Tariffs, inventory market, blah blah blah…the actual large information is that Campagnolo is dropping Report:
[Because it’s surprising, but also because Record.]
And no, they’re not “dropping a file”…
[The AI’s rendering of “a hip hop artist called Lil’ Campy dropping a new record.”]
They’re really DROPPING RECORD:
That is like IHOP asserting that they’ll now not be serving pancakes.
They may nonetheless be conserving Tremendous Report, and from there it goes right down to Refrain:
As a lot as I like “Spinal Faucet,” I usually make some extent of not referencing the entire “It goes to 11” factor because it’s so grossly overused, particularly in biking the place when 11-speed got here out the massive information was actually “It goes to 11.” Nonetheless, it’s nearly unimaginable not to take action on this case, as a result of what the hell is the purpose of eliminating the title “Report?” If they will now not justify providing each Report and Tremendous Report as a result of there are solely like two individuals on the market who nonetheless use Campagnolo parts so having three teams is simply too many, why not simply ditch the Tremendous Report title and make Report the perfect?
I notice all that is meaningless and so they’re simply names, however going from Tremendous Report to Refrain is like going from 11 to 9. What’s going to they do to fill the hole in customers’ minds? (Sure, each customers.) Are they going to start out providing Tremendous Refrain? It simply doesn’t make sense–although I suppose it’s not as unhealthy as calling a part group “Ekar:”
How may an organization that for many years has given us essentially the most mellifluous names in biking–Report…Refrain…Veh-LOH-chay for chrissakes!–go and title one thing “Ekar?” It feels like this man making an attempt to order an éclair at a bakery after a trip however he can’t as a result of his mouth is frozen:
Now, granted, I’m at the moment the curator of not one…
…however two Tremendous Report-equipped bicycles:
However I’m indignant nonetheless. (Perhaps as a result of I’ll now not get to really feel superior to all of the losers on the market utilizing plain Report.)
Talking of unique shifters, now you can get these Growtac built-in friction shifters from Velo Orange:
As a motorbike nerd I do know I’m supposed to like these. Nonetheless, as I’ve talked about earlier than, I imagine these are an indication that we now have formally reached Peak Friction. Isn’t this only a friction shifter with all of the mechanical simplicity engineered out of it? Let’s think about the standard-bearer of contemporary friction shifting:
You may put these just about wherever…in your downtube, on the ends of your bars, on the tops of your bars, and even in your stem:
[Via Rivendell]
Furthermore, you may pair them with any brake lever you need, out of your classic non-aero gum-hooded pair proper right down to essentially the most fashionable, up-to-the-minute, ergonomically refined choices:
So whereas I definitely assume the Growtac levers are nifty for what they’re, and that the flexibility to pair built-in shifting with no matter drivetrain parts you need is undeniably cool, I’m undecided that coping with “variously sized spools” is far easier than getting one of many many “regular” built-in shifters already on the market:
As a friction shifter fanatic myself, as a lot as I malign the proprietary nature of contemporary indexing methods, the reality is that having simply arrange an 11-speed built-in Shimano bike and an 11-speed built-in Campagnolo bike I do know they’re kind of cross-compatible, and I admit that a few of my griping has been overblown. Additionally as a friction shifter fanatic, whereas I do assume the Growtac levers are cool, I’m afraid I’d not think about a person of them to be a real member of the friction-shifting neighborhood, and so they appear sort of like these paddle shifters they placed on automobiles with CVT transmissions. I’m sorry if that offends you, however it’s simply the way in which I really feel. It’s form of like using a motorbike with a triple and calling it a single velocity:
Hey, now that it’s really single I will be smug once more:
A minimum of till I put the triple again on, which is certain to occur ultimately.
