Campagnolo Neutron Ultra Clincher Front Road Wheel

Campagnolo Wheels

The Italian bike component manufacturer Campagnolo is best known for it's range of groupsets and drivetrain related products. Founded in 1933 by road cyclist Tullio Campagnolo, based upon ideas he had for amongst others, wheels and derailleurs. In 1940 their first rear derailleur entered production, enabling the rider to change gears without removing their rear wheel. Although primarily a cycling company, Campag (as they are often abbreviated to) have also manufactured products for the sports auto industry for brands such as Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati. Achievements in the cycling world include helping Eddy Merckx set the world hour record in 1972. As the years progressed, the number of gears increased, with 8 Speed (1991), 9 Speed (in 1997), 10 speed (in 2000) and now 11 speed in 2008. Notable riders to have won the Tour de France on Campag equipment include Eddy Merckx (5 times), Bernard Hinault (5 times), Greg LeMond (twice) and Miguel Indurain (5 times). In recent times Riis, Ullrich, Pantani, Pereiro and Nibali have won riding with Campagnolo.

For more information on their history, please visit their Wikipedia page, or you can see their current range of components here.

Amazon UK

Amazon famously started off as a book shop operated from a garage in Bellevue, Washington. Founded by Jeff Bezos in 1995, the company rapidly expanded it's product ranges, from books to CDs and DVDs to eventually include pretty much everything under the sun. This is highlighted in the recognisable logo, where the orange arrow points from "A" to "Z". The low pricing and fast delivery (if you use their popular Prime membership) results in Amazon being a popular retailer for cycling products, both from Amazon directly and the 3rd party sellers as well.

So what does this mean for me as a bargain hunting cyclist?! The good news is that Amazon regularly have ridiculous discounts on individual items. Whereas most retailers will discount a product equally in all sizes and colours, Amazon have the unusual trait of reducing a single size at 70-80% off, whereas the rest of the sizes will be at full retail price. If you're prepared to hunt for deals, then you can grab some amazing bargains - I've bought £160 cycling jackets for £25 - and once the item has been purchased, the price has immediately returned to the original RRP again. There doesn't seem to be a great deal of logic to what is reduced, it's not just certain sizes or ugly colours, but if you're prepared to put a bit of work in, you can save hundreds.

Please note: With designer or expensive goods, it is worth only buying products directly from Amazon or third party sellers with excellent feedback, to ensure that they are genuine models and not cheap copies.

You can view Amazon's cycling department here.