Valentino Campagnolo
Few topics are likely to turn a cyclist misty eyed more quickly than the exquisite beauty and function of Campagnolo’s components. Who better then to offer another glass of wine and get down to discussing the serious business of the direction cycle technology is heading than with Valentino Campagnolo, son of the company’s founder, Tulio, and its current president?
2013 brought 80th anniversary celebrations for the Italian component manufacturer, and an exquisite special edition of the company’s flagship mechanical groupset, Super Record. Alone among the big three, Campagnolo has resisted the temptation of developing a hydraulic disc brake for road bikes. Valentino’s stated philosophy – that the needs of racing cyclists will guide development of future products – may have saved it from the embarrassment currently suffered by SRAM. Disc brakes are of course banned by the UCI.
What does Valentino have planned for Campagnolo’s 81st year of production? EPS has already trickled down to Athena; will there be further refinement at the top end? Campagnolo won the race with Shimano to an 11-speed cassette. Is 12 a possibility? Senior figures at the UCI are making noises that hint at a loosening of the proscriptions of the Lugano Charter. What impact, if any, could such actions have on component manufacture? Few would be better qualified to answer. Another mince pie, Valentino?
