My grandad Enrico Piccolo was Campagnolo's first employee and Tullio's right-hand man. He dedicated all his life to the cycling world, was always on a bike or fixing another and watched all tours until the very end of his life. I am so proud of him.
in 2018, after many thousands of gear changes, my 2001 Record shifter stopped working correctly - it still shifted but you couldn't be quite sure which gear you would end up in. In short, it had lost its click. I sent it off to a Campagnolo approved service centre and they serviced it for just over £20. That's brilliant IMHO.
I used to work at a shop and Campagnolo were the only shifting components we would replace parts in simply because they made them serviceable and continued to support their older generation components.
All you have to to is put in new g-springs. It happened to me I had a light accident on a bike - the road was blocked, and by using the pavement I got struck in a bareer with the left 2003 Record carbon Ergopower. Only the day before a race I recognized that this had caused a crack in the Ergopowers body, which would have resulted in a failure during the race. I had only two options. Using my bad wheather bike for the race, or remove the handlebar tape, remove the damaged Ergopower, and use an intact lever body by switching all the shifters parts in the intact lever body. I succeeded, but had a short night. Anyway, it was worth the hassle, as my Giant CFR Expert series was motivation enough, not to forget the Shamal 12-HPW wheelset I used, with Conti Supersonic tires on, at that time 20mm front and rear.
Bicycle components you can repair instead of just replace - imagine that! Right after I got out of college I tried to “repair” the shifting in my Shimano STI shift/brake lever. What a disaster! Obviously designed to never be disassembled. Since then, I have successfully replaced quite a few parts on my Campy levers. Soooo much simpler in design!
Campy spares allowed dozens of parts companies to make repairable components just by using "campy compatible" dimensions, and both companies benefitted!
This episode is way too short. Campagnolo deserves a full GCN+ film. The company lost its way in the 80's but got back its mojo, producing the most beautiful groupsets in recent years. They had spectacular failures, the most obvious being the Delta brakes but since then their drive trains are superb. My favourite is the Record 10 ultra
It never ceases to amaze me how Italians are able to give soul to engineering products. It's in cars, in motorbikes, in bicycles, in components, you name it.
Dont forget shoes dude. Have you ever worn an italian made leather shoe? When I was in Tuscany in 2013 for the Eroica, I bought a pair of perforated leather vintage cycle shoes with tie up laces from the markets there, they cost me $25AUD. I still have them today and still use them on 2 of my steel bikes with. They havent come apart anywhere
As a college student in the 1980's I lusted after Campagnolo Record groupsets, but they were way out of my budget. So I settled for a pair of Campy toe clips :) Ever since I've had a full-time job, I've had at least one full Campy-equipped bike. I'm retiring next week after 38 years and still plan to have one in the stable forever.
My favorite Campy moment was when I bought my first steel custom bike with Campy Record C back in 1985. It already had hidden brake cables by the way, so a lot earlier than 1992. I put every last cent I had ever put in the bank on it at the time, and rode on it for 18 years. I still have it in my basement. It's so beautiful, I will never part with it. I still ride another custom bike now, from 2007, this time a titanium bike with mechanical Super Record. This one sleeps besides my bed right here as I'm typing this.
Sounds like you have some great bikes Michel! You are a very 🙌 How about sharing your bikes with us on the bike vault? 👉 gcn.eu/app We would love to see it!!
Wrapping the brake cables on the handlebar tops under bar tape with the C-Record brake levers was ALL the aero we needed back then. My brakes and SR calipers still work perfectly to this day!
I hope many more cyclist see this video. I love Campagnolo. I used to have a beautiful lugged steel Bianchi Aloro with Campagnolo Mirage. I bought it new in 96' from a small shop in northern Michigan. When I moved to Ohio in 04' one of the first things I did was buy a new road bike. I bought an Orbea Ultrafoco with Campagnolo Daytona. Both bikes were stolen. I love older 8,9, and 10 speed Campagnolo. But unfortunately I don't own any Campy bikes anymore. I still hope to own a Campy bike again. This is a great video on Campagnolo. Believe it or not ALL the Tour de France winners, until Lance came along, won it on Campagnolo components. I hope to see Campagnolo have more success in the future. Thank you.
The Campagnolo won all tour the France is a big lie. Many won on Huret or Simplex components. And Simplex did way more to create the derailleur as we know it than Campagnolo, who basically marketed their products well to a anglophone audience. French manufacturers were equiping the whole bike boom, with every brand boasting a better high end deraileur set (Simplex SLJ, Huret Jubilee/Success, ...) than the Nuovo Record, for cheaper, and beautiful looks. Then the japanese took over and their innovation were really just as important as Tullio's company. Italie's contribution to the cycling history is important but overhyped by american campy fans.
Having raced in the 1950s on a Dawes Mirage 531 Reynolds tubing Bike with a 2 x 5 Simplex geared bike my sponsors moved me onto a French made Mercier Bike with 2 x 6 Campag gears i thought i was Fausto Coppi i have great memories from back then i still cycle at 88 but alas no more than a ten mile circuit Thank you GCN for so many interesting videos.
Finally some love for Campagnolo! I love that most of their stuff is carbon, because in winter it is comfortable and enjoyable to grip on and it doesn't rot in the salty street mud. And every time I see and use my bike, I enjoy the aesthetics and know, it will beautifully work for me.
@@Penalist We only ever partner with brands we really believe create amazing products! This kind of video allows us to create many of the other videos you see. We hope you enjoyed this one and are there any other brands you would like to see us talk about next?
@@gcn I'm not judging; but it is not love that 'makes the world go round', indeed. Nonetheless, it is one thing to partner up, it is another 'to be the piper that plays the tune that is paid and called for', leading, e.g., to regularly bashing the UCI (who don't pay GCN) and its 'rulebook' (without ever going into why there is this rulebook), and to constantly shifting emphasis within the videos on what is important in cycling, which takes away from the message that a GCN production aims to put forward and from this seeming enthusiasm within GCN about a particular product or an approach to cycling. In short, in this particular business model, the commercial aspect is bound to drown out the enthusiastic aspect.
3:19 That rod gear looks ground breaking and truly terrifying all at the same time. I'm glad Tullio Campagnolo followed it up with a cable actuated derailleur a few years later. Thanks for the trip through cycling's heritage, Alex.
using it is an acquired skill. a rather steep learning process, knew someone who had a frame built to accommodate it. but even once you get used to it it is still awkward
The first thing I ever bought with my first real paycheck was a racing bike. That was 1984. The bike I lusted after was a steel Paramount that came fitted with Campagnolo Cobalto components. And...true to it's name, it might have well have been carved out of sapphires; such was my first graphic designer's gig's salary. Needless to say, my first bike was lacking Campy... Fast forward to literally just last week: After 39 years of (non-Campy equipped) steel bikes, aluminum bikes, carbon bikes, and gran fondos and TTs all over the country (and a few in Europe) I acquired a pristine Colnago C50, and yes... an equally pristine Campagnolo Record 11 mechanical groupset, with a Super Record crank and matching Stages Powermeter. It's coming together in the basement workshop as I type this. I have never been more excited or proud to have a machine come together. Can't wait for the first ride. She'll be in the stable permanently if, for no other reason, than the fact that she's literally a piece of art.
I love Campagnolo ,I still have a bike with 10 speed centaur 2009 shifters and chainset,chorus derailleurs,levers are ultrashift and so is the mechanism ,love the fact you can dump 5 gears at a time on a decent and just feels great but it’s very much for the niche though
The rapid shift and ultra shift on their ergos. I've been riding Campagnolo groupsets for 20 years now and I love the ability to precisely shift down 1-3 and shift up 1-5 gears in one motion.
