What Happened to Campy Popularity?

[Ralph]

I ride campy parts because I like them. Always have. They clean up nice, trade well on E bay and such, and different levels work well together. I have the tool and spare parts for what I have.

I am aware they don't really work better than other brands, although they work great, but that's not why I ride them. I guess it goes back to my first good bike I bought in 73....a Campy equipped P 13 Paramount.

I have a buddy of mine who always drive a European car. I ask him why? They cost more, cost more to maintain, etc......He says....I like them. it's what I drive.

That's how I feel about Campagnolo.

[ripvanrando]

Originally Posted by 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.

This was the exact reason I did not get Campy SR a few years ago. I thought I might need a 32 cog. Silly but true.

[jemoryl]

Originally Posted by nesteel

Which is why I do all my own work.

Same here, unless I need some special tool that I don't want to purchase. It isn't exactly rocket science, and I surprised how clueless some supposedly skilled mechanics are when I bring something Campy in. One would think they would at least be curious.

[jpritchet74]

I think that both Shimano and SRAM have been selling so cheap to have their parts as OEM on big brand bicycles that Campagnolo just fell by the wayside. Most bike shops just don't speak Campagnolo anymore.

I love my Campagnolo stuff though. Love it!

[saab2000]

I used to be strictly Campagnolo Only until I did a ride on a Shimano-equipped bike. As much as I kind of tried to say, "I don't like this! I don't like change!", I kind of liked it and decided that my next bike would have Shimano. I got two 9000 groupsets, one for my Independent Fabrication gravel bike and another for a Giant TCR Advanced SL road bike. The stuff is simply been absolutely flawless. I can only think of one thing I am lukewarm about - the front shifting. It works fine but it is hardly game changing. The way people raved about it made me wonder if Shimano front shifting actually just sucked prior to this. My Campagnolo front shifting has always been pretty much flawless, 3 clicks up and 3 clicks down, with no trimming needed.

Anyway, I enjoy my Campagnolo stuff and switch more or less without thought between bikes with Campagnolo and Shimano. FWIW, my Campagnolo is all 10-speed, with the current shape shifter, in Centaur form. They are the 'good' ones which allow shifting to smaller cogs through the whole range.

I do not generally have strong opinions on this stuff except to say that I also have some 105 (5800) and can notice no functional difference between it and my 9000. It's just a big heavier and a bit less fancy on the finish. The lower end Campagnolo stuff I find pretty unattractive actually. I would be curious to try a current generation Record or Super Record bike to see how it compares to the old gold standard, Record 10. That was my all-time favorite stuff until I got Shimano Dura Ace 9000, which did take the precision to the next level.

I think Fulcrum wheels are probably keeping Campagnolo alive these days.

[Seramount]

have been riding for over a half century...have never owned a single Campy part.

have just never been curious about the difference between brands.

might be missing something, dunno.

[biker72]

In the past I've had 9,10 and 11sp Campy on my bikes. I presently have 3 bikes all with 11sp Shimano 105 or Ultegra. They all work fine. Campy does seem to be losing market share.

[binxnyrwarrsoul]

Campy is by no means perfect or the be all end all. For me, except for my MTBs, Campy 10 or 11 speed on every bike I own (not disclosing that number, but it's in the teens). It ticks all the boxes for me, functionality, looks, feel and reliability. As for the others, 9 Speed Shimano was the nicest imo, and I started this whole bike obsession on 7 speed SIS Shimano 105/XT, Suntour Superbe Pro/Accushift back in the 80's. I like that the "standards" aren't changed every year, like Shimano seemed to do in yrs prior, and also like the almost complete interchangeability of Campy across all levels. With that said, I will ride Campy until I won't. Ride what ya like and what works. For me, it's Campy.

[bigbill]

Originally Posted by saab2000

I used to be strictly Campagnolo Only until I did a ride on a Shimano-equipped bike. As much as I kind of tried to say, "I don't like this! I don't like change!", I kind of liked it and decided that my next bike would have Shimano. I got two 9000 groupsets, one for my Independent Fabrication gravel bike and another for a Giant TCR Advanced SL road bike. The stuff is simply been absolutely flawless. I can only think of one thing I am lukewarm about - the front shifting. It works fine but it is hardly game changing. The way people raved about it made me wonder if Shimano front shifting actually just sucked prior to this. My Campagnolo front shifting has always been pretty much flawless, 3 clicks up and 3 clicks down, with no trimming needed.

Anyway, I enjoy my Campagnolo stuff and switch more or less without thought between bikes with Campagnolo and Shimano. FWIW, my Campagnolo is all 10-speed, with the current shape shifter, in Centaur form. They are the 'good' ones which allow shifting to smaller cogs through the whole range.

