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 with all three representing their recent shift to 12-speed drivetrains. Super Record and Record are the top groupsets, followed by Chorus, Potenza, Centaur and Veloce.[2] Campagnolo also produces aluminum and carbon wheels, as well as other components (like carbon fiber seat posts, and bottle-cages).
Founded by Tullio Campagnolo, the company began in 1933 in a Vicenza workshop. The founder was a racing cyclist in Italy in the 1920s who 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.[3]
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 NASAsatellites in 1969.[4] In 1963, Campagnolo produced a disc brake for the InnocentiLambretta 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.[5]
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. Merckx used Campagnolo exclusively and was a friend of Tullio Campagnolo.[citation needed]
Following Campagnolo's success during the 1970s and '80s, innovation lagged as rival SunTour developed indexed shifting, Shimano combined shifter/brake levers (Shimano Total Integration), and FSA introduced compact chainsets.[6] 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. (off-road) 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.[7] In April 2018 Campagnolo launched 12-speed Record and Super Record groupsets,[8] and in 2020, the company launched Campagnolo Ekar, a 13-speed groupset aimed at gravel riders.[9]
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
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.
Iconical 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.
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 (much lighter than the old ones, axles made of aluminum alloy) 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
Fulcrum Wheels, a company owned by Campagnolo, produces wheelsets compatible with Campagnolo and Shimano cassettes.[10]
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 Athena as an 11-speed component group below Chorus in product line
2014 Super Record RS groupset introduced following input from professional team riders.
Road bike equipped with first generation Campagnolo Super Record EPS
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.
2015 Potenza group is introduced.
2017 Centaur group reintroduced as Campagnolo's least expensive 11-speed group.
2018 12-speed Super Record and Record mechanical groups are introduced.(for disc and rimbrake)
Bora WTO (Wind Tunnel Optimized) wheels are introduced.
2019 12-speed Super Record EPS, and mechanical 12-speed Chorus groups are introduced. Chorus will have an 11-34 cassette option and a 96/123mm BCD with sub-compact 48/32 gearing available.[11]
2020 13-speed Ekar group are introduced.
2021 Bora Ultra WTO (only for discbrake) wheels are introduced.
2023 Super Record wireless groupset is introduced.
Trademarks
Campagnolo has used various trademarks, the best known is the Campagnolo signature; another is a hub quick-release lever (Tullio's most famous innovation). The logo of the company is the winged wheel.[citation needed]
A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, which makes them heavier, more complex and less efficient on smooth surfaces. These typically include a suspension fork, large knobby tires, more durable wheels, more powerful brakes, straight, extra wide handlebars to improve balance and comfort over rough terrain, and wide-ratio gearing optimised for topography, application and a frame with a suspension mechanism for the rear wheel. Rear suspension is ubiquitous in heavier-duty bikes and now common even in lighter bikes. Dropper seat posts can be installed to allow the rider to quickly adjust the seat height.
A derailleur is a variable-ratio bicycle gearing system consisting of a chain, multiple sprockets of different sizes, and a mechanism to move the chain from one sprocket to another.
A hub gear, internal-gear hub, internally geared hub or just gear hub is a gear ratio changing system commonly used on bicycles that is implemented with planetary or epicyclic gears. The gears and lubricants are sealed within the shell of the hub gear, in contrast with derailleur gears where the gears and mechanism are exposed to the elements. Changing the gear ratio was traditionally accomplished by a shift lever connected to the hub with a Bowden cable, and twist-grip style shifters have become common.
Shimano, Inc., originally Shimano Iron Works (島野鐵工所) and later Shimano Industries, Inc. (島野工業株式会社), is a Japanese multinational manufacturing company for cycling components, fishing tackle and rowing equipment, who also produced golf supplies until 2005 and snowboarding gear until 2008. Named after founder Shozaburo Shimano and headquartered in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, the company has 32 consolidated and 11 unconsolidated subsidiaries, with the primary manufacturing plants based in Kunshan (China), Malaysia and Singapore.
The crankset or chainset is the component of a bicycle drivetrain that converts the reciprocating motion of the rider's legs into rotational motion used to drive the chain or belt, which in turn drives the rear wheel. It consists of one or more sprockets, also called chainrings or chainwheels attached to the cranks, arms, or crankarms to which the pedals attach. It is connected to the rider by the pedals, to the bicycle frame by the bottom bracket, and to the rear sprocket, cassette or freewheel via the chain.
