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Campagnolo

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Campagnolo, Corp.
Company typePublic
Industrycycling components
Founded1933
HeadquartersItaly
Key people
Tullio Campagnolo (Founder - deceased)
Valentino Campagnolo (Tullio's son)
ProductsBicycle and related components
Revenueundisclosed
Websitewww.campagnolo.com

Campagnolo is an Italian manufacturer of high-end bicycle components with headquarters in Vicenza, Italy. The components are organised as groupsets (gruppi) and are a near-complete collection of a bicycle's mechanical parts. Campagnolo's flagship components are the Super Record, Record, and Chorus groupsets that represent their recent shift to 11-speed drivetrains. Record and Super Record are the top groupsets, followed by Chorus, Athena, Centaur and Veloce.[1] Campagnolo also produces aluminum and carbon wheels, as well as other components like carbon seat posts.

History

Campagnolo Ergopower lever

Founded by Tullio Campagnolo, the company began in 1933 in a Vicenza workshop. The founder was a racing cyclist in Italy in the 1920s and he conceived several ideas while racing, such as the quick release mechanism for bicycle wheels, derailleurs, and the rod gear for gear changing. Campagnolo have been awarded more than 135 patents for innovations in cycling technology.[2]

Magnesium wheel of Lamborghini Espada made by Campagnolo.

At the end of the 1950s, Campagnolo started to manufacture magnesium parts such as wheels for sports cars like Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Maserati, and built chassis for NASA satellites in 1969.[3] In 1963, Campagnolo produced a disc brake for the Innocenti Lambretta TV motorscooter - the first two-wheel production vehicle with such a brake. In the 1970s they also supplied wheels for Ferrari Formula One car.[4]

Campagnolo worked with the racer Eddy Merckx and produced lightweight parts for the bike he used to beat the world hour record in 1972.

A racing bicycle, built with Campagnolo Chorus parts.

Following Campagnolo's success during the 1970s and '80s, innovation lagged as rival Shimano developed indexed shifting and combined shifter/brake levers (Shimano Total Integration). A foray into mountain biking, the Record-OR (off-road) groupset contributed to the company's decline during those years. Despite its struggles, Campagnolo introduced its Ergopower combined shifter/brake levers and renewed its focus on high-end road cycling components.

The late 1990s and early 2000s saw Campagnolo's increased use of carbon fibre and titanium parts in groupsets and the development of wheelsets. In 2004, Campagnolo introduced a complete Compact drivetrain with smaller chainrings, to give lower gears than traditional drivetrains. Other innovations included a Hirth-joint engineered Ultra-Torque external-bearing crankset and G3 spoke lacing for racing wheels. In 2008, Campagnolo introduced 11-speed drivetrains with Super Record, Record, and Chorus groupsets. Campagnolo is rumored to be developing an electronic version of its drivetrain.[5]

Campagnolo has focused on road cycling and track cycling. Campagnolo sponsors teams in the UCI ProTour such as Caisse d'Epargne, Cofidis, Quick Step-Innergetic (Tom Boonen, Paolo Bettini), and Lampre. Campagnolo is associated with the victories of Eddy Merckx, who used Campagnolo exclusively and was friend of Tullio Campagnolo.

Campagnolo Record brake caliper from the 1970s.

Trademarks

Campagnolo have used various trademarks, the best known the Campagnolo signature; another is a hub quick-release lever (Tullio's most famous innovation). The logo of the company is the winged wheel.

Race service

For many years Campagnolo provided professional race mechanics with spare parts and neutral technical assistance at races. Campagnolo rely on riders and mechanics to improve products.