I've ridden Campagnolo for over 20 years and have always been impressed with the quality and serviceability of the components. Just upgraded to 12s Record mechanical last year and I am not disappointed. I even built my 14 year old son a Campy equipped bike, so he can challenge me...
Still using Campag Record and Super Record components after 40 years and still working perfectly. The Delta brakes are simply the best looking brakes ever produced. Regular maintenance is key.
The Delta brake. Much maligned, heavy, beautifully shaped and finished, excellently manufactured, difficult to work on and adjust, applicable only to performance bicycles, and in spite of what so often is written about it, can be set up to work quite well, especially when compared with more conventional designs of its time. It is one of those products that epitomizes Campagnolo in the classic era.
@@jbarner13As someone who has owned and worked on them they are crap, from an engineering perspective they lose mechanical advantage the more you pull them due to the mechanism inside. It's an inferior system to Shimano's ax brakes which used a metal plate that allowed you to gain more mechanical advantage when you hit the rim. Those had fixed pads though so they're also garbage overall. Also dual pivots were around at the same time as Deltas so it wasn't that good compared to other innovative brake designs either
@@guytatler9769 As I recall, Shimano was the first to market with dual-pivot calipers in 1990, a full six years after the first Delta prototypes were seen in the wild, so they are not truly contemporary, even if they overlapped. There is no question but that the dual-pivot design is superior to the Delta. The design of the various AX brakes goes back at least to the 1940s with the French Bebolux and probably earlier, but there were other variable mechanical advantage brake designs as well--it's not relevant to my comment. One thing that people don't get is that the Delta was engineered to minimize flex internally. If you remove the cover and observe while applying the type of force to the lever that you would during hard braking, you will observe little movement, and thus very little change in mechanical advantage, once the pads hit the rim. I have Deltas on three different bikes and I can say with conviction that, when setup properly, they work just fine. Little of this is germane to my original comment, though. I think the only thing you are disagreeing with is the final point that they can be setup to work just fine, and every time I ride my Sachs, Moulton, or Kilfoy, I prove you wrong.
Thanks for creating this. The year was about 1983-84 I was racing as a junior and worked all summer just to buy a Campy Record group set for my dream build which at the time was a CIOCC .[Colnago's since] not sure if they are even making bikes anymore. but at the time some of my racing mates were switching over to DuraAce. As if! How could anyone ever think of putting Japanese components on a pure breed Italian racing frame. That was such a heated debate back then. I still remember it like it was yesterday. sorta like the Nikon/Cannon camera loyalty.
Since my earliest days I've been a Campagnolo fan, scouring sales at mail order shops to upgrade my Schwinn and later my entry level Cannondale with Chorus components. The Record Delta brake set should have gotten a mention, IMHO. Rumor was they were spongy and hard to center but that didn't stop the pros in the peloton from rocking them for years. After college I got new wheels built around old Record hubs with the lubricant dust cover clip thing in the center. I'm still riding this bike today, with almost 9k miles on Zwift it still shifts like a dream and the freewheel sings like the first day I rode it. Beauty and functionality that still stands apart. Campy forever!
What was the reaction back then when MAVIC designed the MA-40 clincher rim and said it was good enough for the TDF. Along with the Michelin Hi clinchers?
I'm an MTB guy. Always will be. Tullio Campagnolo has my undying respect. He invented the cam skewer used in wheels for decades, my Fox thru-axle still uses that design for a stronger hold. He Invented the parallelogram derailleur, I now run a SRAM Eagle groupset, the pinnacle of groupsets. In fact, it was his idea to sell groupsets in the first place. He invented the disc brake for the original Lambretta scooter. This idea of a lightweight, compact disc brake has ultimately given us the Magura MT series (others styles of disc brake too). He was one of the first to start seriously playing with carbon in bikes. He made parts for Lambourghini, Maserati, Alfa Romeo and other super sexy cars while being one of the pioneers of low-pressure magnesium casting. Tullio was not a revolutionary in cycling, he was a revolutionary in all things fast and fun. A true engineer and all round genius. He was also the true pioneer of the holy rider. Gruppo del Cinquantenario 0002 was presented to Pope John Paul II. Personally, I think he's the only roadie who I wouldn't be upset with if he overtook me on a ride, just a shame he passed away 40 years ago in 1983, I would have loved to meet him.
I still love my Shamal HPW Titanium wheelset. By using black swissstop brake pads (especially made for vulnerable, soft alloy rims) the wear is still not much. My front wheel I bought back in 2001, and it still has got the original industrial bearings in it. On a pre-owned Mavic Cosmic Carbon SSC front wheel I bought in 2007, I already had to build in new bearings twice, although I don't put much tension on the controltech titanium skewer. Only the old silver bar-end shifter have been something like a stepchild of campagnolo - they always came only in a plastic bag, and tended to have hairline cracks even new out of the bag. But they are easy to maintain, the recommended g-springs are the same like the ones for the left 9/10speed Ergopower (they have different numbers as for the bar end shifter three springs are recquired, and the Ergopower only recquires two). As the 10speed shifter has 11 positions, it is possible to use it for 11 speed cassettes, all you have to do is to file a grove approximately 1.5mm deep where the cable runs along (the part called SL-RE122). Due to exchange steel parts with alloy parts, shortening the lever and use a thin layer of liquid tape instead of the thick, long rubber I reduced the weight of the right shift lever down to 58gr.
In the early 80's there was a BBC Series called "The Day the Universe Changed". Hosted by James Burke it traced modern (such as it was at the time) technology back to its earliest roots - that pivotal moment when everything changed. I'd submit that November 11, 1927 (the day Tullio's wingnut froze up) would qualify for such a day in cycling terms.
I love Campy! I have used 7 different Campy groupsets, 2 being EPS and the others being Mech. Currently, One of my Pinarello has Record EPS 11, and I just got another F10 with Campy 11 Mech... My God, when the mechanical is properly setup, it is amazing! I was planning to put EPS onto the F10 too, but I think it will stay mechanical.
Yeah, you can' t beat the mechanical set, the right set up with the maximum smoothness cable set makes it the best shifting performance possible. The feel, the directness, the sound. It's pure art.
Agree 100%. Ive got 3 bikes setup perfectly with mechanical by an excellent mechanic. Record 10 Titanium, Record 11 and Super Record 11 both from 2014. The shifting is phenomenal
The most beautiful components were made by Campagnolo in the late 80ies like the C-Record derailleur, crankset and the Delta breaks.they had this soft and smooth curved shapes of polished alloy.
My favorite Campagnolo technology is ultra-shift. As most people never rode Campagnolo Ultra-shift groupsets, only a few people understand what it is, and what is so nice about it. With electronic shift actuation it is on every bike now, but for mechanic shifting it was outstanding. I would say it is the most ignored advantage of Campagnolo.
Just would like to let you guys know that you're excellent ambassadors for the cycling world and I thoroughly enjoy watching and learning from your channel. Thanks!
Growing up in the 60/70s, the name Campagnolo meant the best bicycle components available to humanity, and I have to admit to being a die-hard fan of the brand. Super helpful also in my experience. Thank you for putting together this piece, reminding us of where it all began, Alex. Ciao!
@gcn Anything Chorus, Record or Super Record, you can't go wrong with any of those. I look forward to your next review of Campagnolo. Keep up the good work. Cheers!
After 20 something years I dusted off my old Cannondale Caad 3 with Mid 90’s Campy Chorus. I literally just cleaned the bike, lubed the chain and went for a ride. Shifting was spot on and it was so much fun to get back out there.
Not sure what it means to say that components in a groupo (group set) were meant to "work together." They werd designed to sell together. In 1974, I built a bike whose brake set used components from seven different manufacturers. Worked great.
My cycling mates call me Mr Campy, started using Campag in in 1965 and still do, superb engineering with classy ,classic looks, still use Nuovo Super Record 8 speed on my bikes, some bits original and still work a treat. Campy wears in. Sh.t..o wears out !
