# Should I turn it up to 11?



## hfc (Jan 24, 2003)

I have many bikes, all of them now with Campy 6 through 10 speed groups. I've resisted the move to 11, because I just don't really need that extra cog and the 10 works great. I have 5 bikes now with 10 speed and having an 11 speed group would mean no spare wheels, chains, etc. 

Anyway I have a new (to me) bike on the way with a Super Record 11 group. I'll probably give it a test spin but really plan on changing over a 10 speed group from the bike it's replacing and will sell the 11 to defray the cost. Has anyone gone from 10 to 11 and just thought " this is the best ever, wish I'd have done this years ago!" Mechanical group by the way.


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## DaveG (Feb 4, 2004)

hfc said:


> I have many bikes, all of them now with Campy 6 through 10 speed groups. I've resisted the move to 11, because I just don't really need that extra cog and the 10 works great. I have 5 bikes now with 10 speed and having an 11 speed group would mean no spare wheels, chains, etc.
> 
> Anyway I have a new (to me) bike on the way with a Super Record 11 group. I'll probably give it a test spin but really plan on changing over a 10 speed group from the bike it's replacing and will sell the 11 to defray the cost. Has anyone gone from 10 to 11 and just thought " this is the best ever, wish I'd have done this years ago!" Mechanical group by the way.


I have 2 bikes with Campy 10 and two with Campy 11. Going to 11 was not a life changing event for me. However, one advantage is that you can use a wider range cassette without agonizing so much about having a low gear you may rarely use. The bad part with 11 is there is no cheap cassette option.


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## hfc (Jan 24, 2003)

Thanks Dave. Another point against the 11 is the chain. I think you have to have a special peen tool. The Campy 10 chains are frequently on sale on the British sites and I use the KMC quick link on them.


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## zero85ZEN (Oct 11, 2002)

hfc said:


> Thanks Dave. Another point against the 11 is the chain. I think you have to have a special peen tool. The Campy 10 chains are frequently on sale on the British sites and I use the KMC quick link on them.


I had 5 bikes running Campy 10. Then I finally got curious enough to want to try electronic shifting and bought Record EPS and replaced one bike with 11 speed. I had held out for a long time from trying 11 speed because I'm heavily stocked in 10 speed spare parts...but I have to say, 11 speed EPS is very VERY nice! And word on the street is that 2015 mechanical is outstanding. I'm now seriously considering converting another bike to it. 
As for 11 speed chains, I just use KMC X11SL with quick link.


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## kbwh (May 28, 2010)

hfc said:


> I have 5 bikes now with 10 speed and having an 11 speed group would mean no spare wheels <snip>


 That's not correct.  
If your wheel is 10 speed compatible it's also 9 and 11 speed compatible.

I went from 10 to 11 six years ago. I like the extra cog (even tighter on the flats or wider in the mountains), and the _comandi_ergonomy is a whole lot better too. Broken G-springs is a thing of the past as well.</snip>


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## DaveG (Feb 4, 2004)

hfc said:


> Thanks Dave. Another point against the 11 is the chain. I think you have to have a special peen tool. The Campy 10 chains are frequently on sale on the British sites and I use the KMC quick link on them.


I am using the KMC link on my 11-speed right now. I did buy a Lezeyne chain tool that supports peening but I decided the process seemed too error prone.


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## kbwh (May 28, 2010)

On the other hand, using the Campag tool with the Campag chain is fail safe.


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## hfc (Jan 24, 2003)

kbwh said:


> That's not correct.
> If your wheel is 10 speed compatible it's also 9 and 11 speed compatible.
> 
> I went from 10 to 11 six years ago. I like the extra cog (even tighter on the flats or wider in the mountains), and the _comandi_ergonomy is a whole lot better too. Broken G-springs is a thing of the past as well.</snip>


Ahh good to know. I'd thought I remembered reading somewhere about (maybe Zipp?) a newer freehub being 11 speed only.


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## rm -rf (Feb 27, 2006)

*Power Shift unreliable*
Broken G-springs don't apply to 11 speed, but Athena *Power Shift* shifters are *not reliable*. Mine broke within a year. It shifts to larger cogs correctly, but drops all the way to the smallest cog with any thumb press. There's a lot of reports of this same failure.

Instead, I got a replacement/upgrade shifter body , a Chorus EC-RE100 Ultrashift. It needs a little trimming on the Athena hood to accommodate the longer thumb press.

*Quick Links*
Sram 11-speed Powerlock quick links work great with Campagnolo chains.

*11 speed hubs*
Some 10 speed hubs don't fit 11 speed cassettes, since the 11 largest cog is offset toward the center of the hub. But 11 hubs will fit 10 speed cassettes.

