When Italian style hits & misses
I’ve seen this crank by Deda Elementi at Interbike a few years already and never seen it actually being ridden. As both Shimano and Campagnolo hit the market with high-power electronic front derailleurs, I can easily imagine those derailleurs folding this chainring like a napkin. BITD, Italy was where quality racing products were made, and Cinelli and Campagnolo were the standard for components. Setting aside Campagnolo’s market trend, it’s been over a decade since pro riders seriously used Cinelli product. Pursuing the skinny jean hipster crowd is pretty much Cinelli’s only niche now. Is Deda Elementi showing signs of the same?
On the other hand is 3T: once owned by that same parent company as Cinelli and Columbus (tubing), got sold off as a brand, reorganized with production in Asia, and is now sharply focused on competition. Funny that, since the simple yet bold 3T graphics so successfully unite the company’s whole product line. Although individually Deda has some mighty nice components (the Zero100 stem is one of the best looking stems out there), 3T really sets a new standard.
Below, 3T’s Luteus disc-specific cyclocross fork shows that 3T is at the sharp end of racing technology.