Road bicycle groupsets

For 2009, road bicycle groupsets include:

  • Super Record (11 speed)
  • Record (11 speed)
  • Chorus (11 speed)
  • Athena (11 speed)
  • Centaur (10 speed) (Daytona groupset before a copyright conflict was discovered)
  • Veloce (10 speed)
  • Mirage (10 speed)
  • Record Pista (Track)

Campagnolo history and timeline

1901 Tullio Campagnolo is born on 26 August in the eastern suburbs of Vicenza, Italy

1922 Tullio Campagnolo begins his racing career

1930 Campagnolo patents the quick-release hub

1933 After fabricating parts in the backroom of his father's hardware store, Tullio starts Campagnolo SPA with production of the quick-release hub

1940 Tullio hires his first full-time employee. The derailleur enters production, enabling gears to change without removing the wheel. The pieces are handmade

1949 Campagnolo introduces a parallelogram rear derailleur, the Gran Sport

1956 Campagnolo introduces a parallelogram front derailleur

1963 The Record rear derailleur (chromed bronze) is introduced

1966 The Nuovo Record rear derailleur is introduced. Eddy Merckx uses it for his first four Tour de France victories

1973 The Super Record Road and Track groups are introduced.

1983 Tullio Campagnolo dies on 3 February

1985 Campagnolo creates Delta brakes, with a parallelogram linkage to actuate the calipers.

Campagnolo Delta brake calipers from the 1980s.

1986 The re-designed Record road and track groupsets (also known as C-Record) are introduced, replacing Super Record as the top of range

1987 The last year of Super Record until 2008

1989 Campagnolo introduces a mountain bike groupset, which is heavier and less advanced than those by Shimano and SunTour.

1992 The Ergo Power levers are introduced, which combines brake lever and a shift lever to answer Shimano's STI levers

1993 Delta brakes are discontinued

1994 Campagnolo leaves the mountain bike components business

1995 Group names on components are introduced

1997 9-speed shifting components are introduced

1998 Next generation Ergo Levers and last year of Athena

1999 Record Carbon Ergo levers are introduced

2000 10-speed shifting is introduced

2001 Carbon-fiber shifting levers for Record group

2004 Carbon-fiber cranks for Record and Chorus groups

2005 10-speed Centaur and Chorus shift and brake levers are introduced for flat bar road bikes

2006 Hollow external bearing crankset is announced

2007 10-speed Mirage and Xenon component groups and new Ultra-Torque components are introduced

2008 11-speed Record, Super-Record, and Chorus groups are introduced

2009 Re-introduction of 11-speed Athena component group below Chorus in product line

Campagnolo Super Record crankset from 1981.

Fulcrum Wheels, a company owned by Campagnolo, produces wheelsets compatible with Campagnolo and Shimano cassettes.

The ErgoBrain cyclocomputer compatible with the Ergo shifters displays cadence, gear, and the normal functions of a cyclocomputer.

Tour de France winners with Campagnolo

Year Name
1948 Gino Bartali (ITA)
1952 Fausto Coppi (ITA)
1968 Jan Janssen (NED)
1969 Eddy Merckx (BEL)
1970 Eddy Merckx (BEL)
1971 Eddy Merckx (BEL)
1972 Eddy Merckx (BEL)
1973 Luis Ocaña (ESP)
1974 Eddy Merckx (BEL)
1976 Lucien Van Impe (BEL)
1978 Bernard Hinault (FRA)
1979 Bernard Hinault (FRA)
1980 Joop Zoetemelk (NED)
1981 Bernard Hinault (FRA)
1982 Bernard Hinault (FRA)
1984 Laurent Fignon (FRA)
1985 Bernard Hinault (FRA)
1986 Greg LeMond (USA)
1987 Stephen Roche (IRL)
1988 Pedro Delgado (ESP)
1991 Miguel Indurain (ESP)
1992 Miguel Indurain (ESP)
1993 Miguel Indurain (ESP)
1994 Miguel Indurain (ESP)
1995 Miguel Indurain (ESP)
1996 Bjarne Riis (DEN)
1997 Jan Ullrich (GER)
1998 Marco Pantani (ITA)
2006 Óscar Pereiro (ESP)

See also

References

  1. ^ "History!!". Campyonly.com. 1927-11-11. Retrieved 2009-05-12.
  2. ^ Campy Timeline
  3. ^ Campagnolo Milestones
  4. ^ "Campy timeline". campyonly.com. Retrieved 2009-12-14.
  5. ^ "What's Cool In Pro Cycling". PezCycling News. Retrieved 2009-05-12.
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