*Campagnolo compatible with Shimano cassettes*
On 11-speed, Shimano and Campagnolo cassettes have essentially the same spacing, so either cassette will work with the other's derailleur. (They still have different splines, so you do need the correct hub for the cassette, same as before.)


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## DaveG (Feb 4, 2004)

rm -rf said:


> Broken G-springs are gone on 11 speed, but Athena *Power Shift* shifters are *not reliable*. Mine broke within a year. It shifts to larger cogs correctly, but drops all the way to the smallest cog with any thumb press. There's a lot of reports of this same failure.
> 
> Instead, I got a replacement/upgrade shifter body , a Chorus EC-RE100 Ultrashift. It needs a little trimming on the Athena hood to accommodate the longer thumb press.
> 
> ...


I would gladly go back to g-springs. I've never broken one in a total of 41 years of use (concurrent use over 3 bikes). They are cheap to replace. On the other hand my Athena powershift lever failed after 3 years in the same way rm described


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## 1Butcher (Mar 15, 2011)

I went for SR 6sp to the SR11sp. I'm sold and would not go back.

You have to make certain you maintain it a bit more. The system does not like friction and that will cause issues. Of course, EPS will resolve that in a hurry.


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## pmf (Feb 23, 2004)

As others have said 

1. You don't have to buy the $200 Campy chain tool. Lezyne makes a tool for removing the pins, and then I just use links. They're so much more dependable than pins. 

2. Unlike Shimano, Campy cassette bodies are backward compatible -- you don't need a new wheel set. 

3. I went from 9-speed to 11-speed and didn't notice a big difference. Maybe a bit more shifting. The skeleton brakes are definitely WAY better. 

4. I'd lean towards keeping the Super Record. I buy Chorus groups because I'm too cheap to spend more, and too fat to notice a 200 gram difference. At least that's what I keep telling myself. You're never disappointed with the best.


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## Drew Eckhardt (Nov 11, 2009)

DaveG said:


> I would gladly go back to g-springs. I've never broken one in a total of 41 years of use (concurrent use over 3 bikes).


I had to rebuild my rear shifter every 2-3 years even with low annual mileage.

Conversely my first set of Ultrashift levers are still running flawlessly after four years and 21,000 miles.


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## DaveG (Feb 4, 2004)

Drew Eckhardt said:


> I had to rebuild my rear shifter every 2-3 years even with low annual mileage.
> 
> Conversely my first set of Ultrashift levers are still running flawlessly after four years and 21,000 miles.


Did they break or do you mean you overhauled them because they got soft?


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## Drew Eckhardt (Nov 11, 2009)

DaveG said:


> Did they break or do you mean you overhauled them because they got soft?


Sometimes the detent end of a G-spring broke off due to fatigue. Sometimes that leg just abraded enough they no longer held well.

Eventually metal fatigue also took out the thumb button spring, front paddle spring, and ratchet pawl spring.

At least the button and paddle springs were retained on the Ultrashift levers, so I'm ready for their failure with spare levers - NOS 2010 Veloce 10 speed and 2014 Chorus 11.

My left lever was always fine - I never had to repair it from 1996 until I retired it in 2012.


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## Patb095 (Nov 5, 2016)

It depends on your need, i have a 12-27 (10s), 11-28 (11s) - i like better my 10s because of the 16 cog. 

I wish I had an 11-27 (11s) but this doesn't exist 


Envoyé de mon iPhone en utilisant Tapatalk


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## DaveG (Feb 4, 2004)

Patb095 said:


> It depends on your need, i have a 12-27 (10s), 11-28 (11s) - i like better my 10s because of the 16 cog.
> 
> I wish I had an 11-27 (11s) but this doesn't exist
> 
> ...


Unlike Bigfoot a Campy 11-27 11s does exist

https://www.coloradocyclist.com/campagnolo-chorus-11-cassette-11-27


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## Patb095 (Nov 5, 2016)

DaveG said:


> Unlike Bigfoot a Campy 11-27 11s does exist
> 
> https://www.coloradocyclist.com/campagnolo-chorus-11-cassette-11-27


It's the same. My 10s is 12-13-14-15-16-17-19-21-24-27. 
The chorus doesn't have the 15-16-17 but jump from 15 to 17.

I'm a roller not a climber  


Envoyé de mon iPhone en utilisant Tapatalk


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## colnagoG60 (Jun 27, 2013)

DaveG said:


> ...The bad part with 11 is there is no cheap cassette option.



