Re: [CR] Fake Campy Hood Marketing Genius!!!

(Example: Production Builders:Tonard)

From: <gpvb1@comcast.net>
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: Re: [CR] Fake Campy Hood Marketing Genius!!!
Date: Wed, 09 Nov 2005 19:39:07 +0000


Date: Wed, 9 Nov 2005 10:38:18 -0500 From: "kohl57@starpower.net" <kohl57@starpower.net> To: ktk1_7_0_2_8@yahoo.com, classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: RE: [CR]Fake Campy Hood Marketing Genius!!!

This is such a classic CR List discourse. I love it.

Unless I missed a posting, it comes down to this: more than a few of us think making reproduction Campy hoods is a swell idea and we want to know where we can get them. Others think it's devious and otherwise naughty to do this. But they won't reveal how we can share in the naughtiness. One wonders if they want this mystery source all to themselves?

The idea that Campagnolo is going to remanufacture these, at any price, is... well it's not going to happen. Companies embrace their "heritage" in word and image, not in reproducing old stuff for a couple of thousand collectors. Now I know many here think Campagnolo is some mythical diety and the stuff is made by little Italian elves in some quaint Italian village. But it's just a money making enterprise that's about cycling today, not yesterday. They have proven their "interest" in all this is confined to attorneys clamping down on little, insignificant bods remanufacturing their crappy brake hoods (let's face it Weinmann and Mafac brake hoods are far more durable and better made but that's out little secret).

Anyway, the saga continues. Maybe the seller of these hoods can meet us in some dark corner and we can exchange a few bucks for a few bags. We all knew this bike collecting was an addiction. Now we can act like it.

Peter Kohler Washington DC USA Peter: I think you've missed the entire point of this thread (although you're certainly not alone in that, IMO). Putting the not-insignificant Trademark violation issues aside for the moment, I have absolutely no problem whatsoever with fake hoods existing. It is basically inevitable, since Campagnolo has stubbornly refused to make them or license anyone else to make them, unlike what they once did for the shield-logo hoods. I have not shed a single tear ever for Campagnolo over this issue. They created a vacuum, into which stuff flowed. A bad business decision in my opinion, but that opinion and three bucks will get you a cup of coffee where I live. Where I do have a (big!) problem is when someone misrepresents fakes as originals, and lies and/or deceives buyers of said fakes into believing that they are purchasing genuine parts. That is what happened in the two cases I've mentioned. That is unethical, period. Full stop. I will not tolerate liars. It's quite easy to identify the fake hoods and decals, so it's not real smart (either) to claim that they are genuine, from where I sit. Further to your previous sarcastic comments about Lloyd's transfers, some are genuine, and some are reproductions. It is clearly stated which is which! No deception involved.
Greg Parker
Dexter, Michigan