theabennett•12d agoMost Upvoted

Peeked inside a shop in Portland that only uses Campagnolo

I was walking through Portland last weekend and passed this tiny bike shop called Velo Cult. I noticed every bike in the window had Campagnolo parts, so I went in. The owner said he only works with Campagnolo because he likes the feel of the shifters better than Shimano. He was adjusting a 2008 Record group on a vintage frame and showed me how the cable routing is different from modern stuff. Has anyone else run into a shop that sticks to one brand like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

charlie_stone7212d agoMost Upvoted

Props to @emma_ramirez for the deep dive, that's rough.

emma_ramirez12d ago

The 2008 Record group he was adjusting is actually notorious for having shifters that can fail internally from dried out grease. I had a buddy who spent six months tracking down NOS parts for his because Campagnolo stopped making replacement internals for that generation. It's a bold move for a shop owner to commit that hard to one brand when older stuff gets harder to service every year. Portland is full of these niche shops though, so he probably has a customer base that specifically seeks out Campagnolo for the hood shape or the thumb shifter feel. The cable routing difference he showed you is real, Campagnolo uses a different exit angle that makes housing lengths more critical. I guess if you know what you're doing and have the parts connections, it's a statement more than a business plan.