:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfPOP8CD...herichardsachs

"I wish though that Campagnolo had the elan it once did, say maybe - many years ago. The brand has caved over time and a lot of the pieces seem cheesy"

Growing up in northern Europe and still riding there a few weeks every year with the homies - nobody is on campy. We all switched a long time ago.

I think RS frames are beautiful and not cheesy but having RS say this as he holds onto his niche w/i a niche he occupied for so long..it seems ironic, no?

I think it really depends on who you ride with. My homies here all have Campag, all of them(about 6)...I know a guy who lives in Budapest a big part of the year..and all his otthoni fiúk ride Campagnolo also. I thnk in any large group...the % riding Campag probably reflects the % Campag has of ths dizzy market..At a group of Haute riders here in Boulder, people oggled over the Colnago with EPS..not really the Spec-ed with di2...

[paredown]

Originally Posted by merckx

It's the plastic. All the damned, black plastic.

Agreed--especially from a company whose ability to produce finely polished aluminum components was unmatched...

Having been a Campy loyalist when I raced BITD, it seemed natural to start there, and the first 'modern' bike I picked up was a used Mercian w. Campy 8--Mirage level, and I thought it was the bee's knees. Even those old Mirage brakes were pretty good! Then when I knew more, I tried a couple of Shimano bikes--and my hands were (already) used to the Campy placement--and I had (still have) aesthetic objections to the way that the Shimano levers look, especially the way the cables come off the front.

I think the last Campy-equipped bike I saw in a store were some Cannondales being cleared that you could buy with Centaur (I think) or 105--this was about the time I was getting myself re-acquainted with the bike market--maybe 2004--2005 or thereabouts?

[ripvanrando]

For me, 7400 replaced Gen 1 c record. It still works 24-25 years later. Shimano leapfrogged on technology and then destroyed Campy on price.

Cheapskates want to offer $75 for Gen 1 Panto cranks.

I went out on my old vintage Masi sporting plump tubies last summer and I had forgotten that disappear beneath you feeling. None of the new stuff does that. I suppose audiphiles would have the same arguments for reel to reel or albums but the new junk is awefully convenient and we live in a fast food, disposable society. Why doesn't 10 speed sell? Because 12 speed is on the doorstep.

[AngryScientist]

i think there are a few things going on:

*many more people are embracing "adventure riding" these days. lots of folks have seen the light and realize that many of us just dont want/need/use 53/39 - 11/25 gearing anymore. it's a LOT easier and cheaper to get low gearing on shimano 9sp stuff than the campy kit, for sure. the newest 11 speed stuf and compatible spacing with shimano and sram cassettes has opened up new options, but for the older kit, this was not the case, at least as simply.

*campy has just about zero presence at any local bike shop i've seen, other than the really high end shops. want a set of campy brake pads? "we have to order those"

*before people knew to look to offshore based "grey" market suppliers, the perception that campy is a LOT more expensive still persists today. the prices are much more equalized across the three brands today, but in many peoples minds - campy is just more expensive than the shimano kit. just like many people swear it costs you more money to maintain a BMW or MB than a toyota or honda (and i dont think that's necessarily true either), but perception guides peoples decisions.

[choke]

Originally Posted by merckx

It's the plastic. All the damned, black plastic.

+11ty billion. I'll probably never buy another new group, I hate the way all of the new stuff looks.

I've owned exactly one Shimano equipped bike in my life, an '89 Cannondale MTB which I still have. I also have one bike with Zeus but all the rest are Campy. The next bike (and the next and the next and the next) I build will be Campy as well, but alloy like Tullio intended.

[saab2000]

Originally Posted by DfCas

Does not Campy have much more market share in Europe, their core market?

No. When I lived in Europe most riders were on Shimano. Sram didn't exist yet back then.

I was an outlier even in the 1990s using Campagnolo. It wasn't super rare but it was more common to see Shimano.

[zap]

Never had a problem selling Campy 10 spd at reasonable prices. But I found that a bike swap meet is not the best place for anything unless you want to sell a Record 10 rd in mint condition for $40.

Shimano products in good or better condition is also an easy sell.

SRAM on the other hand.....even in as new condition goes for little money.

[pjbaz]

I have ONE bike (out of 8 roadies) that has Campy and that's because it was on there when I picked it up second hand. It's 10-speed Centaur CF and while I like the hood shape I don't like the thumb button and I dislike the voodoo required to source the proper parts when **** breaks.

COST and availability are huge factors to me, and Campy just isn't worth the price. Add the hassle and I am out.

I have Shimano on everything else and my 6500 stuff is still working like a boss after 14 years. I'm good to my gear but I have done almost nothing to this group after thousands upon thousands of miles.

The fact Shimano is (lately) messing with their distribution network and local dealers is also creating drama in the industry. I can get wholesale pricing on a lot of stuff (bro works at a shop) but that's still more expensive than me ordering online from Europe or GB. As much of a sucky sitch as that is, the fact Shimano gear is (mostly) readily available, far less expensive and WORKS without issue is why I'll remain on their equipment.