Campagnolo - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Campagnolo is an Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

manufacturer of high-end bicycle

Bicycle

A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....

components with headquarters in Vicenza

Vicenza

Vicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...

, Italy

Italy

. The components are organised as groupset

Groupset

A groupset or gruppo is a bicycle component manufacturer's organized collection of mechanical parts...

s (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 that represent their recent shift to 11-speed drivetrains. Record and Super Record are the top groupsets, followed by Chorus, Athena, Centaur and Veloce. Campagnolo also produces aluminum and carbon wheels, as well as other components like carbon seat posts.

History

Founded by Tullio Campagnolo

Tullio Campagnolo

Gentullio Campagnolo was an Italian racing cyclist and inventor. He patented the quick release skewer and founded the Campagnolo bicycle component company....

, the company began in 1933 in a Vicenza workshop. The founder was a racing cyclist in Italy in the 1920s and he 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.
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 NASA satellites in 1969. In 1963, Campagnolo produced a disc brake for the Innocenti

Innocenti

Innocenti was an Italian machinery works originally established by Ferdinando Innocenti in 1920.After World War II, the company was famous for many years for Lambretta scooters models such as LI125, LI150, TV175, TV200, SX125, SX150, SX200, GP125, GP150 and GP200.From 1961 to 1976 Innocenti built...

Lambretta

Lambretta can refer to:* Lambretta, a petrol-powered scooter made by Innocenti* Lambretta , a clothing brand* Lambretta , a Swedish rock band* The Lambrettas, a British mod revival band...

TV motorscooter - the first two-wheel production vehicle with such a brake. In the 1970s they also supplied wheels for Ferrari Formula One car.

Campagnolo worked with the racer Eddy Merckx

Eddy Merckx

Edouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx , better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional cyclist. The French magazine Vélo called him "the most accomplished rider that cycling has ever known." The American publication, VeloNews, called him the greatest and most successful cyclist of all...

and produced lightweight parts for the bike he used to beat the world hour record in 1972.

Following Campagnolo's success during the 1970s and '80s, innovation lagged as rival Shimano

Shimano

Shimano, Inc. is a Japanese multinational manufacturer of cycling components, fishing tackle, and rowing equipment.In 2005, the company had net sales of US $1.4 billion. Bicycle components provided 75% of its sales income...

developed indexed shifting and combined shifter/brake levers (Shimano Total Integration

Shimano Total Integration

Shimano Total Integration 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...

). A foray into mountain biking, the Record-OR (off-road) groupset contributed to the company's decline during those years. Despite its struggles, Campagnolo introduced its ErgoPower

Campagnolo ErgoPower

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...

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 is rumored to be developing an electronic version of its drivetrain.

Campagnolo has focused on road cycling

Road bicycle racing

Road bicycle racing is a bicycle racing sport held on roads, using racing bicycles. The term "road racing" is usually applied to events where competing riders start simultaneously with the winner being the first to the line at the end of the course .Historically, the most...

and track cycling

Track cycling

Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using track bicycles....

. Campagnolo sponsors teams in the UCI ProTour

UCI ProTour

The UCI ProTour was a series of road bicycle races in Europe, Australia and Canada organised by the UCI . Created by Hein Verbruggen, former president of the UCI, it comprises a number of 'ProTour' cycling teams, each of whom are required to compete in every round of the series...

such as Caisse d'Epargne, Cofidis

Cofidis (cycling team)

Cofidis, Le Crédit en Ligne is a French professional road bicycle racing team sponsored by a money-lending company, Cofidis. It was started in 1996 by Cyrille Guimard the former manager of Bernard Hinault, Greg LeMond and Laurent Fignon of the Renault-Elf team of the 1980s...

, Quick Step-Innergetic

Quick Step-Innergetic

Quick Step is a Belgian UCI ProTour cycling team led by team manager Patrick Lefévère. The directors are Rik Verbrugghe, Davide Bramati, Wilfried Peeters, Rik Van Slycke and Luca Guercilena. The mechanics are Jeanick Verstraete and Kurt Roose...

