Campagnolo Crisis: Layoffs and Millions in Losses – The Whole Truth
Campagnolo Crisis: Layoffs and Millions in Losses – The Whole Truth
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campagnolo crisis
- Thread starter DDBB
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fritz katzenjammer
Der grosserfahrradmechaniker
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- Other
No surprise really. The Japanese, in the form of Suntour, passed Campagnolo in functionality and matched them for quality in the seventies, the cycling world didn’t acknowledge it because the components weren’t made in Europe.
When Suntour‘s patents were up and Shimano copied Suntour’s slant parallelogram designs and then improved on them everyone was left in their dust. Campagnolo has played catch up ever since and none of their current driveline offerings is as good as the best that Shimano or SRAM offer.
When Suntour‘s patents were up and Shimano copied Suntour’s slant parallelogram designs and then improved on them everyone was left in their dust. Campagnolo has played catch up ever since and none of their current driveline offerings is as good as the best that Shimano or SRAM offer.
stompandgo
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
I don't know about that. My focus on these brands started in the late 70's, early 80's. At the time, Suntour Superbe was about the same quality as Nuovo Record. Yes, Superbe had Super Record features, but they weren't executed as well as Super Record. That's been my experience, and I've raced both. That said, the cost difference between Superbe and Super Record was significant.
I do agree that when Shimano jumped in, and SRAM challenged Shimano, that Campagnolo never recovered from the innovation and development perspective. Those two just rode away into the sunset, leaving Campy for its diehard supporters. You know, the guys that would never put Dura-Ace on a Colnago, because it was sacrilegious to do so. I had Super Record on my Koga Miyata Team, but nobody cared about that.
Campy used to have low cost to manufacture lines like Gran Sport, but they dropped them and focused on being a boutique manufacturer in a market driven by volume. Unless you're really, really different, that's a tough nut to crack. Their insistence on keeping manufacturing in house, and with management and labor unions unable to see the runaway train rolling down the tracks, this situation was no surprise.
Jeremy McCreary
Bought it anyway
- Region
- USA
- City
- Carlsbad, CA
Looks like we're approaching the end of an era.
My neighbor D has a beautiful red all-Campy Torelli road bike, maybe 20 yrs old now. Steel frame, ~20 lb as shown.
The all-Campy part is a great source of pride for D, and I totally get it. Back in my Late Bronze Age road bike days, I dreamed of an all-Campy bike just like that.
D lets me ride the Torelli, but my creaky old neck just can't hack the drop bars for more than a few laps around the neighborhood. And thanks to his creaky old hip, he now spends most of his saddle time on an Aventon Level.2 ebike.
My neighbor D has a beautiful red all-Campy Torelli road bike, maybe 20 yrs old now. Steel frame, ~20 lb as shown.
The all-Campy part is a great source of pride for D, and I totally get it. Back in my Late Bronze Age road bike days, I dreamed of an all-Campy bike just like that.
D lets me ride the Torelli, but my creaky old neck just can't hack the drop bars for more than a few laps around the neighborhood. And thanks to his creaky old hip, he now spends most of his saddle time on an Aventon Level.2 ebike.
fritz katzenjammer
Der grosserfahrradmechaniker
- Region
- Other
I run two old road bikes, one is Suntour Cyclone equipped, the other Nuovo Record, the Suntour definitely works better.I don't know about that. My focus on these brands started in the late 70's, early 80's. At the time, Suntour Superbe was about the same quality as Nuovo Record. Yes, Superbe had Super Record features, but they weren't executed as well as Super Record. That's been my experience, and I've raced both. That said, the cost difference between Superbe and Super Record was significant.
I do agree that when Shimano jumped in, and SRAM challenged Shimano, that Campagnolo never recovered from the innovation and development perspective. Those two just rode away into the sunset, leaving Campy for its diehard supporters. You know, the guys that would never put Dura-Ace on a Colnago, because it was sacrilegious to do so. I had Super Record on my Koga Miyata Team, but nobody cared about that.
Campy used to have low cost to manufacture lines like Gran Sport, but they dropped them and focused on being a boutique manufacturer in a market driven by volume. Unless you're really, really different, that's a tough nut to crack. Their insistence on keeping manufacturing in house, and with management and labor unions unable to see the runaway train rolling down the tracks, this situation was no surprise.
