alfaspider

campagnolo looked so good for all these years.. beautifull lines on the cranksets.. brakes. all the part.. now it looks like shimano.. to industrial looking now.. i have a 2014 pinarello dogma 65.1 think 2 with full Campagnolo record on it.. cable types... all the parts look wonderful.. went to look of a new bike.. yuck... from 10 feet away i could not tell the diff. between campagnolo and shimano.. very sad.. no lines..no curves.. just an industrail design

easyupbug 

Early in my working life I was a design engineer. Product design serves a function and for a designer to add "art" for your eyes it adds costs. Customers choose how their wallets will be impacted.
I have several Italians with Campagnolo for reasons that I think Frank Lloyd Wright said well "Form follows function—that has been misunderstood. Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union."

skidder

Did you try riding the newer bicycle and see if there's a functional difference or feel that would improve rideability versus just making a judgement based on aesthetic appearance? Frankly, I'm quite satisfied with Shimano's Tiagra level components on my bicycles. Once adjusted they shift crisply & cleanly with no problems. I can't feel any difference between Tiagra and 105, and I don't see a need for Campagnolo components with their higher price point since the Shimano stuff works well. The best upgrade I've found to improve drivetrain performance when using decent components is good quality cables.

Tomm Willians

I have a soft spot for Campy stuff, I have Record 11 on a Wilier Imperiale and have had numerous other setups in the past. I even lived in Vicenza Italy (the home of Campagnolo) for a couple of years before I was interested in cycling. Wish I had purchased a groupset at that time directly from them.
Yes there does (was?) seem to be a “flair” with Italian design to most things. But it might also be that they are perceiving that a more utilitarian look is what has become popular?

dedhed

Can't see it if you're riding it

Iride01 

And you think Shimano fans have always been happy with some of the new design changes of Shimano stuff?

You need to face it, Campagnolo is going to do what it needs to do or else it won't be around any more.

rsbob 

There is nothing wrong with mourning the loss of artistic expression. So much is being homogenized these days in the name of cost savings or survivability. I have vintage Campy Chorus which is beautiful in its own right. I also have new Shimano Ultegra in all its boring blackness. To see Campy losing its artfulness is a shame, no matter what the ‘practical’ nay-sayers may state. JMHO

Darth Lefty 

Yeah, and what year did Shimano stop being Suntour?

rosefarts

I think aesthetically they peaked with the 10 speed Record and Chorus that featured the aluminum levers and crank.

I don’t think that a 20 year old grouppo would look good on new carbon bike though.

tomato coupe

Let's see ... 2014 Pinarello, 10 speed Campy Record, modern stuff is ugly. Carnac the Magnificent says you will be 63 years old in March.

seypat

Is Campagnolo making fishing reels now?

Polaris OBark

When they were purchased by SRAM.

DaveSSS 

I don't really care much about the looks of drive train parts. They're supposed to be functional. I used Campy exclusively for 25 years, but decided that affordable wireless shifting was the way to go, so I moved to SRAM Force, 2-1/2 years ago. I much prefer SRAM two lever shifting over any four lever system.

icemilkcoffee 

The exact year would be 2014 when they came out with this 4-arm crankset to copy Shimano:

veganbikes

Everyone should only make the stuff they made back in the 70s or whatever era I liked nobody should ever change or do something new and how dare bicycles and parts look similar they never did that ever before!

If you cannot tell the difference between Campagnolo and Shimano from a reasonable distance you might consider seeing an optometrist and getting your eyes checked. Yes like all bike parts they do kind of look the same in the fact they are the same parts, a integrated brake and shifter lever really doesn't have a whole lot to do differently looks wise, derailleurs have sort of been figured out to a relative shape and design that works so it will all come to some slight homogeneity. It feels differently and has some different performance but in the end yes a lot of it kind of is semi-similar to a point. There is still innovation in the industry but nothing so major you look an it and don't quite recognize it.

easyupbug 

Two of my mid 90's bikes brakes one step down:

Kontact

I haven't found Campy aesthetically pleasing since the demise of the C-Record stuff around 1993. Clean, sharp edges and high polish disappeared that were the hallmark of what almost everyone agrees were the most beautiful components ever made. I haven't bought any Campagnolo stuff since.

I wouldn't even have a brifter bike if it wasn't for the super clean silver Rival 10 speed levers. But I substituted a sexier crank.

The last time I genuinely liked the look of Shimano was DA 7400, but 7700 was alright. All those "high end" parts covered in paint blow my mind.

ThermionicScott 

Frank Berto reckoned it was 1991.

TiHabanero

4 seasons ago I purchased my first complete drive train since 1986 when I picked up a complete NR groupset from Oschner as a leftover. Rode the heck out of that NR group for many decades and finally the old knees said "NO MORE" very loudly. Picked up 11 speed Chorus deraileurs, Record brifters and crank and put 'em on. Although not as beautiful from an aesthetic point of view, the parts are nice looking in their own right and look just fine on the bike. The big thing is that the thing shifts perfectly every time and I don't have the chain rings rubbing the front der. when under load like the old NR did. I love this new old stuff.

unterhausen

in 1978 they got rid of the fancy engraving on the super record rear derailleur and that was the beginning of the end.

majmt 

There's no denying the beauty of the classic groups but could it be that they've just adapted the aesthetics of the modern components to blend with modern bike frame design and materials?

Shadco 

This Chorus 10 compact crank is a few grams lighter than my Record 12 speed compact crank.




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mschwett 

yep, of course they offer a range of products which may not all be aesthetic home runs, but as someone who designs stuff for a living and doesn't have any emotional attachment to c+v bicycles, some of the modern campy stuff is pretty gorgeous and distinctive.



i am not sure shimano is doing anything at this level aesthetically, although i do have a soft spot for the current DA RDs.

tomato coupe

Could you move the bike so we can see the more interesting stuff behind it?

Shadco 

Better?




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