Campagnolo Gotta Wake Up!

[R3awak3n]

I have to agree with NoMoreParagon here.

However I also think that if campy put all this money on gravel group, not a lot would buy it. I know OP would and so would I but most of the gravel market people are good with shimano and sram. They probably actually started on sram and are now on GRX or still on sram. Maybe I could be wrong but I really think people would not drop their cheap GRX and go run to campy playing twice as much for what for them would be very little benefit (hey, their bike shifters would look a lot nicer though).


As far as 1X, I will have to say that it was a big no no for me but after ridding it for a few miles now I think it has its place. I am still a very big NO on a bike that sees a lot of road miles, I just hate it for that but when on gravel then its perfect and works really well and in my opinion better for the fact that is simpler and you don't have to worry about mud mucking it all up.

As far as clutch derailleur, I think its a must for anything super bumpy. I don't care if you rode your gravel race with whatever group and you killed it, thats great but clutch derailleur are awesome.

Campy is campy. They will move at their own pace and slowly maybe even fade away. I love campy and will still buy campy, best road group hands down (sram etap is close though) and the campy hydro stuff is just incredible (also the best hydro system imo).

[Jaybee]

Originally Posted by notsew

Huh? I don't get it. Isn't making a large jump the whole advantage of a FD?

Don't get me wrong, I've got 1x on my mountain bike, where I don't really care to have minor increments to my shifting. Makes a lot of sense from a frame design point of view. But, I don't see the advantage on gravel - maybe when you're getting up to 50s, I guess...

And it would absolutely be nice if Campy had a clutch derailleur, but I get the sense that Campy makes plenty of money and are happy being the campy they are. No need for any of this business on a proper road bike.

how often are you in the correct rear cog when you dump from big ring to small? If not, then you’re double shifting at a time when your also concentrating on terrain and trying to keep yourself off the deck. in these situations, I find it easier to do one big sweep of the right hand shifter than a double shift. That said, I’m riding a 48-32 double up front still, but I treat it like 2 different 1x systems. 48x whatever on the flats and rollers, 32x whatever in the dirt.

[ERK55]

Originally Posted by saab2000

Fair enough on the clutched derailleur. And I'll defer to those who know more than I know about 1x systems, but I don't see myself going that route anytime soon. That said, I don't do a ton of gravel riding.

Their Chorus groupset is pretty interesting and can be gotten with a hydraulic brake. Could be the setup for my Indy Fab, which has an early Shimano 9000 group I use with TRP Spyres and the whole setup works well but it's also getting a bit tired.

Jim, I find myself in the midst of a similar thought process albeit mine is a Carl Strong bike instead of IF. I suspect our frames are of a similar vintage... does yours have post mount or flat mount brakes? Mine are post mount (as is the Enve cross fork that came with the frame), more or less the standard a few years back). If post mount, doesn’t this rule out using the Campagnolo disc calipers?

[C40_guy]

Originally Posted by charliedid

Campy is keeping literally millions of bike racers from ever experiencing gravel racing.

Shame really.

Maybe Campagnolo marketing isn't focusing on it...but you can certainly configure a gravel bike with several different Campy offerings.

Take a look back at CX photos from the '70s. Racers were running Campy Nuovo Record equipment in the dirt.

[OtayBW]

Originally Posted by C40_guy

Maybe Campagnolo marketing isn't focusing on it...but you can certainly configure a gravel bike with several different Campy offerings.

Correct. It's very likely just a business decision....

[Butch]

Campy missed the boat on a couple of the trends the US market had going.

When rims and tires were getting wider they had rim brake calipers that as the rim got wider and the pads moved out, the arms lowered down to reduce tire clearance. Meeting with them at Eurobike in '16 I pointed this out, they knew it, but it made it difficult to want to sell. They were showing the disc brakes to us in the back that year and we discussed the whole trend towards wider and the Euro POV was 23c all the way. The disc designs they showed that year were ok, but it was the same time Shimano was introducing ICE technology so 140 rotor could be used on road bikes and the Campy was all about 160 rotors.

It was also hard to be a small OEM partner with them because the margins were very slim. We wanted to be one, but with a business based on wholesale sales the math was bad.

I think the idea of a running a 28 or 30 on a road bike was very foreign to the euro companies, same with the rim width growth. I know Mavic had a challenge moving in that direction quickly as well.

[Vientomas]

Originally Posted by b33

Let's translate but using the same logic

Porsche is so behind. The future is electronic and Tesla has the inroad here. I get tit, Porsche is a driver's car, but I want electric so I am have no choice in Porsche.

uuuhhmmmm....https://www.porsche.com/usa/models/t.../taycan-turbo/

[Powerful Pete]

The point being made is that the gravel market is not really that important for Campagnolo, and currently represents a financial risk. While it may be unfortunate for you, OP, I would think that what others have said makes sense - most of the gravel folks who started on SRAM or Shimano will not change to Campagnolo for what is basically the same bits but only more expensive.

Forecasts of Campagnolo going under have been appearing ever since newsgroups appeared on the internet.

As far as I understand they sell all the Record and Super Record bits they make, and Chorus is not doing too badly either.

Also I seem to remember the Campagnolo MTB group was called Euclid?

[Etienne]

Originally Posted by NoMoreParagon

I think it ultimately depends on the terrain you ride on.
For my riding 1x and 55mm tire makes me the fastest I have been versus my 2x 38mm setup.

