Hi All,
I'll chime in on this, too. In my first bike shop job here in Denver, the standard line was, 'Shimano wears out, Campy wears in'. I used that all the way up to the ten speed era when customers were trying to decide which to buy. As a mechanic and shop owner, one would become bristled at Shimano for its lack of servicability and parts after telling customers over and over that they simply had to replace something that still looked hardly used, and many times that new part was not compatible with the 'old' parts of their drivetrain. This was the case moreso in the integrated shifter era, and Campy has apparently learned the ways of this business model as well in recent years. IMO, if something has retained its value or increased it, and demand is still high after many years, there is probably a reason beyond fashion or trumped up reputation. I've sold a lot of Campy items to buyers in the US, Japan, and elsewhere but can hardly give away Dura Ace and others.
Having said that, I love Suntour, the products and the company. I think it was the real innovator of many designs that were capitalized upon by others, Campy included.
Greg Overton opining, near Denver, Colorado
Quoting dtshifter@aol.com:
>
> Morning Folks,
>
> I agree with the comments about Campagnolo's durability, but what
> underscored the durability was the amount of small parts
> availability so one could overhaul the components. I still have
> some bushings and rivets from about 35 yrs ago (it once was a full
> bag) and if I encounter a sloppy Campagnolo derailleur from the
> NR/SR era, I can make it work like new again.
>
> Best,
>
> Chuck Brooks
> Malta, NY NEUSA
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Steve Whitting <ciocc_cat@yahoo.com>
> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org; P.C. Kohler <kohl57@yahoo.com>
> Sent: Sun, May 2, 2010 3:33 pm
> Subject: Re: [CR] Campy line up through the years
>
>
> In my experience working as a bicycle mechanic in the mid-to-late 70s, the
> Japanese stuff (i.e., Suntour/Shimano) was generally lacking in durability.
> They shifted well enough when new and went downhill from there.
> Campy always
> seemed to shift better once broken. I'm still using 25 year-old Campy Super
> Record derailleurs on my Ciocc!
>
> Steve Whitting
>
> Prairieville, Louisiana USA
>
> Website at http://ciocc-cat.angelfire.com/
>
> --- On Sun, 5/2/10, P.C. Kohler <kohl57@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> From: P.C. Kohler <kohl57@yahoo.com>
> Subject: [CR] Campy line up through the years
> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> Date: Sunday, May 2, 2010, 8:58 AM
>
> "Super Record - Misguided effort at being more starkly modern than NR but
> with the smallest measure of added functionality."
>
> Huh? I thought it was an effort (and successful) to materially lower
> the weight
> of Campagnolo NR so that your basic racing bicycle fitted with Campag SRwent
> from around 22.5-23 lbs to 21.5 lbs. If lighter is "starkly modern" I guess
> that's one way of looking at it. To me it just makes for a lighter machine.
> Still shifts like crap but no one will ever make a Campag enthusiast
> out of me!
>
> Peter Kohler
> Washington DC USA