No love for *Miche*? I just picked up an 11sp 11-29 for my "New" Kickr. They had a 12-27 for $59...12-29 is $69:

Miche 11 Speed Cassette 12-29 Campagnolo Chorus Record Super [1514AD0040000] - $69.00 Velomine.com : Worldwide Bicycle Shop, fixed gear track bike wheelsets campagnolo super record vintage bike


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## MercRidnMike (Dec 19, 2006)

I made the jump from 2012 SRAM Rival 10 to 2014 Campy Chorus 11. Not apples to apples, for certain, but I'll still venture an opinion.

I found that even going from 50-34 to 52-36 up front, the 12-29 cassette gave me all the range I needed to deal with really hilly rides like Banff to Jasper (Alberta....nice little Rocky Mountain ride). The extra cog wasn't earth shattering, but it has allowed a little bit better fine tuning when it comes to the gearing...I'm just a hair bit better able to keep my cadence where I want it / like it and that has made it a little easier on the long rides.

Sure, going from Rival to Chorus is like going from a Corvette to a Ferrari....it was a big step up and that certainly has played a part in why I'm a Campy convert. That said, if your 10 spd group is working well, there's no pressing need to change. If you have the opportunity to do it with the new bike, well, there's no time like the present.  I'd say give the 11 speed group a try and see what you think of the feel of the more current group and the extra cog on the new bike before you pull it off...I suspect you'll like it.


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## hfc (Jan 24, 2003)

I got the new (ish) bike yesterday, a Colnago EPS and did a short ride this morning. The bike is awesome, the group is nice, I'm going to ride it for a few times and see. The bike it's replacing has a compact crank (the only one in my bike collection, my climbing bike) whereas the new one doesn't , so that's a consideration.


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## GoodWine (Oct 19, 2008)

I've been using Campag 10 speed groupsets on my bikes for quite a few years now and apart from overhaulin the Ergolevers from time to time, had never felt the need to go to 11 speed.
However when the opportunity to pick up a brand new bike at a knock down price came up I felt the need for 11 speed !
The 2015 Chorus groupset is beautifully made and a joy to use. The one click shift from the small ring to the big ring on the front is great and the shape of the hoods is much more tactile than the V2 ergolevers.
I'm not going to abandon my 10 speed in favour of 11 speed particularly on bikes set up for winter riding, but will upgrade to 11 speed as things wear out.
There is of course the issue of what to do when 12 speed comes out !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## hfc (Jan 24, 2003)

I like the front shifting better as well. I'm keeping it for now, will ride it over the winter and early spring see if it continues to grow on me. I asked my wife's opinion, told her if I sold the group I could recoup a significant part of the $$ spent on the bike and, bless her, she said " it's a top notch bike, it should have top notch parts".


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## 1Butcher (Mar 15, 2011)

Somehow I believe if my wife knew how much I had in my bike, I would not get a comment like that.

One day she asked why I plugged in my bike, she asked me if I bought an electric motor for it. I told her no, it's for the electronics. The questions stopped after that.


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## bigbill (Feb 15, 2005)

A couple of things.

1. Black Friday sales at Ribble, Chorus 11 is $802 with free shipping.
2. Since I started using campy 11, I have used campy chains and bought the tool in late 2008 for $140. I've never had one fail. If someone experienced a pin failure, it was human error, not design. Quick links are cool, I carry one in my saddle bag, but the campy design works very well. 
3. I have two bikes with Chorus 11 and one with Athena 11. The Athena stuff is two years old and still feels new. Sure it only upshifts one cog at a time, but somehow in several years of racing on Dura Ace in the 90's, this feature never limited me. Dumping an entire cassette is overrated. 
4. I have one bike with Record 10 that I bought in 2003, I've rebuilt the levers (new g springs twice, index gear once) twice. 
5. I bought a new Chorus group last night from Ribble. I'm replacing the first generation 11 speed stuff (2008) on my blue bike because the chainrings, hoods, and rear derailleur are worn out. I can buy replacement parts, but I can buy a whole new group for $800 and have the new style four arm crankset.


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## hfc (Jan 24, 2003)

Thanks Bill.

I'm keeping an eye on Ribble as I'd like to go mid Compact and currently the bike has a 53-39. The bike it has replaced was my climbing bike with a Record 10 50-34 and before that FSA 50-36. Of course now I'm agonizing if the 4 arm crank will shift as well as with the pre 2015 group. Of course Campy says it won't work as well but it seems they're always pessimistic about that stuff.

The Campy chain prices are good at Ribble. I've always thought KMC chains work fine with the 10 speed but the Campy chains are best, so likely will stick with my 10 speed method of Campy chain with KMC link.

If Ribble would just cooperate and come out with a holiday 10 or 15% coupon, I'll stuff a stocking!


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