Worst case scenario

Campagnolo trying to do mass-market derailleurs was a bit like the British Royal Family trying to do marital fidelity - it was never going to work, because, although they knew they should do it, they considered the whole idea inherently beneath them.

The Campagnolo Nuovo Valentino Extra was a fine example of the genre. The first clue comes with the plethora of adjectives in the name. Just as a Free-range-Aberdeen-Angus-Oven-Roast-Beef-Chiabatta on a bed of Hand-Picked-Tuscan-Wild-Rocket-and-Crisp-Leaf-Salad turns out to be a rather tasteless beef sandwich accompanied by a salad that was fresh sometime in the 1980’s, so the Nuovo Valentino Extra turns out to be conspicuously lacking in novelty and to offer exactly nothing extra. Perhaps ‘Vecchio Valentino Meno’ did not have quite the ring to it that Campagnolo desired.

The Campagnolo Nuovo Valentino Extra was a solidly engineered and rather well finished, basic, steel derailleur that was over-weight and delivered a below average gear change - all for a price that was considerably higher than that required to buy a simply excellent SunTour or Shimano model.

Its only interesting aspects are the bizarre (and utterly useless) shape of the outer pulley cage plate, and Tullio Campagnolo’s weird decision to name something so average, and that seemed of so little interest to him, after his son Valentino. Dino Ferrari may have died young, but at least Enzo Ferrari named one of the greatest Ferrari sportscars of all time after him.

I don’t think Valentino Campagnolo has repeated the mistake and named a derailleur after any children he might have. Perhaps he has saved himself the trouble and named the children after the derailleurs - ‘Record’, ‘Chorus’ and ‘Croce d’Aune’ would make for an interesting set of siblings - although they might have tough time at school.

Tagged: campagnolonuovo valantinobicyclecyclebike