(Tom Boonen, Paolo Bettini), and Lampre. Campagnolo is associated with the victories of Eddy Merckx

Eddy Merckx

, who used Campagnolo exclusively and was a friend of Tullio Campagnolo.

Timeline

1901
Tullio Campagnolo

Tullio Campagnolo

Gentullio Campagnolo was an Italian racing cyclist and inventor. He patented the quick release skewer and founded the Campagnolo bicycle component company....

is born on 26 August in the eastern suburbs of Vicenza, Italy

1922
Tullio Campagnolo begins his racing career

1930
Campagnolo patents the quick-release hub

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

1956
Campagnolo introduces a parallelogram front derailleur

1963
The Record rear derailleur (chromed bronze) is introduced

1966
The Nuovo Record rear derailleur is introduced. Eddy Merckx

Eddy Merckx

uses it for his first four Tour de France

Tour de France

The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...

victories

1973
The Super Record Road and Track groups are introduced.

1983
Tullio Campagnolo dies on 3 February

1985 Campagnolo creates Delta brakes, with a parallelogram linkage to actuate the calipers.

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

Mountain bike

A mountain bike or mountain bicycle is a bicycle created for off-road cycling. This activity includes traversing of rocks and washouts, and steep declines,...

groupset, which is heavier and less advanced than those by Shimano

Shimano

and SunTour

SunTour

SunTour or SR Suntour is a manufacturer of bicycle components. It was Japanese owned and managed, based in Osaka, until the mid 1990s when its name was sold to a Taiwan conglomerate. Its products ranged from suspension forks to derailleurs...

.

1992
The ErgoPower

Campagnolo ErgoPower

levers are introduced, which combines brake lever and a shift lever to answer Shimano's STI levers

Shimano Total Integration

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 and last year of Athena

1999
Record Carbon Ergo levers are introduced

2000
10-speed shifting is introduced

2001
Carbon-fiber shifting levers for Record group

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

2006
Hollow external bearing crankset is announced

2007
10-speed Mirage and Xenon component groups and new Ultra-Torque components are introduced

2008
11-speed Record, Super-Record, and Chorus groups are introduced

2009
Re-introduction of 11-speed Athena component group below Chorus in product line

2011
First electric 11-speed Super-Record group to be used at the Tour De France

Tour de France

by Team Movistar

Fulcrum Wheels

Fulcrum Wheels srl is a wholly owned company of Campagnolo that produces road bicycle and mountain bike wheelsets compatible with Campagnolo, Shimano and Sram drivetrains. The subsidiary brand was created so that Campagnolo could manufacture wheels compatible with products from rival drivetrain...

, a company owned by Campagnolo, produces wheelsets compatible with Campagnolo and Shimano

Shimano

cassettes.

The ErgoBrain cyclocomputer

Cyclocomputer

A cyclocomputer or cyclometer is a device mounted on a bicycle that calculates and displays trip information, similar to the instruments in the dashboard of a car. The computer with display, or head unit, usually is attached to the handlebar for easy viewing.-History:In 1895 Curtis Hussey Veeder...

compatible with the Ergo shifters displays cadence, gear, and the normal functions of a cyclocomputer.

Trademarks

Campagnolo have used various trademarks, the best known the Campagnolo signature; another is a hub quick-release lever (Tullio's most famous innovation). The logo of the company is the winged wheel.

Race service

For many years Campagnolo provided professional race mechanics with spare parts and neutral technical assistance at races. Campagnolo relies on riders and mechanics to improve products.

Groupsets

For 2011, road bicycle

Road bicycle

The term road bicycle is used to describe bicycles built for traveling at speed on paved roads. Some sources use the term to mean racing bicycle...

groupsets include:

Super Record (11 speed)
Record (11 speed)
Chorus (11 speed)
Athena (11 speed)
Centaur (10 speed) (Daytona groupset before a trademark conflict was discovered)
Veloce (10 speed)
Record Pista (Track)