There is a book entitled "The Giant and the File" by Gianni Brera. from 1993 Apparently it was for publicity and not sold so its hard to find and expensive. Its full of the early history of Tullio with lots of pictures. The race where he realized "bisogna cambia qualcosa de diro" was 4 november 1924 not 1933. He kept racing for the next few years before devoting himself entirely to designing and engineering I got my copy when I was visiting the factory in Vicenza with a group I was in charge of after doing the Grand Fondo Campagnolo in 2000
I bought the Tern GSD and love it. It is my favorite purchase of all time. he new Tern panniers are nice, however I mounted a large plastic produce crate on the back rack and I like it much better than panniers which I rarely use. Why? Convenience. I just plop my grocery bags, packages, gloves, Sun glasses etc into the box and start riding. There are no panniers to unlatch or roll up. Another tip: I made a giant “shower cap” for my box. It keeps rain out and stuff from blowing out. I made it from rubber tubing and clear vinyl sheet goods and vinyl glue. Ace Hardware had everything I needed. I had a black rubberized cover, which I ordered on the internet but I really like the clear cover much better. I can instantly see whatever is in side the crate. If you like bike riding you will absolutely love riding a cargo bike. It is so practical for a city environment. We even got rid of one car. It was never needed once i got the cargo bike.
I’m a lifelong Campy fan and have never had a non-campy road bike ever since my first Ted Woodall-built Leader Cycle in 1972. I now have a 10 spd Fuji, an 11 spd hand-built Ti Cisco Cycle, a couple of 12 spd Chapter 2s (one mechanical Record and the other EPS super record) and a 13 spd hand-built steel Valentine gravel bike. Along the way I’ve also have had a some other road bikes but every one of them campy. I’ve ridden Shimano and SRAM but I’ve never wanted to own either. I even would have gone for their short-lived foray into mtb components if I could’ve afforded it at the time. Superior design to me always beats simply functional design which Shimanos and Srams of the world all strike me as being.
Just getting back on my road bike after a 5 year break. I'm 54yo. Bike hasn't seen a day of maintenance in that time. Campagnolo Record through out, and it is all still in tune and works as it should. Nothing to do, but dust it off and ride. The Shimano on my MTB would of broken already. 🙂
In the early 70's when I was building my racing bikes Campy was out of reach in the US. You buy a bike like a Raleigh Pro Mk IV with full Campy equipment for $500. A Campy Record groupset alone would cost you at least $350. So I built with what I could get, including a fair amount of Zeus equipment. The people that rode seriously and used Campagnolo either had a lot of money or they knew a source. I knew one shop that had a customer who was an airline pilot. Every trip to Italy was made with an empty suitcase and a large wad of cash. Their sponsored riders all used Campy. Campagnolo deserves a lot of respect for their quality and aesthetics.
Cobalto Brakeset,. By far my favorite piece of Campy kit. How that cobalt stone glistened in the sunshine during the 1986 Tour de France. Still have a brand new boxed set, with the aero lever converters.
Cobaltos were SR brakes with the cobalt stone - a stopgap brake set after the original Delta brakes proved to be dangerous, were recalled and the Cobaltos stood in until Campagnolo improved and relaunched the Deltas.
Another thing that was ignored by even a lot Campagnolo riders is the way the first Record Ergopower breaklever break-opening feature worked. As with all Campagnolo rim breaks since Ergopwer, they were opened with a little bolt at the breaklever that was pushed inwards. To close the breaks the bolt has to be pushed outwards again. All of that could be done while riding without risking you fingers get into the spokes. But at the first generation Record Ergopower it was just a pull of the breaklever to push the bolt back in place and close the break again. I am sure most people do not know that.
The 2nd Gen C-Record brake levers also had that little pin feature because it was needed with Delta calipers. I personally liked the basic 1st Gen brakes. Simple and still works on my Colnago.
Super interesting video Alex and gcn! Cool history lesson! Fortunately for us and Campagnolo, the UCI didn't ban his innovations as I'm sure they would (in fact do) today! No organization has done more to stifle creativity and quash innovation in cycling than the UCI! As a result, they are facing a crisis of relevance. As events like gravel racing gain popularity, they are running to catch up (Gravel "Worlds") and making a pathetic pastiche of themselves!
What kind or which innovation is implemented in gravel racing that is not allowed in UCI races? Is there a similar innovation in triathlon bikes versus UCI legal TTs that has made triathlon relevant and popular and TTrialing not?
Great to hear that you enjoyed the video! Is there any other brands you would us to delve into next? Can you think on any innovations that the UCI have squashed? 👀
@Global Cycling Network Well they've eliminated gender parity to start with by not starting all genders together and having the women's race shorter in their 'Gravel Worlds '. Interesting this, as women fair far better in the ultra endurance scene.
@Réno Pijnen Gender Inclusion. Gender Parity. All genders mass start. They will soon dictate what an 'acceptable ' bike is for gravel. Currently, there is a wide range: mountain bikes, gravel bikes, raconteur bikes, adventure bikes, with time trial bars, without, all manner of tires in all manner of widths. That's how creativity thrives, with diversity, but the UCI is the epitome of the opposite.
I've got Campy on a bike I had hand made for me in Nice France 1985, Columbus SLX tube set. Loved the change up and push the lever back a bit, lever on the down tube of course. Its in the attic. But at the start of the mountain bike scene every body wanted indexing and leavers on the bars, first mountain bike I had was a Gitane Verdon 1983 with Huret friction shifter's on the bars. Later tried a Simplex mec on the back. But none of them could get reliable indexing. Then the Japanese got it with the little trick of the top jockey wheel having a bit of sideways movement so after a change it could line up with the sprocket. Just like I used to do with the down tube levers LOL.
my favourite comagnolo is.........all of it ! the components i have had the pleasure of using over the years have run perfectly, even the lower end parts, if looked after well the components should outlast your bike...that's the difference, top end shimano components are also lovely to and run just as smoothly as compag
Great and informative video made all the better with some great cinematography. Climbing Cheddar Gorge is a fantastic experience and having it this video was a welcome bonus
Great video which could and should be much longer, going into detail about construction etc. It would also help to show a Super Record mech when talking about its launch instead of a Nuovo Record. They look quite different! My first road bike in the 80s was fully equipped with Campag components and I still use Campag Tipo hubs on my touring bike, dating from 40 years ago!
I'm glad someone knows what they want out of life! That said, the Rene Herse RD does only have a downtube shifter version, and it requires a non-standard RD mount, which you would have to retrofit to an existing frame. I think downtube shifting is not what most cyclists are used to these days, and I bet you most people would prefer to shift from the bars.
Thank you for showing pictures of the electronic group sets when you were talking about them it was so satisfying to see pictures when you were talking about the electronic group sets that we never heard about wow thank you for showing the pictures. Wait, you didn’t show pictures
Have two gifts remains from my wedding in 1983. The first is the cook book my best friend gave us and second is the Campagnolo corkscrew my cycling teammates gave. Guess which gets used more? Also have my Campy Nouvo record hubs from around 1980. Haven't used them in a long time but they still are the prettiest hubs I've ever owned.
It is great that you can still buy a Super Record mechanical groupset with rim breaks! Apart from what some of you think, it is not only a matter of speed and power! The joy is a key, I think. 😁 And for those like me there is a Campy!
Favourite components? C Record cranks with self extracting bolts, Delta brakes (5 pivot), C Record rear derailleur (actually the whole C Record gruppo is special, including the "biodinamica" aero bidon and cage) Shamals (1st and 2nd gen), 8v Ergo shifters (2nd gen), Electron, wheelset, 9v & 10v black 16-HPW Shamals, 9v & 10v Record Ti seat post, first carbon Record crankset, 10v Shamals in gold anodised alloy, Ultra Torque 10v Record crankset, the list goes on.
