"Important Innovation" from Campagnolo

Curiously Odd Spin and Hype Courtesy Campy Only

After a 21 year presence on the web, it looks like Campy Only has stepped off the treadmill.

Campy Only is a site for the rabid Campagnolo fan. These folks really love their Campy stuff, which is great in itself. Different strokes for different folks. Doesn't really matter anyways - more cyclists is always a good thing.

But as such obsessed faithful followers of "CampagNOlo" (not unlike actually, hardcore fans of Apple Computer), reasonable objectivity is not what Campy Only is interested in. There is alot of dishonest rhetoric flying around there, but far be it for me to impinge on anyone's freedom of expression or opinion. Once in awhile though, the Campagnolo fanboys go a bit too far over the top.

In late 2000, Campy Only featured a page regarding the latest innovation (dead site - see the last archived link) made available for Campagnolo's high-end Record component group. This was dubbed by Campy marketeers as the "differential brakeset". Alas, the "old way" of specifying brakesets was to use same-design brakes on both the front and rear, probably for a balanced appearance expected from the typical customer more than anything else. This latest design miracle involves using a single pivot rear brake (the previous design) instead of a current dual pivot model. Most of a bike's stopping power is at the front brake, and a dual pivot brake on the rear is in a strict sense technical overkill.

Whoa baby, what benefits to drool over in this "major change". By using a single pivot rear brake, a huge 40-50g of weight is saved. Yes, that's about the weight of a standard alloy water bottle cage or a pair of standard short finger cycling gloves. Hardly "startling" or a loss of "some serious weight". But alas, technological progress it is! And it's all new! A must have "upgrade" so that the latest bragging rights can be yours!

Hey wait a sec - this all seems a bit too deja vu. Could the jayman have been running his own so-called "differential brakeset"... for years beforehand? Believe it! Is that a Shimano RSX BR-A410 dual pivot on the front...

...and a Shimano Exage 300EX BR-A250 single pivot on the rear?!

Egads! This must be the proof that I was just ahead of my time.

Years ago, I chose to only upgrade my front brake, leaving the rear OE single pivot alone. The single pivot rear brake had more than enough power (i.e. it is capable of skidding the rear wheel). I must have been after the massive 40g weight savings by not upgrading my rear brake at the same time.

Yeah, that's it.

Actually folks, in case the sarcasm wasn't obvious, it only made sense to upgrade the OE single pivot front brake to get the improved stopping power. The front brake provides the vast majority of the braking function, and the existing rear brake was working fine. So why bother spending extra cash and hassle for zero practical improvement?

So anyhow, Campagnolo has just figured out that a dual pivot rear brake is technically unnecessary, triggering the fawning at Campy Only. These are the same geniuses who claim that they can get the shifting and braking functions mixed up on a Shimano STI Dual Control lever (a complaint no one else makes, as these are two completely different engagement strokes). It's that kind of dishonest nonsense that undermines the credibility of content at Campy Only. And that's too bad.