Sponsorship in the grand tours

[Pietro]

First I will say the rider is more important than any equipment and the frame is the most important part of the equipment list but previous discussions as to who rides what and whom is seeing 'influence' ala sponsorship decrease or increase..

Giro(22 teams)-

11 teams with Campagnolo, 7 with shimano, 4 with Sram

TdF(20 teams)-

9 teams with Campagnolo, 7 with shimano and 4 with Sram.

Means nothing unless something breaks but it is interesting that the smallest company does the most sponsorship, at least with 'big-boy' teams.

 

[LugHugger]

i don't know the answer to this so will post it:
doesn't appearing on a pro tour bike mean that you were willing to pay pro tour prices for the honour? isn't this why colnago walked away?
i'm not saying that any component does/doesn't deserve to be on a pro tour bike but isn't this the way that it works?

 

[ElChingon]

Well I could see the benefits of using Campy, as if something breaks or wears out you can fix it or replace the worn part(s) where as the other stuff you have to fully replace the whole item! (campy sells the internal parts individually so you can buy a worn spring or what not)

Its been why I have stuck with it, you can always upgrade/downgrade to a lower speed (9 to 10 or 10 to 9, etc) as well keeping your investment longer. Who remembers Ulrich sticking with the Pre-99 pointy 8 speed ergo shifters when everyone switched to 9 speed? That sells it self. Meanwhile Shimano try buying anything other than a broken cable for a shifter. SCRAM I'm less knowledgble of, I love the shifting but not the recals and noise, so haven't used it full time yet.

 

[RDV4ROUBAIX]

+1

Pedigree....Campagnolo has been at it the longest.

 

[Ovidius]

There is one thing I think you get slightly wrong.

Sram and Shimano are blatently bigger than Campagnolo - as you quite rightly suggest, however Campagnolo is concentrated soley around Performance Road products, where as Shimano and Sram are larger in other areas. I would suggest that in the Premium Road Componentry, Campagnolo is still the largest. It is also their only source of income - hence why they market their produce so heavily in the pro tour scene. Sram and Shimano have other areas to devote attention too!

There is also Pedigree - Shimano's success in Road cycling is reletively new - they first won the TDF with Lance - which is not that long ago.

However, I do think that Campagnolo pay a large amount of money to keep themselves as first choice of so many Pro teams worldwide. The best example of this is Quickstep - They ride a bike that until this year was not sold by Specialized as a company. In fact, I would suggest that it would be a bigger benefit to Specialized to have Quickstep riding Sram or Shimano, like Saxo Bank. However, Campagnolo have held onto their position, regardless of what Specialized were probably calling for. I'd assume for Campagnolo it is vital to their strategy to keep themselves at the top and they will continue to do so.

Elchingen - I can't imagine a world where I would have to repair my shifter? Even if I had a Campag Shifter and it broke, I would still be replacing it. In the past years of rather heavy Road riding, I have broken 2 Frames and plenty of Rear Mechs etc, wheels, chains etcetc. I have never, or even come close, to need a repair on a Shifter. Infact, the only spare part I have ever needed is the little Ultegra signs on the top of the shifter, that got scratched in a crash, which Shimano do sell.

 

[RDV4ROUBAIX]

I can't imagine a world where I would have to repair my shifter? Even if I had a Campag Shifter and it broke, I would still be replacing it.

Campagnolo Record shifters = 475 dollars...To rebuild (which does happen occasionally) any internal parts of the shifter is 10-30 dollars + some elbow grease.

Ovidius, I think you might reconsider.

 

[Pietro]

There is one thing I think you get slightly wrong.

Sram and Shimano are blatently bigger than Campagnolo - as you quite rightly suggest, however Campagnolo is concentrated soley around Performance Road products, where as Shimano and Sram are larger in other areas. I would suggest that in the Premium Road Componentry, Campagnolo is still the largest. It is also their only source of income - hence why they market their produce so heavily in the pro tour scene. Sram and Shimano have other areas to devote attention too!

There is also Pedigree - Shimano's success in Road cycling is reletively new - they first won the TDF with Lance - which is not that long ago.

