Samuel D wrote:I’m familiar with Sun XCD and have a pair of their cranks.
I think Campagnolo’s market has moved more and more toward after-market sales and high-end custom bicycle builders rather than mass-market OEM stuff in the last few years.
I wonder if this 12-speed stuff is aimed more at the American market. I understand there is a large Masters racing scene there, and road cycling in general has a different (richer) demographic there. Plus, Americans being Americans might have more faith in new technology than Europeans.
In Europe, I don’t see many racers paying £317/€355 for a new cassette, not to mention replacing £400/€449 derailleurs and £445/€498 shifters after a crash. The racers I know in the Paris area are mostly young guys who can’t pay the price of a washing machine for a consumable part. Heck, some of them can barely afford washing machines!
I wish Campagnolo well, but I’d love to see them go back to their roots and take a chance on something beautiful and stubbornly practical. This needn’t come at the expense of the carbon bling and would be a product range with little competition, Shimano having abandoned elegant designs a long time ago. However, I think the top brass is too besotted with ‘innovation’, a catch-all buzzword that replaces critical thinking in many companies today, to consider such a product.
Twelve-speed Record, on the other hand, is launched into the teeth of Shimano’s Di2 and awesome engineering, manufacturing, and sales prowess. As I said, I wish Campagnolo well.
Your point about young racers is quite valid - whist I used to aspire to the best kit as a lad I couldn't afford to buy it. Then as now, the people actually racing on the top gear were either professional racers or older riders with disposable income. Things have changed little.
So who buys this stuff? Yes a lot of older sportive riders with spare dosh burning holes, not just in the US but across Europe where the big three global bike brands have much less of a grip and custom builds using top end kit are seen much more than in Giant/Trek/Spesh dominated markets.
For Campag on OE builds it's a catch 22 - if, say Trek put out a Campag equipped bike it's unlikely to sell well as there is such a bias and lack of knowledge even in the trade. As a result it's unlikely a prospective buyer is going to get any advice that doesn't run along the lines of 'you could get Ultegra for that'.
The likes of Movistar, JLT and Holdsworth may influence a few purchases but with team replica bikes being out of fashion (remember those Raleigh Banana things?) even race success does little to influence the UK market. Maybe if Sky used it there would be some drift down.
Then you get bike reviewers who are so biased towards Shimano, some never having even ridden Campag for comparison - well its a wonder anyone buys anything not from Japan! If you don't know the advantages of Campag how can you review it or sell it?
Who buys it? People who appreciate longevity over disposable bling, who want reliability in the parts they are funding themselves. My Mod 76 SR rear mech still works 40 years down the line and I have Campag bits of various vintage across the stable - I only have a couple of Shimano parts as it breaks so easily (their SPD pedals are the exception).
