Tariffs, inventory market, blah blah blah…the actual huge information is that Campagnolo is dropping File:
[Because it’s surprising, but also because Record.]
And no, they’re not “dropping a report”…
[The AI’s rendering of “a hip hop artist called Lil’ Campy dropping a new record.”]
They’re truly DROPPING RECORD:
That is like IHOP asserting that they’ll not be serving pancakes.
They are going to nonetheless be maintaining Tremendous File, and from there it goes all the way down to Refrain:
As a lot as I really like “Spinal Faucet,” I typically make a degree 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 not possible not to take action on this case, as a result of what the hell is the purpose of eliminating the title “File?” If they’ll not justify providing each File and Tremendous File as a result of there are solely like two folks on the market who nonetheless use Campagnolo elements so having three teams is just too many, why not simply ditch the Tremendous File title and make File the most effective?
I understand all that is meaningless and so they’re simply names, however going from Tremendous File to Refrain is like going from 11 to 9. What is going to they do to fill the hole in customers’ minds? (Sure, each customers.) Are they going to begin providing Tremendous Refrain? It simply doesn’t make sense–although I assume it’s not as dangerous as calling a element group “Ekar:”
How might an organization that for many years has given us essentially the most mellifluous names in biking–File…Refrain…Veh-LOH-chay for chrissakes!–go and title one thing “Ekar?” It seems like this man attempting to order an éclair at a bakery after a journey however he can’t as a result of his mouth is frozen:
Now, granted, I’m presently the curator of not one…
…however two Tremendous File-equipped bicycles:
However I’m indignant nonetheless. (Perhaps as a result of I’ll not get to really feel superior to all of the losers on the market utilizing plain File.)
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 have now formally reached Peak Friction. Isn’t this only a friction shifter with all of the mechanical simplicity engineered out of it? Let’s contemplate the standard-bearer of recent 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 possibly can pair them with any brake lever you need, out of your classic non-aero gum-hooded pair proper all the way down to essentially the most trendy, up-to-the-minute, ergonomically subtle choices:
So whereas I actually assume the Growtac levers are nifty for what they’re, and that the flexibility to pair built-in shifting with no matter drivetrain elements you need is undeniably cool, I’m undecided that coping with “variously sized spools” is way less complicated 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 recent indexing techniques, 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 might not contemplate a person of them to be a real member of the friction-shifting group, and so they appear sort of like these paddle shifters they placed on vehicles with CVT transmissions. I’m sorry if that offends you, but it surely’s simply the best way I really feel. It’s form of like using a motorbike with a triple and calling it a single pace:
Hey, now that it’s really single I may be smug once more:
At the very least till I put the triple again on, which is certain to occur in the end.
