For The Record… – Bike Snob NYC

Tariffs, inventory market, blah blah blah…the true massive information is that Campagnolo is dropping File:

[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 truly DROPPING RECORD:

That is like IHOP saying that they’ll now not be serving pancakes.

They are going to nonetheless be protecting 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 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 unattainable not to take action on this case, as a result of what the hell is the purpose of eliminating the identify “File?” If they’ll now not justify providing each File and Tremendous File as a result of there are solely like two individuals on the market who nonetheless use Campagnolo parts so having three teams is just too many, why not simply ditch the Tremendous File identify and make File the very best?

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’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 assume it’s not as dangerous as calling a element group “Ekar:”

How may an organization that for many years has given us probably the most mellifluous names in biking–File…Refrain…Veh-LOH-chay for chrissakes!–go and identify one thing “Ekar?” It feels like this man attempting 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 present the curator of not one…

…however two Tremendous File-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 File.)

Talking of unique shifters, now you can get these Growtac built-in friction shifters from Velo Orange:

As a motorcycle nerd I do know I’m supposed to like these. Nevertheless, as I’ve talked about earlier than, I consider these are an indication that we’ve got 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 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’ll be able to pair them with any brake lever you need, out of your classic non-aero gum-hooded pair proper all the way down to probably the most fashionable, up-to-the-minute, ergonomically subtle choices:

So whereas I actually assume the Growtac levers are nifty for what they’re, and that the power to pair built-in shifting with no matter drivetrain parts you need is undeniably cool, I’m unsure 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 roughly 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 consumer of them to be a real member of the friction-shifting group, and so they appear form of like these paddle shifters they placed on vehicles 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 motorcycle with a triple and calling it a single pace:

Hey, now that it’s actually single I could be smug once more:

A minimum of till I put the triple again on, which is sure to occur in the end.