Why Campy Rules

I converted my road bikes to Campy a few years ago and never looked back. I'm even switching to Campy on my cross bike this season. Love it! Fits my hands, shifts like butter, and it just looks cool. And I can drop the stack!!! But one of the best things about Campy is that the components can be repaired (unlike Shimano where you just have to replace stuff).

I've got Campy Record on my Trek. 15 months old, 4,100 miles, and no winter riding at all. In the past month, my rear shifting has been a bit touchy. My mechanic said the return spring on my right shifter probably needed to be replaced. We were hoping to make it until August (when I put the road bike into storage for winter and just ride my cyclocross bike).

Well, that plan didn't work. Riding in Livermore yesterday, my right shifter decided it was time. But, the cool thing is that now it's a friction shifter (not an index shifter). I could live with that if I had to, but luckily I've got another record gruppo on a bike I'm selling, so I just swapped it out.

Now, a shifter should last more than 4,000 miles, shouldn't it? Yup! But, Campy's got a three-year warranty! Yippee -- new shifter and no charge. Gotta love that!