However, I do think that Campagnolo pay a large amount of money to keep themselves as first choice of so many Pro teams worldwide. The best example of this is Quickstep - They ride a bike that until this year was not sold by Specialized as a company. In fact, I would suggest that it would be a bigger benefit to Specialized to have Quickstep riding Sram or Shimano, like Saxo Bank. However, Campagnolo have held onto their position, regardless of what Specialized were probably calling for. I'd assume for Campagnolo it is vital to their strategy to keep themselves at the top and they will continue to do so.

Elchingen - I can't imagine a world where I would have to repair my shifter? Even if I had a Campag Shifter and it broke, I would still be replacing it. In the past years of rather heavy Road riding, I have broken 2 Frames and plenty of Rear Mechs etc, wheels, chains etcetc. I have never, or even come close, to need a repair on a Shifter. Infact, the only spare part I have ever needed is the little Ultegra signs on the top of the shifter, that got scratched in a crash, which Shimano do sell.

shimano 'success' is relatively new but they have been goin' at in the road scene since the early 70's. Just haven't sponsored a rider that has won until 1999.

I think the teams look at what works, frame, component, etc and approach the manufacturers. Campagnolo and specialized work for them, get them to the finish line=sponsorship.

Not repair a shifter? If your transmission on your car 2-3 year old car crumped, would you replace the car?

ERGO is easy to repair and cheap. 'Course iffa ya got shimano..you replace when it fails..as they all do eventually.

 

[BroDeal]

however Campagnolo is concentrated soley around Performance Road products, where as Shimano and Sram are larger in other areas. I would suggest that in the Premium Road Componentry, Campagnolo is still the largest. It is also their only source of income - hence why they market their produce so heavily in the pro tour scene. Sram and Shimano have other areas to devote attention too!

Shimano is much larger than Campagnolo. I am pretty sure this is even true at the high end because Shimano has the OEM market locked up. Campy does have something over Shimano: They have made cast magnesium wheels for Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Maserati as well as Ducati.

 

[RDV4ROUBAIX]

....and some parts for the Aerospace industry, if I'm not mistaken.

 

[BroDeal]

....and some parts for the Aerospace industry, if I'm not mistaken.

The chasis for the lunar lander. Think about it. If you had to rely on a manufacturer to get you to the moon and back, would you really want to trust Shimano. What if it breaks half way there and you are told, "Sorry, that cannot be repaired. If you manage to make it back to earth, you can purchase a brand new one at original price, though. Have a nice flight."

 

[RDV4ROUBAIX]

I've only owned a handful of shimano (small s) parts, but if I wanted to go fishing, I've heard their reels are pretty good.

 

[Ovidius]

I find it interesting that anyone would "trust" an Italian manufacturer over a Japanese one! Have you ever been to an Italian factory?

As for Campag vs Shimano in size - I think in Europe Especially (america is probably quite different), Campag is the largest premium component maker. If you go to any event in Europe - Le Etape, Le Marmotte, Roubaix etc the amount of Record you see is vast. Dura-Ace is certainly big, but only because it has been seen on relitively cheap road bikes recently.

I would still suggest that Campag is larger than Shimano's Dura Ace Wing.

 

[RDV4ROUBAIX]

:Have you ever been to an Italian factory?

Yes. Twice a year for work. In fact, I'm leaving for Milan at the end of the summer to work out some details before Interbike. I trust the Italians I deal with, anyway. The Japanese do business based on Sun Tzu's writings, I'd rather not indulge in business warfare, just business.

 

[Pietro]

I find it interesting that anyone would "trust" an Italian manufacturer over a Japanese one! Have you ever been to an Italian factory?

As for Campag vs Shimano in size - I think in Europe Especially (america is probably quite different), Campag is the largest premium component maker. If you go to any event in Europe - Le Etape, Le Marmotte, Roubaix etc the amount of Record you see is vast. Dura-Ace is certainly big, but only because it has been seen on relitively cheap road bikes recently.

I would still suggest that Campag is larger than Shimano's Dura Ace Wing.

Japanese business models are polite but cutthroat. Italians are slow, methodical, steeped in tradition and loyalty.

You mentioned a problem for Campagnolo. Their interest and focus is Europe, rightly so considering their cycling heritage. They still view the USA as not really 'serious' when it comes to cycling, in spite of the 'Lance effect'.

I would love to see more interest(and money) in Campagnolo, USA to promote the brand in the USA.