A bicycle chain is a roller chain that transfers power from the pedals to the drive-wheel of a bicycle, thus propelling it. Most bicycle chains are made from plain carbon or alloy steel, but some are nickel-plated to prevent rust, or simply for aesthetics.
A groupset or gruppo is a bicycle component manufacturer's organized collection of mechanical parts. It generally refers to all of the components that make up a bicycle excluding the bicycle frame, fork, stem, wheels, tires, and rider contact points, such as the saddle and handlebars.
A racing bicycle, also known as a road bike is a bicycle designed for competitive road cycling, a sport governed by and according to the rules of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI).
Shimano Total Integration (STI) is a gearshift system designed by Shimano for racing bicycles. It combines the braking and gear shifting controls into the same component. This allows shifting gears without having to remove a hand from the bars, unlike previous down tube shifting systems. This component is usually referred to as a "shifter" or "dual-control levers", or occasionally "brifters".
SRAM LLC is a privately owned bicycle component manufacturer based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, founded in 1987. SRAM is an acronym comprising the names of its founders, Scott, Ray, sAM,. The company produces a range of internally developed cycling components, including Grip Shift, separate gravel, road, and mountain drivetrains from 7 to 12 speed. SRAM developed the Eagle line of mountain bike specific drivetrain components intended to improve shifting performance. SRAM was also the first to release a dedicated "one by" drivetrain with a single front chain-ring.
SR Suntour is a Taiwanese manufacturer of bicycle components, formed in 1988 when Osaka based SunTour (Maeda) went bankrupt and was purchased by Sakae Ringyo Company, a major Japanese maker of aluminum parts, particularly cranks and seat posts. SunTour's sales and commercial success peaked from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s.
Gentullio Campagnolo was an Italian racing cyclist and inventor who patented the quick release skewer, as well as founder of the bicycle component company Campagnolo.
A bicycle shifter or gear control or gear levers is a component used to control the gearing mechanisms and select the desired gear ratio. Typically, they operate either a derailleur mechanism or an internal hub gear mechanism. In either case, the control is operated by moving a cable that connects the shifter to the gear mechanism.
An electronic gear-shifting system is a method of changing gears on a bicycle, which enables riders to shift with electronic switches instead of using conventional control levers and mechanical cables. The switches are connected by wire or wirelessly to a battery pack and to a small electric motor that drives the derailleur, switching the chain from cog to cog. An electronic system can switch gears faster and, because the system does not use Bowden cables and can calibrate itself, it may require less maintenance.
Bicycle drivetrain systems are used to transmit power on bicycles, tricycles, quadracycles, unicycles, or other human-powered vehicles from the riders to the drive wheels. Most also include some type of a mechanism to convert speed and torque via gear ratios.
Alfine is the name of a comfort and urban oriented product series by Shimano. It is mainly known for internally geared hubs, but includes also hydraulic disc brakes and levers, chain tensioners, dynamo hubs, cranksets, shift levers, and complete wheels.
Campagnolo ErgoPower is an integrated gearshift and brake lever system designed by Campagnolo for racing bicycles. It allows shifting gears without having to remove a hand from the bars, unlike previous down tube shifting systems. It was launched in 1992 to compete with Shimano Total Integration (STI). It is characterized by having three separate levers per unit: one each for braking, upshifts, and downshifts. Ergopower levers may be disassembled for servicing.
Deore XT is a mountain and touring bike groupset first introduced by Shimano in 1983. It was Shimano's first mountain bike groupset, based on their existing Deore touring groupset, and it consisted of a triple-, double- or single chainring crankset, front and rear derailleurs, handlebar-mounted "finger" shifters, cantilever brakes, and large-flange hubs. Since then, it has become their "second-tier" offering, the list of components has expanded to include hydraulic disc brakes, a complete wheelset, a chain, and clipless pedals, and it is offered in silver or black finish.
A gravel bicycle is a type of bicycle intended for gravel cycling, including gravel racing. They are also sometimes known as "adventure bicycles", particularly ones intended for harsher off-road terrain.
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