Campagnolo Goes Electric

Campagnolo electric gears on Staf Scheirlinckx's Time (Cofidis)

The Tour de France is probably the biggest road test any new cycling equipment can face and the 2007 edition has seen a few new bits on rider's bikes. In London we spotted the new Shimano Carbon cranks and now in France, the Campagnolo electric gear system made an appearance on the Cofiidis team bike of Staf Scheirlinckx.

A number of manufacturers have been associated with electric assisted gears, most notably the Mavic 'Zap' system which was used successfully by Chris Boardman in time trials in the late 1990's, but the production version failed to convince the buying public. Shimano also have a system under test, but whilst that looks rather crude with a large battery pack zip-tied to the down tube, the Campagnolo approach looks almost ready to go.

The bug bear of 'Zap' was the twitchy switches and the battery life, and the Campagnolo battery is combined into a carbon water bottle cage. The stystem's use in the Alps would suggest that the power it delivers works the system well enough, but since details are sketchy we cannot confirm this or any other aspect of the group.

The battery is combined in a carbon water bottle cage	The levers look very familiar	Left lever
A very tidy looking front mech	The front mech	Staf Scheirlinckx's bike atop the Cofidis team car