Campagnolo has made many innovations and I used all the groups since 1969, in 1969 I was amaized to own the first campagnolo brakes, and also in 2011 the New campagnolo eps super record groups, with the extraordinary bora ultra wheels
Great video!! My first real road bike was Italian and it came with Campagnolo Valentino front and rear Derailleurs. That started my passion for Campagnolo. I progressed through their evolutionary groups, Record, Super Record, Record C...... Racing is far behind me but riding is not. I still choose to ride Campagnolo because that company does not design components for market value. They design components to win, to be reliable, to be serviceable, with style and beauty that is un-equaled by any other manufacturer. So many Campagnolo equipped bikes are seen as a work of art.
20 years ago I had Record on my road bike. Loved it. Once I can afford a high end bike I'm going with Record again. I don't care if the other brands shift o.oo1 seconds faster. I want to be STOKED to ride something beautiful, something with history and passion. It's like the difference between driving a new Jaguar F-Type vs. my father's 1964 Jaguar E-Type... sure the F is faster, more comfortable, safer, etc. But the E is a thing of beauty and mechanical perfection with a personality. The E is something you learn to operate and respect. I'll take the 1964 E-Type every single time.
I bought a custombuilt frame from Bob Jackson 1985 and equiped it with C-o Nuovo Record and rode it for many years . Since 2007 I have ridden a carb bike and let the steelhorse in the garage . This year I just took it out again just for a fun ride and it worked perfektly like last time 16 years ago.Thats quality. I used to by several gears and brakes etc .for passion and just to have spareparts incase C-o would cease to exist.😅
I have always loved the older chainring design. A work of art with its arcs and symmetry. And the components used to be serviceable and not just replaced.
Very cool episode. My personal favorite was the Monoplane Brakes. Those were works of art. Delta brakes were also, but not like the Monoplane. The entire groupset for those years (87-90)??? were the best looking.
@@gcn I have not used them, so I cannot say. I just started to get back into cycling since 94 when I quit. Old now and have found myself struggling with liking the road bike that I did build. 1x10 Advant X groupset. I have found that I am enjoying back roads and dirt roads much better now and at a much slower pace. I have an older al. frame that I would like to build with old school Campy. Maybe one day.. :-)
I would love to see someone riding a bike with a dual rod gear. It would be amazing to see how easy/ difficult it was to use. Does anyone have a frame? I have never seen one on a bike, even in museums.
As a kid in the early 1970s I remember QRs were a luxury only available on 3rd level entry racing bikes (Raleigh super course or higher, $170+), or Schwinn Continentals ... Pricey bikes!
My first made to measure bike was made in 1978 by this kinda cranky old Irish builder, who as you could imagine was very set in his ways and he told me in no uncertain terms that his beautiful 531 frames was going to be built with a Campy Nuovo Record group set or it wasn't going to be built... period.... The finished product was remarkable, although very pricey, but I have used Campy exclusively since, I did have a team bike that had Dura Ace 7400, but I stayed resolute on my personal gear. Campag lasted for ever, the bearings remained silky smooth, shifting crisp and overall stayed solid and dependable. my present group is Chorus 11 speed mechanical, I have need for electric shifting, It's ten years old and still shifts and performs perfectly...
Not sure if campagnolo is a force today as it was back then but back in the 80s and 90s they had some me beautiful group sets which I could only dream of buying and still do today. ❤
Though I tended to ride bikes with Shimano components on them I did have a soft spot for the Delta brakes, they looked fab to me. I did own a Shamal deep metal rim front wheel for TT's which also looked fab!
What is your favourite Campagnolo innovation? 🧐 Let us know in the comments below! 👇
Lots of envy for your Campagnolo boxes! Beautiful and absolutely collectable!
Campag wears in...Shimano wears out.
QR FTW
The “Giant Corkscrew” and Delta Brakes (when setup right, they do work well… for 1980s tech).
Don't think Campagnolo invented system wheels (Mavic Cosmic), or electronic gears (Mavic Zap)
My grandad Enrico Piccolo was Campagnolo's first employee and Tullio's right-hand man. He dedicated all his life to the cycling world, was always on a bike or fixing another and watched all tours until the very end of his life. I am so proud of him.
Wow that is amazing! Do feel a real close connection to the Campy parts? What a family heritage to have 🤯
in 2018, after many thousands of gear changes, my 2001 Record shifter stopped working correctly - it still shifted but you couldn't be quite sure which gear you would end up in. In short, it had lost its click. I sent it off to a Campagnolo approved service centre and they serviced it for just over £20. That's brilliant IMHO.
Now that's what you call good customer service!
I used to work at a shop and Campagnolo were the only shifting components we would replace parts in simply because they made them serviceable and continued to support their older generation components.
All you have to to is put in new g-springs. It happened to me I had a light accident on a bike - the road was blocked, and by using the pavement I got struck in a bareer with the left 2003 Record carbon Ergopower. Only the day before a race I recognized that this had caused a crack in the Ergopowers body, which would have resulted in a failure during the race. I had only two options. Using my bad wheather bike for the race, or remove the handlebar tape, remove the damaged Ergopower, and use an intact lever body by switching all the shifters parts in the intact lever body. I succeeded, but had a short night. Anyway, it was worth the hassle, as my Giant CFR Expert series was motivation enough, not to forget the Shamal 12-HPW wheelset I used, with Conti Supersonic tires on, at that time 20mm front and rear.
Bicycle components you can repair instead of just replace - imagine that! Right after I got out of college I tried to “repair” the shifting in my Shimano STI shift/brake lever. What a disaster! Obviously designed to never be disassembled. Since then, I have successfully replaced quite a few parts on my Campy levers. Soooo much simpler in design!
Campy spares allowed dozens of parts companies to make repairable components just by using "campy compatible" dimensions, and both companies benefitted!
This episode is way too short. Campagnolo deserves a full GCN+ film. The company lost its way in the 80's but got back its mojo, producing the most beautiful groupsets in recent years. They had spectacular failures, the most obvious being the Delta brakes but since then their drive trains are superb. My favourite is the Record 10 ultra
We could chat Italian parts all day long 😂 Watch this space soon! It's a great idea!!!
It never ceases to amaze me how Italians are able to give soul to engineering products. It's in cars, in motorbikes, in bicycles, in components, you name it.
Italian Engineering is always on point! We're got a great GCN+ doc about the Pinarello 👉 gcn.eu/pinarellostory
Dont forget shoes dude. Have you ever worn an italian made leather shoe? When I was in Tuscany in 2013 for the Eroica, I bought a pair of perforated leather vintage cycle shoes with tie up laces from the markets there, they cost me $25AUD. I still have them today and still use them on 2 of my steel bikes with. They havent come apart anywhere
As a college student in the 1980's I lusted after Campagnolo Record groupsets, but they were way out of my budget. So I settled for a pair of Campy toe clips :) Ever since I've had a full-time job, I've had at least one full Campy-equipped bike. I'm retiring next week after 38 years and still plan to have one in the stable forever.
They're such lovely things to own aren't they! Have you ever submitted a picture of your steeds to the GCN app?
@@gcn They're sublime. No, but I will this weekend. '86 Mercian, '99 Serotta and '13 Pinarello.
Along with everything else, what I love about Campy is the aesthetic. The most beautiful components I've put on a bike have been Campagnolo.
It's Italian !
They certainly know how to make a pretty group set! 😍
Campy components with Cinelli bars and stem. A classic combination!
My favorite Campy moment was when I bought my first steel custom bike with Campy Record C back in 1985.
It already had hidden brake cables by the way, so a lot earlier than 1992.
I put every last cent I had ever put in the bank on it at the time, and rode on it for 18 years.