Tour de France winners

Year	Name
1948	Gino Bartali Gino Bartali Gino Bartali, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was the most renowned Italian cyclist before the Second World War, having won the Giro d'Italia twice and the Tour de France in 1938... (ITA)
1952	Fausto Coppi Fausto Coppi Angelo Fausto Coppi, , was the dominant international cyclist of the years each side of the Second World War. His successes earned him the title Il Campionissimo, or champion of champions... (ITA)
1968	Jan Janssen (NED)
1969	Eddy Merckx Eddy Merckx Edouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx , better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional cyclist. The French magazine Vélo called him "the most accomplished rider that cycling has ever known." The American publication, VeloNews, called him the greatest and most successful cyclist of all... (BEL)
1970	Eddy Merckx (BEL)
1971	Eddy Merckx (BEL)
1972	Eddy Merckx (BEL)
1973	Luis Ocaña Luis Ocaña Jesús Luis Ocaña Pernía was a Spanish road bicycle racer who won the Tour de France in 1973 and the Vuelta a España in 1970.- Early professional career :... (ESP)
1974	Eddy Merckx (BEL)
1976	Lucien Van Impe Lucien Van Impe Lucien van Impe was a Belgian cyclist from 1969 to 1987. He excelled mainly as a climber in multiple-day races such as the Tour de France... (BEL)
1978	Bernard Hinault Bernard Hinault Bernard Hinault is a former French cyclist known for five victories in the Tour de France. He is one of only five cyclists to have won all three Grand Tours, and the only cyclist to have won each more than once. He won the Tour de France in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1985... (FRA)
1979	Bernard Hinault (FRA)
1980	Joop Zoetemelk Joop Zoetemelk Hendrik Gerardus Jozef "Joop" Zoetemelk is a retired professional racing cyclist from the Netherlands who has emigrated to France. He started the Tour de France 16 times and finished every time, a record. He won the race in 1980 and also came eighth, fifth, fourth and second... (NED)
1981	Bernard Hinault (FRA)
1982	Bernard Hinault (FRA)
1984	Laurent Fignon Laurent Fignon Laurent Patrick Fignon was a French professional road bicycle racer. He won the Tour de France in 1983 and in 1984. He missed winning it a third time, in 1989, by 8 seconds, the closest margin ever to decide the tour. He also won the Giro d'Italia in 1989, after having been the runner-up in 1984,... (FRA)
1985	Bernard Hinault (FRA)
1986	Greg LeMond Greg LeMond Gregory James LeMond is a former professional road bicycle racer from the United States and a three-time winner of the Tour de France. He was born in Lakewood, California and raised in Reno, Nevada.... (USA)
1987	Stephen Roche Stephen Roche Stephen Roche is a retired professional road racing cyclist. In a 13-year professional career, he peaked in 1987, becoming only the second cyclist to win the Triple Crown of victories in the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia stage races, plus the World road race championship... (IRL)
1988	Pedro Delgado Pedro Delgado Pedro Delgado Robledo , also known as Perico, is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer. He won the 1988 Tour de France, as well as the Vuelta a España in 1985 and 1989.... (ESP)
1991	Miguel Indurain Miguel Indurain Miguel Ángel Indurain Larraya is a retired Spanish road racing cyclist. He won five consecutive Tour de Frances from 1991 and 1995, the first to do so, and the fourth athlete to win five times. He won the Giro d'Italia twice, becoming one of only seven people in history to achieve the Giro Tour... (ESP)
1992	Miguel Indurain (ESP)
1993	Miguel Indurain (ESP)
1994	Miguel Indurain (ESP)
1995	Miguel Indurain (ESP)
1996	Bjarne Riis Bjarne Riis Bjarne Lykkegård Riis , nicknamed The Eagle from Herning , is a Danish former professional road bicycle racer who placed first in the 1996 Tour de France, and is now the team owner and manager of Danish UCI ProTour outfit Team Saxo Bank Sungard... (DEN)
1997	Jan Ullrich Jan Ullrich Jan Ullrich is a German former professional road bicycle racer. In 1997, he was the first German to win the Tour de France. He went on to take five second places and a fourth in 2004 and third in 2005. He is considered one of the best time-trialists in the history of the sport... (GER)
1998	Marco Pantani Marco Pantani Marco Pantani was an Italian road racing cyclist, widely considered one of the best climbers in professional road bicycle racing... (ITA)
2006	Óscar Pereiro (ESP)

External links

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