I happened upon this article in Cycling News yesterday because ‘Campagnolo’ was in the title. The writer’s prediction is that Campy, now not even supplying one World Tour team, will become a luxury brand, like Gucci, the writer says.
CN quotes Davide Campagnolo as saying just as much last year and the price of their electronic groupset (Super Record, mind you) leads one to believe they aren’t focusing on the Great Unwashed (€4500+).
I am a long-time and loyal user of Campy products and I’m already feeling the pressure. I mentioned in a previous post that I couldn’t easily find Swiss Stop brake pads for Campagnolo; and now I’m having to find an alternative solution for a wheelset I’m in the process of ordering (more on that later). Campy was always a little niche, at least in my lifetime as a cyclist, but I always felt safe being next to Italy and I’ve never had trouble sourcing stuff till now.
This could be the nail in the coffin (I’ve already decided to go non-Campy for my next bike because the gruppo will be electronic) for me and this most stylist and dependable of machinery.
The Vicious Cycle 
Why would your brake pads and wheels need to be for Campagnolo?
Mavic recommends Swiss Stop Yellow for my wheels and you need Campy-specific pads to fit the brakes. I can find them, they just aren’t as ‘everywhere’ as they used to be.
The wheels I want aren’t made with Campy hubs for 12 speed. That’s the problem there.
You only need campy specific pad for the tiny “holder” of the pads. Just find an old Shimano equivalent and bolt that one on instead. I don’t think there is any thing Campy specific to the bolting of the holder onto the brakes.
For the wheels, why do you care if you have Campy hubs? Just get shimano hubs/cassette. Still completly compatible with 12 speed campy drivetrain. All chain rings / cassettes /chains are compatible with both shimano and campy drivetrains…
I can get the Campy pads still, it’s just that they aren’t as easy as before. Thanks for the idea, though. I will do that if I can’t find the pads.
You solution for the wheels is what I’m going to do, actually. The bike shop assured me that Shimano would work fine, so Shimano it is!
I think Campy was way too late to the dance and coming from behind can be an uphill battle, Pun Intended! I can’t imagine life without electronic gearing! A few years ago I upgraded my electronics to 11 Speed and was wondering what to do with my old electronic set, My current project is my old touring Alloy bike conversion to trail bike with 10 speed Shimano Dura Ace Di2, LOL! Should be fun!
They probably did, I have no idea. And hey, you might have another problem because you obviously need to upgrade to 12 speed now 😉
Gerry, thanks for this interesting story. I didn’t picture you as a Gucci guy anyway. Anxious to hear how you intend to solve this challenge.
When I moved to Japan I used to shop at Eddie Bauer, thinking I was being fashionable. I’ve since moved up to Benneton, so I’m still a little ways from Gucci!
Gerry, I have long shopped at Eddie Bauer……..for MN it’s winter necessity. That was all fine until I wandered by the local Eddie Bauer shop in December for my annual winter sox purchase to discover that they had closed. Now my toes are cold. Times change. Have a good ride this weekend.
Don’t tell me that EB is from MN, too! As for the ride, we are going to have 60mph winds, Meteo France says. It might be the trainer…
I’ve always thought of Campagnolo as a niche / luxury brand. I rarely see bikes with Campag on them here (might be because I’m outside of Europe). I’ve only ever used it once on a hire bike. It was pretty nice, but I wasn’t a fan of the thumb shifter.
You don’t see it all that much here, either, except in Italy. It seems that the shift to electronic groupsets is going to be the death nell for them. As for the thumb, you get used to it! It’s a drag when you’re in the drops, but I’m only there on descents, so it doesn’t matter much.