I still have it in my basement. It's so beautiful, I will never part with it.
I still ride another custom bike now, from 2007, this time a titanium bike with mechanical Super Record.
This one sleeps besides my bed right here as I'm typing this.
Sounds like you have some great bikes Michel! You are a very 🙌 How about sharing your bikes with us on the bike vault? 👉 gcn.eu/app We would love to see it!!
@@gcn When the snow has melted and I can do a proper GCN setup I will ! :)
Wrapping the brake cables on the handlebar tops under bar tape with the C-Record brake levers was ALL the aero we needed back then. My brakes and SR calipers still work perfectly to this day!
@@ralphc1405 Yep! Although the crankset and rear derailleur cage were "aero" too! 👌👍
C Record! But you would know for certain?
All of my road bikes for the last 45 years have had Campagnolo groupsets. They also make fantastic wheels.
as mine..also
What's your favourite Campag group set?
@@gcn i have record chorus 11 speed on my 14 pinarello dogma 65.1 think 2..before record calipers got ugly
I hope many more cyclist see this video. I love Campagnolo. I used to have a beautiful lugged steel Bianchi Aloro with Campagnolo Mirage. I bought it new in 96' from a small shop in northern Michigan. When I moved to Ohio in 04' one of the first things I did was buy a new road bike. I bought an Orbea Ultrafoco with Campagnolo Daytona. Both bikes were stolen. I love older 8,9, and 10 speed Campagnolo. But unfortunately I don't own any Campy bikes anymore. I still hope to own a Campy bike again. This is a great video on Campagnolo. Believe it or not ALL the Tour de France winners, until Lance came along, won it on Campagnolo components. I hope to see Campagnolo have more success in the future. Thank you.
The Campagnolo won all tour the France is a big lie.
Many won on Huret or Simplex components.
And Simplex did way more to create the derailleur as we know it than Campagnolo, who basically marketed their products well to a anglophone audience.
French manufacturers were equiping the whole bike boom, with every brand boasting a better high end deraileur set (Simplex SLJ, Huret Jubilee/Success, ...) than the Nuovo Record, for cheaper, and beautiful looks.
Then the japanese took over and their innovation were really just as important as Tullio's company.
Italie's contribution to the cycling history is important but overhyped by american campy fans.
Having raced in the 1950s on a Dawes Mirage 531 Reynolds tubing Bike with a 2 x 5 Simplex geared bike my sponsors moved me onto a French made Mercier Bike with 2 x 6 Campag gears i thought i was Fausto Coppi i have great memories from back then i still cycle at 88 but alas no more than a ten mile circuit Thank you GCN for so many interesting videos.
Finally some love for Campagnolo!
I love that most of their stuff is carbon, because in winter it is comfortable and enjoyable to grip on and it doesn't rot in the salty street mud. And every time I see and use my bike, I enjoy the aesthetics and know, it will beautifully work for me.
It's not love, it's an Ad, paid for by Campagnolo.
@@Penalist We only ever partner with brands we really believe create amazing products! This kind of video allows us to create many of the other videos you see. We hope you enjoyed this one and are there any other brands you would like to see us talk about next?
@@gcn I'm not judging; but it is not love that 'makes the world go round', indeed. Nonetheless, it is one thing to partner up, it is another 'to be the piper that plays the tune that is paid and called for', leading, e.g., to regularly bashing the UCI (who don't pay GCN) and its 'rulebook' (without ever going into why there is this rulebook), and to constantly shifting emphasis within the videos on what is important in cycling, which takes away from the message that a GCN production aims to put forward and from this seeming enthusiasm within GCN about a particular product or an approach to cycling. In short, in this particular business model, the commercial aspect is bound to drown out the enthusiastic aspect.
I can honestly say that Campagnolo made me love cycling. I have always loved their dedication to quality and innovation.
3:19 That rod gear looks ground breaking and truly terrifying all at the same time. I'm glad Tullio Campagnolo followed it up with a cable actuated derailleur a few years later. Thanks for the trip through cycling's heritage, Alex.
Cyclo, Simplex and Osgear had a lever front changer in 1939. :-)
using it is an acquired skill. a rather steep learning process, knew someone who had a frame built to accommodate it. but even once you get used to it it is still awkward
Why would undoing your quick release and moving your axle while riding make you nervous? :)
Why would undoing your quick release and moving your axle while riding make you nervous :)
The first thing I ever bought with my first real paycheck was a racing bike. That was 1984. The bike I lusted after was a steel Paramount that came fitted with Campagnolo Cobalto components. And...true to it's name, it might have well have been carved out of sapphires; such was my first graphic designer's gig's salary. Needless to say, my first bike was lacking Campy...
Fast forward to literally just last week: After 39 years of (non-Campy equipped) steel bikes, aluminum bikes, carbon bikes, and gran fondos and TTs all over the country (and a few in Europe) I acquired a pristine Colnago C50, and yes... an equally pristine Campagnolo Record 11 mechanical groupset, with a Super Record crank and matching Stages Powermeter. It's coming together in the basement workshop as I type this.
I have never been more excited or proud to have a machine come together. Can't wait for the first ride. She'll be in the stable permanently if, for no other reason, than the fact that she's literally a piece of art.
I love Campagnolo ,I still have a bike with 10 speed centaur 2009 shifters and chainset,chorus derailleurs,levers are ultrashift and so is the mechanism ,love the fact you can dump 5 gears at a time on a decent and just feels great but it’s very much for the niche though
The rapid shift and ultra shift on their ergos. I've been riding Campagnolo groupsets for 20 years now and I love the ability to precisely shift down 1-3 and shift up 1-5 gears in one motion.
Ultra Shift. The ability to change up to five gears, up or down, instantly. It is still the best mechanical groupset approach by a long way.
I've ridden Campagnolo for over 20 years and have always been impressed with the quality and serviceability of the components. Just upgraded to 12s Record mechanical last year and I am not disappointed. I even built my 14 year old son a Campy equipped bike, so he can challenge me...
Still using Campag Record and Super Record components after 40 years and still working perfectly. The Delta brakes are simply the best looking brakes ever produced. Regular maintenance is key.
The Delta brake. Much maligned, heavy, beautifully shaped and finished, excellently manufactured, difficult to work on and adjust, applicable only to performance bicycles, and in spite of what so often is written about it, can be set up to work quite well, especially when compared with more conventional designs of its time. It is one of those products that epitomizes Campagnolo in the classic era.
Such beautiful component's aren't they! If you love Italian designs you should check out our documentary on Colnago on GCN+ 👉 gcn.eu/ColnagoArt
It was a disaster. Hard to work on, heavy, expensive, and poor performing. An engineering desd end.
@@matthewlewis2072 You sound like the man who has never owned one.
@@jbarner13As someone who has owned and worked on them they are crap, from an engineering perspective they lose mechanical advantage the more you pull them due to the mechanism inside. It's an inferior system to Shimano's ax brakes which used a metal plate that allowed you to gain more mechanical advantage when you hit the rim. Those had fixed pads though so they're also garbage overall. Also dual pivots were around at the same time as Deltas so it wasn't that good compared to other innovative brake designs either
@@guytatler9769 As I recall, Shimano was the first to market with dual-pivot calipers in 1990, a full six years after the first Delta prototypes were seen in the wild, so they are not truly contemporary, even if they overlapped. There is no question but that the dual-pivot design is superior to the Delta. The design of the various AX brakes goes back at least to the 1940s with the French Bebolux and probably earlier, but there were other variable mechanical advantage brake designs as well--it's not relevant to my comment. One thing that people don't get is that the Delta was engineered to minimize flex internally. If you remove the cover and observe while applying the type of force to the lever that you would during hard braking, you will observe little movement, and thus very little change in mechanical advantage, once the pads hit the rim. I have Deltas on three different bikes and I can say with conviction that, when setup properly, they work just fine. Little of this is germane to my original comment, though. I think the only thing you are disagreeing with is the final point that they can be setup to work just fine, and every time I ride my Sachs, Moulton, or Kilfoy, I prove you wrong.
