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Electronic Campag spotted at Tour of Flanders Electronic Campag spotted at Tour of Flanders Electronic Campag spotted at Tour of Flanders Electronic Campag spotted at Tour of Flanders Electronic Campag spotted at Tour of Flanders Electronic Campag spotted at Tour of Flanders Electronic Campag spotted at Tour of Flanders Electronic Campag spotted at Tour of Flanders
Campag electronic

Electronic Campag spotted at Tour of Flanders

Spy shots of the new digital shifting system
by Mat Brett
Mon, Apr 04, 2011 16:57
11

Campagnolo’s electronic shifting components made an appearance at last weekend’s Tour of Flanders and we’ve got our hands on some spy shots. Spain’s Team Movistar, previously Caisse d'Epargne, will be using the equipment this year – the only team to do so before it goes on sale to the public.

Campag have released few details but, on the face of it, the system appears to be vaguely similar to Shimano’s Di2 system with a comparably sized battery sitting on the down tube between the bottom bracket and the bottle cage.

The shifters stick with Campag’s existing mechanical strategy in having the down lever tucked behind the brake lever and a thumb-operated button on the inside of the lever body for upshifts.

The derailleurs appear to be carbon fibre as far as the eye can see with the wire for the rear mech travelling internally, breaking cover at the top of the chainstay just ahead of the rear dropout.

Whereas the Di2 system is 10-speed, Campag’s – in line with their existing top end groupsets – goes up to 11. One louder.

Movistar
electronic shifter
campy
Campagnolo
campag
Mat Brett

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

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11 comments

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cactuscat | 13 years ago
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bring on cadence-sensing Di2 TT edition, says I 1

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cat1commuter | 13 years ago
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I think that electronic gears are great. The Shimano battery lasts months. They can do away with fiddly setup of indexing. The shift buttons can be placed anywhere - something manufacturers are only just beginning to exploit. Could be great for riders such as women with small hands who find it a stretch to reach shift levers.

(There are puncture proof tyres. Schwalbe Marathon Plus or Durano Plus. Trouble is that they're heavy, but they're fine for pootling around town. You can't make a puncture proof tyre which is light, supple and grippy.)

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peasantpigfarmer | 13 years ago
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Wow! can't believe how many luddites we have! Campagnolo have always been at the forefront of technology. They are hardly going to stop development,just think of the british cycle,motorcycle,car etc. industries!(Poof! All gone!) I personally prefer mechanical gears and brakes. however,development of new systems lead to improvements filtering down to the lower spec. ranges! I have a rohloff hub that could do with a electronic shifter! Ever wondered if the tyre/tube companies don't want a puncture proof set up?(they probably have developed them,but have left the products on the shelf!) How would they survive financially Stop and think how many of you have computors,mobile phones,MP3 players etc! So.......

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youngoldbloke | 13 years ago
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'Campy' - how sad.

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GrimpeurChris | 13 years ago
0 likes

Where is the advantage? Can't be weight!
Looks like Campag have been suck(ered) into a marketing war!
I like my good old mechanical Centaur setup 3

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automatic_jon | 13 years ago
0 likes

"I can't come out on the ride today, I forgot to charge my bike"

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Mat Brett | 13 years ago
0 likes

Got to say, uksportives has got a really good point there.

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uksportives | 13 years ago
0 likes

It amazes me we have technology like this, but still there is not a Inner tube this is truly "Puncture Proof"

Lets get the tyre and tube technology pushed forward, save us all changing tubes etc, out with old style in with new tech Tyre and Tube technology..

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ped replied to uksportives | 13 years ago
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uksportives wrote:

… not a Inner tube this is truly "Puncture Proof".

Inner tube?!? Just replace them with (bit of maths) 42 Size C batteries per wheel—puncture proof _and_ you get to power your gears. Result!

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batch replied to uksportives | 13 years ago
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uksportives wrote:

Lets get the tyre and tube technology pushed forward, save us all changing tubes etc, out with old style in with new tech Tyre and Tube technology..

Admittedly I'm on a Hybrid with 32's, but Schwalbe's Marathon Plus tyre has proved pretty puncture proof across both road and forest track...used to be upside down with tyre levers every 50 miles until I fitted them...now done over 800 miles and not a prob. 1

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handlebarcam | 13 years ago
0 likes
Quote:

Campag’s – in line with their existing top end groupsets – goes up to 11. One louder.

For that extra push over the cliff?

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