I read a few books on the history of cycling and the equipment in particular and the opinion in those books seemed to be in favour of Suntour. I think the reason Suntour doesn’t get the respect it deserves is the lower initial price and the fact that it was made in the wrong place.
I do get the feeling that it is a very personal thing however and the debate with rage forever.
Old-tool-guy
Member
- Region
- USA
This tells a big part of the problem. And probably the demands of investors and stockholders.
fritz katzenjammer
Der grosserfahrradmechaniker
- Region
- Other
The stuff is really expensive and doesn’t a work any better than the competition.
add in not making “the winning equipment” any more and they are most likely doomed in the long run.
they’ll likely get swallowed up by SRAM like the rest of Europe’s small brands.
ten years from now we’ll all be riding around on Microshift and Chinese stuff anyway.
add in not making “the winning equipment” any more and they are most likely doomed in the long run.
they’ll likely get swallowed up by SRAM like the rest of Europe’s small brands.
ten years from now we’ll all be riding around on Microshift and Chinese stuff anyway.
John Bowman
Member
- Region
- USA
In USA, Taiwan components (Microshift) sell much better than made in China, and the Trump tariffs will doom made in China parts.
fritz katzenjammer
Der grosserfahrradmechaniker
- Region
- Other
Well if the tariffs are going to doom imported parts I don’t know what the US will be riding. It‘s all imported. You biggest maker, Trek, makes about 1% of its bikes in the US, everything else is subject to tariff. And all of the components on that 1% are imported.
If you run into one of those special US assembled Treks you notice they are labeled “ assembled in the USA”. They can’t say ”made in the USA” because so much of the bike isn’t. Often none of the part are… even the frames, are imported.
The US gave away its manufacturing base in exchange for higher profits. Getting it back will take a lot of time and investment and the resulting products will be unaffordable because nobody will work for the wages required to keep the parts economically priced.
By the time I retired from engineering/management in the automotive industry I saw complete engine/transmission units showing up in assembly plants as a part from China. We sent them the business, we showed them how to make it and out of which materials to make it and now they are better at it than we are. Tariffs aren’t going to fix that, they’ll only make the product more expensive for the consumer.
stompandgo
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
I'm not going to get into politics here, however my view differs from yours.
You are correct that the US gave away manufacturing, and profits did increase, but it's not like the US was the only country moving manufacturing to the Far East (not just China). It was a worldwide shift, and you had to shift in order to stay competitive if you were in a volume business like cars and bikes. It doesn't matter who was first, everyone was going there anyway. It's the same with automation, and now, with AI. Once it starts, you have to follow or be eaten alive. Better yet, lead, and do the eating yourself.
From my perspective, working part time in a small family run bike shop group in the US, I haven't seen a huge impact from tariffs in our business. 2025 will be a record revenue year for us. Shimano USA raised their dealer prices 10%-15% but MSRP went up as well. Distributors like QBP, JBI, HLC etc. are eating some of the tariff for us. In most cases, our costs are up a small amount overall, but margins in the bike business are significant. We take advantage of manufacturer sales events and purchase in bulk when we can. Where we get hit is when we need a one-off low cost tariffed product that would normally be covered by the diminimus rule, but usually are able to discount or bundle purchases to close the gap for repeat customers. We also do a lot of bike trade-ins, where you make less up front, but you make much more in the end as you are working with two profit margins (new bike sale and used bike sale). We sell 2-3 used bikes every week now in the offseason.
Like any other business, adapt or die.
fritz katzenjammer
Der grosserfahrradmechaniker
- Region
- Other
Agreed. The distributors and manufacturers eating the tariffs is only temporary though. If the tariffs don’t come off they will have to be passed on sooner or later.
The company I deal with currently is counting on the tariffs being temporary and are eating them for now, but it has hurt the bottom line something awful and we are seeing internal cutbacks which will be in part caused by them.
The company I deal with currently is counting on the tariffs being temporary and are eating them for now, but it has hurt the bottom line something awful and we are seeing internal cutbacks which will be in part caused by them.
John Bowman
Member
- Region
- USA
China tariff is 50%, going up to 80% in a year.
Europe, Japan, Taiwan tariff is 15%.
US is disengaging from China.
That is my point, I never said "Made in USA".