Thanks for creating this. The year was about 1983-84 I was racing as a junior and worked all summer just to buy a Campy Record group set for my dream build which at the time was a CIOCC .[Colnago's since] not sure if they are even making bikes anymore. but at the time some of my racing mates were switching over to DuraAce. As if! How could anyone ever think of putting Japanese components on a pure breed Italian racing frame. That was such a heated debate back then. I still remember it like it was yesterday. sorta like the Nikon/Cannon camera loyalty.
Since my earliest days I've been a Campagnolo fan, scouring sales at mail order shops to upgrade my Schwinn and later my entry level Cannondale with Chorus components. The Record Delta brake set should have gotten a mention, IMHO. Rumor was they were spongy and hard to center but that didn't stop the pros in the peloton from rocking them for years. After college I got new wheels built around old Record hubs with the lubricant dust cover clip thing in the center. I'm still riding this bike today, with almost 9k miles on Zwift it still shifts like a dream and the freewheel sings like the first day I rode it. Beauty and functionality that still stands apart. Campy forever!
Great to hear that your Campy parts have lasted so long! Those Delta brakes are iconic 🙌 Would you ever try riding a different group set?
Started racing on campy in 1981 and still on campy super record today, I don't even think about riding any other group set.
What was the reaction back then when MAVIC designed the MA-40 clincher rim and said it was good enough for the TDF. Along with the Michelin Hi clinchers?
I'm an MTB guy. Always will be. Tullio Campagnolo has my undying respect. He invented the cam skewer used in wheels for decades, my Fox thru-axle still uses that design for a stronger hold. He Invented the parallelogram derailleur, I now run a SRAM Eagle groupset, the pinnacle of groupsets. In fact, it was his idea to sell groupsets in the first place. He invented the disc brake for the original Lambretta scooter. This idea of a lightweight, compact disc brake has ultimately given us the Magura MT series (others styles of disc brake too). He was one of the first to start seriously playing with carbon in bikes.
He made parts for Lambourghini, Maserati, Alfa Romeo and other super sexy cars while being one of the pioneers of low-pressure magnesium casting.
Tullio was not a revolutionary in cycling, he was a revolutionary in all things fast and fun. A true engineer and all round genius. He was also the true pioneer of the holy rider. Gruppo del Cinquantenario 0002 was presented to Pope John Paul II.
Personally, I think he's the only roadie who I wouldn't be upset with if he overtook me on a ride, just a shame he passed away 40 years ago in 1983, I would have loved to meet him.
I love Campagnolo and have two bikes with it, but SunTour and the slant parallelogram rear derailleur brought us into the modern age of shifting.
I still love my Shamal HPW Titanium wheelset. By using black swissstop brake pads (especially made for vulnerable, soft alloy rims) the wear is still not much. My front wheel I bought back in 2001, and it still has got the original industrial bearings in it. On a pre-owned Mavic Cosmic Carbon SSC front wheel I bought in 2007, I already had to build in new bearings twice, although I don't put much tension on the controltech titanium skewer.
Only the old silver bar-end shifter have been something like a stepchild of campagnolo - they always came only in a plastic bag, and tended to have hairline cracks even new out of the bag. But they are easy to maintain, the recommended g-springs are the same like the ones for the left 9/10speed Ergopower (they have different numbers as for the bar end shifter three springs are recquired, and the Ergopower only recquires two). As the 10speed shifter has 11 positions, it is possible to use it for 11 speed cassettes, all you have to do is to file a grove approximately 1.5mm deep where the cable runs along (the part called SL-RE122). Due to exchange steel parts with alloy parts, shortening the lever and use a thin layer of liquid tape instead of the thick, long rubber I reduced the weight of the right shift lever down to 58gr.
In the early 80's there was a BBC Series called "The Day the Universe Changed". Hosted by James Burke it traced modern (such as it was at the time) technology back to its earliest roots - that pivotal moment when everything changed. I'd submit that November 11, 1927 (the day Tullio's wingnut froze up) would qualify for such a day in cycling terms.
Just rebuilt a Chorus 10 speed right shifter for the 3rd time. More than 40,000Km of use and together with new hoods is as good as the first day.
Being able to fix parts is super important 🙌 Are you going to keep using it until it no longer works?
@@gcn I have a stock of springs, carriers and hoods so the shifters will probably outlive me. 😀
Favourite innovation.......naming all their wheels after winds.😁
It's certainly more romantic than certain other manufacturers naming 😉
And Olympic Games
Campagnolo is still one reason to be proud to be italian
You've got lots to be proud of! How about Pinarello 👉 gcn.eu/pinarellostory
And Vivaldi, and Verdi, and Puccini.
Valentino Rossi.
Italian machine tools and industrial equipment are quite successful. But those aren’t the kind of things the general public takes notice of.
Great video Alex. The one little thing you missed is that the logo includes the invention that started it all…..the quick release
I love Campy! I have used 7 different Campy groupsets, 2 being EPS and the others being Mech. Currently, One of my Pinarello has Record EPS 11, and I just got another F10 with Campy 11 Mech... My God, when the mechanical is properly setup, it is amazing! I was planning to put EPS onto the F10 too, but I think it will stay mechanical.
Yeah, you can' t beat the mechanical set, the right set up with the maximum smoothness cable set makes it the best shifting performance possible. The feel, the directness, the sound. It's pure art.
Agree 100%. Ive got 3 bikes setup perfectly with mechanical by an excellent mechanic. Record 10 Titanium, Record 11 and Super Record 11 both from 2014. The shifting is phenomenal
The most beautiful components were made by Campagnolo in the late 80ies like the C-Record derailleur, crankset and the Delta breaks.they had this soft and smooth curved shapes of polished alloy.
My favorite Campagnolo technology is ultra-shift. As most people never rode Campagnolo Ultra-shift groupsets, only a few people understand what it is, and what is so nice about it. With electronic shift actuation it is on every bike now, but for mechanic shifting it was outstanding. I would say it is the most ignored advantage of Campagnolo.
Just would like to let you guys know that you're excellent ambassadors for the cycling world and I thoroughly enjoy watching and learning from your channel. Thanks!
Thanks very much! Great to hear that you enjoy our content 😊
Growing up in the 60/70s, the name Campagnolo meant the best bicycle components available to humanity, and I have to admit to being a die-hard fan of the brand. Super helpful also in my experience. Thank you for putting together this piece, reminding us of where it all began, Alex. Ciao!
No worries Antonio! They certianly make some amazing parts, what would your dream Campag group set be?
@gcn Anything Chorus, Record or Super Record, you can't go wrong with any of those. I look forward to your next review of Campagnolo. Keep up the good work. Cheers!
After 20 something years I dusted off my old Cannondale Caad 3 with Mid 90’s Campy Chorus. I literally just cleaned the bike, lubed the chain and went for a ride. Shifting was spot on and it was so much fun to get back out there.
Not sure what it means to say that components in a groupo (group set) were meant to "work together." They werd designed to sell together. In 1974, I built a bike whose brake set used components from seven different manufacturers. Worked great.
My cycling mates call me Mr Campy, started using Campag in in 1965 and still do, superb engineering with classy ,classic looks, still use Nuovo Super Record 8 speed on my bikes, some bits original and still work a treat. Campy wears in. Sh.t..o wears out !
There is a book entitled "The Giant and the File" by Gianni Brera. from 1993
Apparently it was for publicity and not sold so its hard to find and expensive. Its full of the early history of Tullio with lots of pictures. The race where he realized "bisogna cambia qualcosa de diro" was 4 november 1924 not 1933.