Clearly ... I am fortunate enough to have both setups, 55mm tires on my 1x monstercross and 38mm tires on my 2x all-road bike.

Each one is the fastest on its own terrain ... "gravel" is in fact a full array of uses, with overlaps but also very specific demands. Everyone should find what he needs, I cannot understand the "1x bad - 2x good" and vice versa discussions

[Clancy]

Campagnolo is doing just what they want to do which is to be in a very defined niche with a highly refined product. No doubt they’ve explored everything here that’s been discussed and have their reasons for not currently developing and introducing gravel specific products.

And as mentioned, Campagnolo is a far smaller company than either of the other two.

I’m curious, anyone know the total sales of Shimano cycling vs Campagnolo?

I also find curious the reasoning behind this discussion. It’s only been a few years since 1X and dropper posts hit the gravel scene. Heck, the whole gravel scene has only been around for a few years. Yet here we are wondering why Campagnolo hasn’t jumped on the newest trend. But there certainly will be a discussion started elsewhere on the forum lamenting how bike companies are always creating the newest trend.

I’m for one very much appreciate the focus, specificity and uniqueness of Campagnolo. It’s a small Italian company making beautiful products in the very Italian manner.

I cannot imagine a Campagnolo dropper seatpost. Or a 10-46 cassette. Just typing that made me wince.

[denapista]

Originally Posted by charliedid

Campy is keeping literally millions of bike racers from ever experiencing gravel racing.

Shame really.

[XXtwindad]

Originally Posted by denapista

Is this a Campy thread? Or a 1X thread? Can't comment on the former, but as to the latter, I think 1X makes perfect sense on a MTB. The rest really depends on the terrain. Little variance is great for the simplicity of a 1X, but if you've got undulating hills punctuated with lots of flats (excuse the pun), a 2X makes a better option.

Daymond John to a contestant who "projected" sales that John thought was wildly overoptimistic: "And I'm projecting myself to look like the guy from 'Thor' next year." Funnier than hell. Love that guy.

[Clean39T]

Originally Posted by R3awak3n

I have to agree with NoMoreParagon here.



However I also think that if campy put all this money on gravel group, not a lot would buy it. I know OP would and so would I but most of the gravel market people are good with shimano and sram. They probably actually started on sram and are now on GRX or still on sram. Maybe I could be wrong but I really think people would not drop their cheap GRX and go run to campy playing twice as much for what for them would be very little benefit (hey, their bike shifters would look a lot nicer though).





As far as 1X, I will have to say that it was a big no no for me but after ridding it for a few miles now I think it has its place. I am still a very big NO on a bike that sees a lot of road miles, I just hate it for that but when on gravel then its perfect and works really well and in my opinion better for the fact that is simpler and you don't have to worry about mud mucking it all up.



As far as clutch derailleur, I think its a must for anything super bumpy. I don't care if you rode your gravel race with whatever group and you killed it, thats great but clutch derailleur are awesome.



Campy is campy. They will move at their own pace and slowly maybe even fade away. I love campy and will still buy campy, best road group hands down (sram etap is close though) and the campy hydro stuff is just incredible (also the best hydro system imo).

The ergonomics of Campy levers just aren't suited to gravel handlebars either.....is what it is..

Off-road is all about function over form, unless posing for the 'gram or cultivating a fan-boy club to sell your own brand of products and an alternative cycling lifestyle.....nttawwt, but GRX is going to be really hard to beat at this point from a pure functionality perspective.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[rain dogs]

1. Shimano just released GRX basically.... now. It's not like Shimano has been doing this for 5 years either. What's taken them so long?

2. Shimano sells MTB gear. Their development curve is miles ahead. A "GRX gravel" derailleur is just a rebranded MTB derailleur - basically Deore XT Shadow +

3. What % of people riding road bikes do you think are riding only Campagnolo components (as in prefer not to use Shimano/Sram)? and of those people what % are riding Gravel? and of those what % are riding wider than 40mm tires? and of those, what % is wanting 1x? and of THOSE, what % can't mechanically solve that problem and are waiting on a Campy 1x crank?

You may be approaching a VERY, VERY, VERY small, I'd say TINY number of people.

4. For reals.... does this issue really upset you?

... so let's say Campy invests in and makes a gravel specific 1x crankset, how many units do you really think they will sell? 1000? 10000? 100000? 1000000? I bet you the number is much smaller than you think. Larger companies, whether they are Campy sized or Shimano sized don't care about you at all. The one you. They care about the 1 million you's. I don't think there are even 5000 of you...

I have a gravel bike. I'm a Campy user on every bike I own. I have Campagnolo Ergos on my gravel bike.... I don't have your problem, nor do I need the solution you desire. Campagnolo isn't going to, and shouldn't, invest 100*X to make a return of 10*X

[denapista]

If you're stuffing 2.2 and 2.4 tires on your gravel bike, just get a MTB. At some point the gravel bike will become limited during your dirt adventures. My custom 29er rigid flies on dirt and road, and has an aggressive road style geometry.

I just feel like the industry swindled everyone into this gravel bike thing. Creating a new niche of cycling that already existed in MTB, in the form of a rigid. I also don't understand why people shun MTB so much. I guess everyone feels that riding a MTB, means you need flames on your helmet with a Troy Lee outfit.

Campy isn't here to cater to your specific needs. They're a brand of excellence and quality. Can you say the same about SRAM in their entire existence? One brand is here to cater to your gravel desires and grab your money, the other is here to cater to instilling quality and heritage into cycling..