Campagnolo is an Italian manufacturer of high-end bicycle components with
headquarters in Vicenza, Italy. The components are organised as
groupsets, 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. Campagnolo also produces aluminum and
carbon wheels, as well as other components.
History 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 has been awarded more than 135 patents for
innovations in cycling technology. 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. 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's Formula One cars.
Campagnolo worked with the manufacturer Colnago and racer Eddy Merckx and
produced lightweight parts for the bike he used to beat the world hour record in
1972. Following Campagnolo's success during
the 1970s and '80s, innovation lagged as rival Shimano developed indexed shifting
and combined shifter/brake levers. An unsuccessful foray into mountain biking,
the overbuilt and heavy Euclid, Centaur and Olympus groupsets contributed to the
company's decline during those years. By the time the expensive Record O.R. and
Icarus MTB groupsets made it to the market, Campagnolo's reputation was
firmly cemented as a road bike brand. As a result, Campagnolo pulled out of the
Mountain Bike market in 1994. 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 has released an electronic version of
its drivetrain. Campagnolo has focused on road cycling
and track cycling. Campagnolo has sponsored teams in the UCI ProTour such
as Astana, Movistar, Lotto-Soudal, Cofidis, Quick Step-Innergetic, and
Lampre. Campagnolo is associated with the victories of Eddy Merckx, who used
Campagnolo exclusively and was a friend of Tullio Campagnolo.
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 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. Anniversary groupset to mark 50 years of Campagnolo bicycle parts.
1985 Campagnolo creates Delta brakes, with a parallelogram linkage to actuate
the calipers. 1986 The re-designed Record road and
track groupsets 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. 1991 8-speed shifting components are
introduced 1992 The ErgoPower 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 1999 Record Carbon Ergo levers, Daytona
group, and for the Record, Chorus and Daytona groups new hubs are introduced
2000 10-speed shifting is introduced 2001 Carbon-fiber shifting levers for
Record group 2002 Former Daytona group is renamed
"Centaur" 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. Record hubs are now black, 20 g lighter and don't have
greaseports any more 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
2011 First electric 11-speed Super-Record group to be used at the
Tour de France by Team Movistar 2013 80th anniversary groupset made.
2014 Super Record RS groupset introduced following input from professional team
riders. 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. 2015 Athena EPS discontinued and Chorus
EPS introduced. Chorus, Record and Super Record
groupsets are overhauled with a 4 arm, 8 bolt chainset introduced.
Bora 50 and 35 wheels become available in Clincher and adopt a wider rim
profile Trademarks
Campagnolo have used various trademarks, the best known the Campagnolo signature;
another is a hub quick-release lever. 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 relies on riders
and mechanics to improve products. Tour de France winners
See also List of bicycle parts
List of Italian companies References
External links Official website