He kept racing for the next few years before devoting himself entirely to designing and engineering
I got my copy when I was visiting the factory in Vicenza with a group I was in charge of after doing the Grand Fondo Campagnolo in 2000
I bought the Tern GSD and love it. It is my favorite purchase of all time. he new Tern panniers are nice, however I mounted a large plastic produce crate on the back rack and I like it much better than panniers which I rarely use. Why? Convenience. I just plop my grocery bags, packages, gloves, Sun glasses etc into the box and start riding. There are no panniers to unlatch or roll up. Another tip: I made a giant “shower cap” for my box. It keeps rain out and stuff from blowing out. I made it from rubber tubing and clear vinyl sheet goods and vinyl glue. Ace Hardware had everything I needed. I had a black rubberized cover, which I ordered on the internet but I really like the clear cover much better. I can instantly see whatever is in side the crate. If you like bike riding you will absolutely love riding a cargo bike. It is so practical for a city environment. We even got rid of one car. It was never needed once i got the cargo bike.
We love Cargo bikes... Si has been known to rock a turn also! 👉ua-cam.com/video/3-Bt7LfsISw/v-deo.html 🙌 Has your bike replaced a car?
I’m a lifelong Campy fan and have never had a non-campy road bike ever since my first Ted Woodall-built Leader Cycle in 1972. I now have a 10 spd Fuji, an 11 spd hand-built Ti Cisco Cycle, a couple of 12 spd Chapter 2s (one mechanical Record and the other EPS super record) and a 13 spd hand-built steel Valentine gravel bike. Along the way I’ve also have had a some other road bikes but every one of them campy. I’ve ridden Shimano and SRAM but I’ve never wanted to own either. I even would have gone for their short-lived foray into mtb components if I could’ve afforded it at the time. Superior design to me always beats simply functional design which Shimanos and Srams of the world all strike me as being.
Great reminder of where many bicycle innovations came from. 😊
Great video! Great history of a great company that had/has such an impact on biking, both for pros and for amateurs.
Great to hear you enjoyed it! What brands would you like to see us go for a deeper dive into? 👀
Just getting back on my road bike after a 5 year break. I'm 54yo. Bike hasn't seen a day of maintenance in that time. Campagnolo Record through out, and it is all still in tune and works as it should. Nothing to do, but dust it off and ride.
The Shimano on my MTB would of broken already. 🙂
Wow that is very impressive 🙌 What bike is it?
@@gcn 2013 De Rosa Merak II - custom build.
In the early 70's when I was building my racing bikes Campy was out of reach in the US. You buy a bike like a Raleigh Pro Mk IV with full Campy equipment for $500. A Campy Record groupset alone would cost you at least $350. So I built with what I could get, including a fair amount of Zeus equipment.
The people that rode seriously and used Campagnolo either had a lot of money or they knew a source. I knew one shop that had a customer who was an airline pilot. Every trip to Italy was made with an empty suitcase and a large wad of cash. Their sponsored riders all used Campy.
Campagnolo deserves a lot of respect for their quality and aesthetics.
Cobalto Brakeset,. By far my favorite piece of Campy kit. How that cobalt stone glistened in the sunshine during the 1986 Tour de France. Still have a brand new boxed set, with the aero lever converters.
Cobaltos were SR brakes with the cobalt stone - a stopgap brake set after the original Delta brakes proved to be dangerous, were recalled and the Cobaltos stood in until Campagnolo improved and relaunched the Deltas.
I know that, doesn't take away from the fact that they were really cool and my favorite piece of Campy kit.
That "stone" is literally a sliver of clear plastic. Cheap but looks beautiful that's for sure.
Another thing that was ignored by even a lot Campagnolo riders is the way the first Record Ergopower breaklever break-opening feature worked. As with all Campagnolo rim breaks since Ergopwer, they were opened with a little bolt at the breaklever that was pushed inwards. To close the breaks the bolt has to be pushed outwards again. All of that could be done while riding without risking you fingers get into the spokes. But at the first generation Record Ergopower it was just a pull of the breaklever to push the bolt back in place and close the break again. I am sure most people do not know that.
The 2nd Gen C-Record brake levers also had that little pin feature because it was needed with Delta calipers.
I personally liked the basic 1st Gen brakes. Simple and still works on my Colnago.
Super interesting video Alex and gcn! Cool history lesson! Fortunately for us and Campagnolo, the UCI didn't ban his innovations as I'm sure they would (in fact do) today! No organization has done more to stifle creativity and quash innovation in cycling than the UCI! As a result, they are facing a crisis of relevance. As events like gravel racing gain popularity, they are running to catch up (Gravel "Worlds") and making a pathetic pastiche of themselves!
What kind or which innovation is implemented in gravel racing that is not allowed in UCI races? Is there a similar innovation in triathlon bikes versus UCI legal TTs that has made triathlon relevant and popular and TTrialing not?
I wish gravel races were never a part of UCI.
Unfortunatelly UCI already puts its dirty hands on it
Great to hear that you enjoyed the video! Is there any other brands you would us to delve into next? Can you think on any innovations that the UCI have squashed? 👀
@Global Cycling Network Well they've eliminated gender parity to start with by not starting all genders together and having the women's race shorter in their 'Gravel Worlds '. Interesting this, as women fair far better in the ultra endurance scene.
@Réno Pijnen Gender Inclusion. Gender Parity. All genders mass start. They will soon dictate what an 'acceptable ' bike is for gravel. Currently, there is a wide range: mountain bikes, gravel bikes, raconteur bikes, adventure bikes, with time trial bars, without, all manner of tires in all manner of widths. That's how creativity thrives, with diversity, but the UCI is the epitome of the opposite.
I didn't realise the Cheddar Giorgio was such a classic Italian climb!
This is an amazing video. The rich history of this sport continues to fascinate me.
There is a lot to unpick 🙌 If it's the history of cycling that you love, there is only place for you 👉gcn.eu/8x5 GCN+!
Thank you for this display of the great works of Campagnolo
Superb video, Alex. You're a natural. One of the very best from GCN.
He's one of our finest 🙌 Fancy more Alex... this is a great video 👉 ua-cam.com/video/C03CZQYVwu8/v-deo.html
I’ve got a colnago rim brake c64 with super record mechanical. It’s a keeper ❤
That sounds lovely! Have you seen our Colnago documentary on GCN+? 👉 gcn.eu/ColnagoArt
their best inventions, the quick release, and above all , the groupset. campagnolo still leads the road on cycling components
Even the Zenon rear mech & shifters I got for my winter bike worked really well & looked good in matt black.
I've got Campy on a bike I had hand made for me in Nice France 1985, Columbus SLX tube set. Loved the change up and push the lever back a bit, lever on the down tube of course. Its in the attic.
But at the start of the mountain bike scene every body wanted indexing and leavers on the bars, first mountain bike I had was a Gitane Verdon 1983 with Huret friction shifter's on the bars. Later tried a Simplex mec on the back.
But none of them could get reliable indexing.
Then the Japanese got it with the little trick of the top jockey wheel having a bit of sideways movement so after a change it could line up with the sprocket.
Just like I used to do with the down tube levers LOL.
my favourite comagnolo is.........all of it !
the components i have had the pleasure of using over the years have run perfectly, even the lower end parts, if looked after well the components should outlast your bike...that's the difference, top end shimano components are also lovely to and run just as smoothly as compag
Do your think Campy parts have lasted longer than your Shimano parts? 👀
When I first started into road bicycles in the early 80s, I thought Super Record derailleurs were the most beautiful thing is ever seen.
A prelude to the release of the new Campagnolo wireless groupset.
Much talked about. They need to provide new product, soon, or they're doomed.
Great Campy history lesson by Gary!
