Did you know that when Campagnolo started selling it’s magnificent Record Corsa (C Record) groupset in 1985 that:
- Suntour had introduced the slant parallelogram rear derailleur (Grand Prix) in 1964, a design that allows the RD to track closer to the rear cogs for faster shifting
- Suntour had introduced indexed shifting in 1969 (Five-Speed Click with Unit-Hub) which Shimano resurrected & perfected in 1984 (Dura-Ace 7400)
- Shimano ensured the reliability and dependability of index shifting by introducing the cassette hub also in 1984
None of these innovations were seen on C Record. The Japanese clearly had a huge technological advantage (not to mention cost advantage) than the venerable but slow-moving Campagnolo. Even when C Record was launched Campagnolo was already pipped to the line for aerodynamic groupsets as Shimano had already introduced (and withdrawn) an aerodynamic groupset (Dura-Ace Ax) in 1980.
Admittedly Campagnolo caught up quite rapidly during C Record’s 10 year span from 1985-1994. During this period it adopted the slant parallelogram RD, indexed shifting (albeit with hiccups of Synchro 1 & 2), cassette hubs with Exadrive then Hyperdrive, and finally realized that delta brakes were an expensive mistake with the introduction of the wonderful Record dual pivots. It even adopted Ergopower in 1992, just one year after Shimano introduced STI dual-control brake shift levers in 1991. It all ended in 1995 when Campagnolo upgraded the C Record crankset and front derailleur and started labeling the individual groupsets. Wonderful as it was, and innovative as it has been since, it just ain’t the same…
2 comments:
It is very clear. Innovation did not come from Camapagnolo apart from the quick release in the 30s. Afterwards Campagnolo lingered in ignorance and arrogance, because they believed in their superiority.
That's a little harsh. In the early days Campagnolo's strength was technological refinement and consolidation. It did not invent the parallelogram rear derailleur but it created the Gran Sport. Campagnolo might not even have invented the quick release (https://www.renehersecycles.com/a-reappraisal-of-tullio-campagnolo/) but it made and marketed a dependable version of it. Same applies to the chainset, front derailleur, brakes and Campagnolo brought them all together in the "gruppo". As they say, we stand on the shoulders of giants and, for fifty years, Campagnolo was an unassailable giant of the bicycle industry. Things started to unravel after the mid-1980s. Arrogance and hubris?Yes, most would agree. Ignorance? I think not - Campagnolo did come out with alternative derailleur designs towards the end of the 1980s and mountain bike groupsets in the early 1990s. I think more the weight of an incumbent and the inertia of history
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