The answer is yes and yes. In Sloan's classic Complete Book of Bicycling, he praised Campy in glowing terms, but there were many more pages devoted to touring, hosteling, recreational riding, etc. than to racing. Someone also pointed out here recently the "in the day" a very popular touring setup was Campy Record or NR RD with a 46-42 front and 14-32 rear or sometimes a record RD with a fairly close-spaced Stronglight 93 and a wide range FW. Even some famous around-the-word trips were done on this sort of gear. However, that was a matter of adapting what Campy had designed for racing to touring applications. Campy themselves never gave a damn about anything but racing, and it showed in the quality of almost everything they made that was not targeted at the pro peleton and the consumers who wanted to emulate them. The Rally was a rare exception.
True, I don't spend a lot of time praising Campy, although I have over a dozen Campy-equiped bikes (maybe two dozen). Campy racing gear certainly has some admirable qualities, including beauty and durability. But with dozens, or maybe hundreds of CR members who seem to think Campy is God's greatest gift to mankind since the Ten Commandents, there is hardly any need for me to add my voice to that chorus.
Regards,
Jerry Moos Houston, TX
Tom Dalton <tom_s_dalton@yahoo.com> wrote: Jerry wrote:
"I consider the Rally the only real example of Campy actually getting it right with touring components during the classic era."
As opposed to their racing components that you consistently praise? How ironic that the only Campy part I can ever recall you praising is one that is A) really pretty lame B) a touring part and therefore pretty irrelevant in the scheme of things Campagnolo.
Campagnolo is fundamentally a manufacturer of racing components. In my opinion, their unfocused, token efforts at touring, MTB and leisure components are a reflection of their priorities and only add to the companys charm. If their touring derailleur works for you, Im not inclined to argue, only to ask: Does anyone who cares about Campy really care about touring parts? Does anyone who really cares about touring parts really care about Campy?
Tom Dalton
Bethlehem, PA
__________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com