We can always rely on Frank for the facts 😆
Great and informative video made all the better with some great cinematography. Climbing Cheddar Gorge is a fantastic experience and having it this video was a welcome bonus
Great video which could and should be much longer, going into detail about construction etc. It would also help to show a Super Record mech when talking about its launch instead of a Nuovo Record. They look quite different! My first road bike in the 80s was fully equipped with Campag components and I still use Campag Tipo hubs on my touring bike, dating from 40 years ago!
I prefer the derailleur to be operated desmodromically. This makes shifts consistent and easy. Rene Herse is offering such a derailleur.
I'm glad someone knows what they want out of life! That said, the Rene Herse RD does only have a downtube shifter version, and it requires a non-standard RD mount, which you would have to retrofit to an existing frame. I think downtube shifting is not what most cyclists are used to these days, and I bet you most people would prefer to shift from the bars.
@@weiwenng8096I'm hardening up with a singlespeed bike so that downtube shifters feel convenient.
I had a Campag Nueva Record equipped Rossin in the early 90s it felt very special
Alex, you've been knocking these videos out of the ballpark!!
Fantastic Bob. Makes me want to go back to Campy...
Thank you for showing pictures of the electronic group sets when you were talking about them it was so satisfying to see pictures when you were talking about the electronic group sets that we never heard about wow thank you for showing the pictures. Wait, you didn’t show pictures
10:20
Shimano had hidden brake cables, under the bar tape, in around 1984.
Have two gifts remains from my wedding in 1983. The first is the cook book my best friend gave us and second is the Campagnolo corkscrew my cycling teammates gave. Guess which gets used more?
Also have my Campy Nouvo record hubs from around 1980. Haven't used them in a long time but they still are the prettiest hubs I've ever owned.
Nothing goes better with a Campy corkscrew than a cycling cook book 👉 gcn.eu/7kY 😉 ... Bon appétit
This was a great video. Hopefully this puts then back on top.
It is great that you can still buy a Super Record mechanical groupset with rim breaks! Apart from what some of you think, it is not only a matter of speed and power! The joy is a key, I think. 😁 And for those like me there is a Campy!
Campy are still keeping it old school with those rim brakes! We love to see it 🙌
Favourite components?
C Record cranks with self extracting bolts, Delta brakes (5 pivot), C Record rear derailleur (actually the whole C Record gruppo is special, including the "biodinamica" aero bidon and cage) Shamals (1st and 2nd gen), 8v Ergo shifters (2nd gen), Electron, wheelset, 9v & 10v black 16-HPW Shamals, 9v & 10v Record Ti seat post, first carbon Record crankset, 10v Shamals in gold anodised alloy, Ultra Torque 10v Record crankset, the list goes on.
Good video Alex, campagnolo the best group sets by far. That's why I only use campagnolo, on all my bikes. 🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹😃👍
Campagnolo has made many innovations and I used all the groups since 1969, in 1969 I was amaized to own the first campagnolo brakes, and also in 2011 the New campagnolo eps super record groups, with the extraordinary bora ultra wheels
Great video!! My first real road bike was Italian and it came with Campagnolo Valentino front and rear Derailleurs. That started my passion for Campagnolo. I progressed through their evolutionary groups, Record, Super Record, Record C...... Racing is far behind me but riding is not. I still choose to ride Campagnolo because that company does not design components for market value. They design components to win, to be reliable, to be serviceable, with style and beauty that is un-equaled by any other manufacturer. So many Campagnolo equipped bikes are seen as a work of art.
Love my Campy group sets so reliable and easier to fix!
Do you do the mechanics yourself? 🛠
20 years ago I had Record on my road bike. Loved it. Once I can afford a high end bike I'm going with Record again. I don't care if the other brands shift o.oo1 seconds faster. I want to be STOKED to ride something beautiful, something with history and passion. It's like the difference between driving a new Jaguar F-Type vs. my father's 1964 Jaguar E-Type... sure the F is faster, more comfortable, safer, etc. But the E is a thing of beauty and mechanical perfection with a personality. The E is something you learn to operate and respect. I'll take the 1964 E-Type every single time.
We couldn't agree more! Ride the bike that gets your fired up 🔥 Where would you go? 🗺
Great content! Wish you could start recording in 4K 😊
Great to hear you are loving the video! We'll let you know when 4k is on its way 👀
I bought a custombuilt frame from Bob Jackson 1985 and equiped it with C-o Nuovo Record and rode it for many years .
Since 2007 I have ridden a carb bike and let the steelhorse in the garage .
This year I just took it out again just for a fun ride and it worked perfektly like last time 16 years ago.Thats quality.
I used to by several gears and brakes etc .for passion and just to have spareparts incase C-o would cease to exist.😅
I have always loved the older chainring design. A work of art with its arcs and symmetry. And the components used to be serviceable and not just replaced.
Elegant groupsets but my Neutron wheels are my fave, still amazing after all these years.
Very cool episode. My personal favorite was the Monoplane Brakes. Those were works of art. Delta brakes were also, but not like the Monoplane. The entire groupset for those years (87-90)??? were the best looking.
What do you make of modern Campy parts? 👀
@@gcn I have not used them, so I cannot say. I just started to get back into cycling since 94 when I quit. Old now and have found myself struggling with liking the road bike that I did build. 1x10 Advant X groupset. I have found that I am enjoying back roads and dirt roads much better now and at a much slower pace. I have an older al. frame that I would like to build with old school Campy. Maybe one day.. :-)
I would love to see someone riding a bike with a dual rod gear. It would be amazing to see how easy/ difficult it was to use. Does anyone have a frame? I have never seen one on a bike, even in museums.
My 78 Bianchi Super Leggera came with Chorus first year still shifting like a Swiss Watch
Quality content,
Well done all involved at GCN.
Great to hear that you enjoyed the video! Would you like to see us go deeper into any other brand?
As a kid in the early 1970s I remember QRs were a luxury only available on 3rd level entry racing bikes (Raleigh super course or higher, $170+), or Schwinn Continentals ... Pricey bikes!
My first made to measure bike was made in 1978 by this kinda cranky old Irish builder, who as you could imagine was very set in his ways and he told me in no uncertain terms that his beautiful 531 frames was going to be built with a Campy Nuovo Record group set or it wasn't going to be built... period.... The finished product was remarkable, although very pricey, but I have used Campy exclusively since, I did have a team bike that had Dura Ace 7400, but I stayed resolute on my personal gear. Campag lasted for ever, the bearings remained silky smooth, shifting crisp and overall stayed solid and dependable. my present group is Chorus 11 speed mechanical, I have need for electric shifting, It's ten years old and still shifts and performs perfectly...
Not sure if campagnolo is a force today as it was back then but back in the 80s and 90s they had some me beautiful group sets which I could only dream of buying and still do today. ❤
other companys pay their rider to use their group sets
Simply for cost and availability I tuned to Shimano on my last bike but I love Campagnolo.
we can bring you back from the ' dark side' if you ask us😁
Though I tended to ride bikes with Shimano components on them I did have a soft spot for the Delta brakes, they looked fab to me. I did own a Shamal deep metal rim front wheel for TT's which also looked fab!
Campy always looks on point! 👌
I admire that campagnolo use a Hirth joint for some of their cranksets
Nothing rolls better than Campag wheels. I’d have the full wireless super record EPS if I could afford it.
I'd buy a Campagnolo groupset but they are hard to source parts for where I am at. I do have their wheels though and I wouldn't buy anybody else's.
Buy online
I'm actually shocked that the quick release was invented in the 1930s. That's crazy. Hell, I still have two bikes with QR.
The Logo, magnifico
The new campy hyperon ultra wheel set just announced, cant wait to see new campy road 13 speed wireless or semi wireless group set
Beautiful equipment!!!
I love Campagnolo and wouldn't consider buying a bike that didn't come fitted with it as standard.