"Shimano were the first to produce an electronic system but we kept working hard on our system and now the bike unveiled is very similar to the bike that will be used by the new Movistar team," Valentino Campagnolo told Cyclingnews.

Mavic were the first to introduce an electronic gear system, not Shimano.

Italian + anything electric---FORGET IT!!

I'm a campag fan through and through but I can't imagine the price this will be ....

At least it's not being built by 1980's British Leyland.

TBH I can't see the point of this....whats wrong with cables?

I forgot to say how much I'd one of these bikes. To test, of course.... :)

salsarider79....I'm with you there. But consider this; the more excited people get about 'new-fangled shifting', the greater the take-up. And when that happens, the manufacturers are going to do whatever they can to shift people from manual to leccy. That will eventually surpress the prices of traditional manual, which will be great for people like you and me. It's a bit like plasma screens. You couldn't GIVE away a traditional CRT box now, let alone buy one...bring on the technology I say...!!

"Their one is 10-speed, while ours is 11-speed."

It will be marketed as the Spinal Tap Edition. And only available in black.

...I'm with Hawkward on this ...surely everyone has heard of the technology that is Alfa Romeo ...or maybe Ducati ...or Lancia ...or possibly Ferrari ...

I suppose at least there's less chance of this exploding in a ball of flames like a Ferrari Califoria and the official respose being ...please say with Italian accent ...teething problems !

"Campy Tech Lab"? Don't they know it's "Campag"?

mcbazza - yeah, "Ours go to 11"

LMFAO!

didnt suntour/browning have an electronic system before mavic ? it was only for the front set up but it was still an electronic gear system

CAMPY ???? FFs - Bloody sold out to the americans again. it`s CAMPAG

it`s a wonder they didnt use the awful term "Fall" Classics.

ShimaNO never - Capagnolo for ever!

I have profound problems with electronic tranmissions.

As a former bike mechanic and now someone who maintains and occasionally builds all of his own bikes it seems to me that electronic components might be the beginning of the end for bicycle home maintenance. The same thing has happened to the car industry where increasingly specialised and complex technology has largely removed the opportunity for home mechanics to maintain their own cars. An argument can be raised around improved safety and performance to support non-owner serviceable cars, but can the same be said for bikes?

One of the joys of bicycles is their inherently low-tech nature and the consequent freedom this gives a bike-owner who, once they have bought a bike, can, if they wish and with basic knowledge, maintain and repair it with almost no subsequent manufacturer or specialist involvement at all.

It may just be an accident of technological progress, but won't any increase in non-user serviceable bike components lead to an increase in dependence by bike owners on specialist servicing and repairs by the original manufacturers and their service agents without any significant trade-off in reliabilty or improved performance?

It feels like we may be walking into something here with our eyes tightly shut.

I dont care for Campy(campag) fan boys nor for the Shimano variants...or do I care for the company the invented the first electronic transmission back in the days when George Michael was straight....

I have both 11 speed campag on my Roadie and XTR on my mtb and both work well...

I am glad Campag have joined the fold as it will mean there is competition and competition drives down prices and creates innovation.

But I will say - Shimano have the upper edge on this tech straight away as they now have 2 years of real life experience.

I am travelling the same road as Daddylonglegs on this one!

As a young motorcyclist in a former life, refining engine performance through the manipulation of "points" using Rizla papers, I was forced into dependency on a dealer after the introduction of non-serviceable electronic ignition units.

Today, we have all experienced the frustrations inherent in the use of re-chargeable batteries in mobile phones and laptops - they require frequent top-ups, they don't hold their charge during any lengthy interval between uses and of course they increasingly fail to hold a full charge before eventual failure and replacement. In addition, they are expensive to buy and they are inefficient - requiring greater energy input in comparison to the energy they yield (how green is that?)

Therefore contemplating the adage, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", I'll stick with dragging my bike from it's resting place at short notice, jumping on and riding whenever the opportunity presents itself and rubbing a smear of grease on the reliable cables before putting my pride and joy to bed again. Safe in the knowledge that the bike will be ready for my next visit, should that be the next day or the next week. Let those with the support of a team of professional mechanics enjoy the high tech toys.

The analogy with mechanical points and carbs on 1980s motorcycles is a good one. I was brought up on a number of them and appreciate the apprenticeship and camaraderie with my friends, swapping tips on how to use WD40 and the best way to set the mixture in a CB250.

Now I ride a modern anonymous maxi-scooter thing that I shamefuilly abuse and take to the shop once a year for a service. It never ever lets me down, and never ever costs me a second's worth of aggravation or anxiety 'will-she-start-won't-she-start' etc.

I have Di2. It's like my modern maxi-scoot. I jump on it and ride. I change gears exactly when I want to. I don't have to wait for the top of a rise, or change earlier to make sure she's in before a ramp, or spend 1 second a month adjusting cable tension or worrying about front derailleur alignment.

Maybe I miss a little bit the fettling and fine tuning. I think I am a mechanic at heart too, sympathetic to my bike's state of tune. But I think that Di2 does exactly what it says on the tin and never miss a shift or drop a chain. And I just get to ride a little more, a little bit harder, with a little bit less worry.

"...won't any increase in non-user serviceable bike components lead to an increase in dependence by bike owners on specialist servicing and repairs by the original manufacturers and their service agents..?"

Daddylonglegs, we've been in this position for a long while in the MTB world for a long while. I recently looked at the cost of getting my suspension serviced and decided that I will probably never buy another mountain bike.