I do not generally have strong opinions on this stuff except to say that I also have some 105 (5800) and can notice no functional difference between it and my 9000. It's just a big heavier and a bit less fancy on the finish. The lower end Campagnolo stuff I find pretty unattractive actually. I would be curious to try a current generation Record or Super Record bike to see how it compares to the old gold standard, Record 10. That was my all-time favorite stuff until I got Shimano Dura Ace 9000, which did take the precision to the next level.

I think Fulcrum wheels are probably keeping Campagnolo alive these days.

Get a 9100 front derailleur, it will change your life after you watch a few YouTube videos to figure out how the cable routes. IMO, the best mechanical thing that shimaNo has done lately. My road bikes are all still campy, but the Coconino is shimaNo, mostly Ultegra with a 9100 FD because the 8000 was on back order for a while.

[zap]

I have Ultegra 8000 on new kit and the front shifting works but I'm left wondering why all the rave reviews.

For me, Shimano is like a decent sports car but Campagnolo is an exotic.

SAAB, I still think Record 10 is the best all round Campy groupo. At least compared to '13 Super Record on my Crumpton.

[earlfoss]

The US market seems like a non-priority to Campagnolo. Campy USA could up their game and boost some sales, I'd imagine, but perhaps they're comfortable with their current game and see no reason to make more effort.

[Big Dan]

Loved my 8 speed Chorus stuff.
Made the switch after that and never looked back.

[shinomaster]

Originally Posted by saab2000

I used to be strictly Campagnolo Only until I did a ride on a Shimano-equipped bike. As much as I kind of tried to say, "I don't like this! I don't like change!", I kind of liked it and decided that my next bike would have Shimano. I got two 9000 groupsets, one for my Independent Fabrication gravel bike and another for a Giant TCR Advanced SL road bike. The stuff is simply been absolutely flawless. I can only think of one thing I am lukewarm about - the front shifting. It works fine but it is hardly game changing. The way people raved about it made me wonder if Shimano front shifting actually just sucked prior to this. My Campagnolo front shifting has always been pretty much flawless, 3 clicks up and 3 clicks down, with no trimming needed.

Anyway, I enjoy my Campagnolo stuff and switch more or less without thought between bikes with Campagnolo and Shimano. FWIW, my Campagnolo is all 10-speed, with the current shape shifter, in Centaur form. They are the 'good' ones which allow shifting to smaller cogs through the whole range.

I do not generally have strong opinions on this stuff except to say that I also have some 105 (5800) and can notice no functional difference between it and my 9000. It's just a big heavier and a bit less fancy on the finish. The lower end Campagnolo stuff I find pretty unattractive actually. I would be curious to try a current generation Record or Super Record bike to see how it compares to the old gold standard, Record 10. That was my all-time favorite stuff until I got Shimano Dura Ace 9000, which did take the precision to the next level.

I think Fulcrum wheels are probably keeping Campagnolo alive these days.

I was a bit disappointed with my new 2015 Record 11 group. It works fine but it wasn't the improvement I was expecting functionally from my 2002 chorus/record groups. My centaur ultrashift ( new hoods) seems just about as good albeit heavier (front shifting is much improved). I'm toying with the idea of a new ultegra group for my new Zank.

[berserk87]

I've owned Campy - from Veloce through Record. I've owned Shimano, from 105 through Dura Ace. I once had multiple bikes with Campy and Shimano on them.

That got expensive and labor intensive. I used to enjoying tinkering on my bikes and trying out different equipment. At some point I came to enjoying riding more than working on my bikes, and testing out new gear.

So I wanted to simplify things - I chose to reduce and simplify my bike fleet, which hopefully would save me money and time. I decided to choose between Campy and Shimano, and get ride of some gear in the process.

I preferred Campy just a tad versus Shimano. I like the brake/shift lever shape and the thumb shifter. I preferred the shifting action.

It came down to cost and ease of obtaining parts. At that time, I could afford a Dura Ace group for the price of Campy Chorus. Record exceeded the cost of Dura Ace by a good margin (I think it was about $500 at the time). I didn't feel that Campy's top of the line group was that much better than Shimano's. And there was a trickle-down effect, with the Campy equivalent being more costly down the line.

Any local shops that may have carried any Campy stuff had very little of it. I had to do mail or internet ordering exclusively. I do that with Shimano, too, but if I want to go into a local shop to purchase a part that day, I have a better chance of getting it with Shimano versus Campy.

Lastly, the secondary market for Shimano was larger than that for Campy. I do buy things used and there is a lot more used Shimano equipment than Campy floating around.

Costs may not be as much of an issue now - I don't really know and don't track Campy prices anymore.

The high end stuff for Campy and Shimano all works great. My go-to wheel set right now has Campy Record hubs (with a Shimano freehub) and HED Belgium rims that I bought used from a fellow format and friend.

[Red Tornado]

I live & ride in central Texas and besides me, there's only a few of the older shop guys still using Campy. Around here we are a dying breed.
Love the looks when I occasionally show for a club road ride. "Oooh, there's that guy on the Campy bike."