With my customers I see a lot of people really liking modern campagnolo equipment, but being unable to justify the extra cost. Shimano is winning the component war at least here in the US due to being really good quality, and relatively affordable for what you get. As bike prices seem to be steadily increasing, and the economy steadily tanking, I dont forsee a reversal of that any time soon.
Each of the 3 main component manufacturers make really great groupsets, I would have a very hard time saying one is better than another, they just work differently and have their own merits to them. After a certain point it becomes personal preference. As you said in the original post, feature wise there is no real stand out between any of the 3, and lever ergonomics and function are the real difference that most people see.
I am a big campy fan, I like their stuff but they do have a lot of idiosyncracies that drive me up the wall (ask me about their non standard bcd's on their compact ultra torque cranks!). I also wished they supported cyclocross better.
Shimano I dont like that the shifters aren't rebuild able or repairable, and the lever bodies are huge, which makes it difficult for smaller handed folks.
and with SRAM i just dont like how double tap works. (and there are reported problems with the Red rear derailleur cages not holding up)
disclaimer: i work at a bike shop, and my most ridden bike mixes Record and XTR.
Last edited by onetwentyeight; 02-07-09 at 11:32 AM.