# Chorus 11 vs. Record 11



## winders (Mar 19, 2009)

If I don't care about black brakes or anything like that...so what am I missing out on if I go Chorus 11 over Record 11? The weight difference seems minimal. Are there Record or Super Record components that I should get instead of the Chorus version? Why?

S-


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## zamboni (Sep 11, 2003)

You can get a SR11 for under $2K if you don't have the limit on your budget, I just upgraded from Record 10 to SR11.


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## smokva (Jul 21, 2004)

winders said:


> If I don't care about black brakes or anything like that...so what am I missing out on if I go Chorus 11 over Record 11? The weight difference seems minimal. Are there Record or Super Record components that I should get instead of the Chorus version? Why?
> 
> S-


There is not a single functional difference between 11 sp groups as far as I know.


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## C-40 (Feb 4, 2004)

*info...*

There really is no functional difference that you will ever feel. The SR and Record Ti cogs will last about half as long - it's a high price to pay to save 30-50 grams.

All of the shifters are mechanically identical. SR has the best ceramic BB bearings, but those can be installed on any other UT crank if the orginal bearings wear out. The only other differences are weight savings with Ti or carbon pieces instead of steel (bolts) and aluminum (cages).


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## tom_h (May 6, 2008)

Another minor difference between 11sp Chorus and Record cranks, specifically the _bearings_ that are pressed on to the cranks:

The Record balls & bearings appear to be more easily serviceable (cleaning, re-greasing) due to their more "open" design ... Chorus bearings are a more sealed up, less-serviceable bearing.
See: http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=163626

Considering the Record crank is at least $150-160 more, and sealed Chorus-style bearings are relatively inexpensive, it's probably not strictly cost-effective.


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## blbike (May 12, 2006)

I'm using a mix of Chorus, Record, and Super Record on two bikes. No functional difference in any, very very tiny weight differences. That said I really like the CULT bearings on the SR crank, so so smooth.


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## zamboni (Sep 11, 2003)

That is the reason why I went with SR instead of Record.


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## OperaLover (Jan 20, 2002)

*Please tell us your specific mix*



blbike said:


> I'm using a mix of Chorus, Record, and Super Record on two bikes. No functional difference in any, very very tiny weight differences. That said I really like the CULT bearings on the SR crank, so so smooth.


I would like to do the same.

Thanks!


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## C-40 (Feb 4, 2004)

*info..*



OperaLover said:


> I would like to do the same.
> 
> Thanks!


I disagree about the value CULT bearings, depending on how much extra you pay for the SR crank. The bearings can be bought for $145. The SR cranks may run $250-275 more than Chorus.

Unless you ride in wet dirty conditions a lot, where the CULT bearings might survive longer, you'll get no significant improvement. Ceramic and ceramic hybrid bearings are highly over rated. Real world tests on wheels run at high speeds show a fraction of a watt in reduced friction. 

SR shifters cost a lot more than Chorus and there is only one Ti part in the SR shifter that lowers the weight of the pair about 10 grams. 

I really can;t thnk of a single SR part that is worth the money.


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## mj3200 (Apr 18, 2008)

I agree with C40 and so it seems do some of the very people you'd expect to be big fans of SR - the pro teams as they get it for nothing.

Here are a couple of bikes from this year's Giro with Record not SR



















Granted some other teams were using SR but it's not cut and dried. Also Basso was using Record in the mountain stages and even Sastre had the older type of STIs.

My thought is that having 3 groupsets so closely spaced is blurring the lines a bit too much. If you care to look up the exploded diagrams of the components you will see that there is a great deal of commonality between Record and Chorus - and SR for that matter.


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## tom_h (May 6, 2008)

C-40 said:


> ...Unless you ride in wet dirty conditions a lot, where the CULT bearings might survive longer, you'll get no significant improvement. Ceramic and ceramic hybrid bearings are highly over rated. Real world tests on wheels run at high speeds show a fraction of a watt in reduced friction. ..


And, I've noticed that even the sealed-bearing-design Chorus11 crankset "loosens" up signifcantly after a few 100 miles of break-in.

Highly qualitative, but a quick flick of my arm would spin the _newly_ installed Chorus crankset for maybe 2 turns. Now, It spins for some 5-6 revolutions.


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## toonraid (Sep 19, 2006)

I guess it all depends on your decision making process - if made by brains go with Chorus, if made by heart go with Record and if made by your pants (sex appeal) then go for SR!

Alternatively you could use your brain, heart and pants and arrive at this set-up;

Pants - i.e. SuperRecord - RD & Ergo's (the sexiest components in the SR groupset).
Heart - i.e. Record - FD & Brakeset
Brains - i.e. Chorus - Chainset, BB, Chain, sprockets.

And don't lambast Campagnolo for giving you plenty of options to choose from by providing 4 eleven speed groupsets (Athena to arrive soon) when others have none - I mean they could have milked it by just adding one set per year!


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## Lionel (Nov 22, 2004)

*SR crank*

Maybe it could be had for cheaper by modifying the bearings of the Record or Chorus crankset. But coming from Record 10, I was VERY impressed by how smooth the SR crankset is.


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## zamboni (Sep 11, 2003)

Lionel said:


> Maybe it could be had for cheaper by modifying the bearings of the Record or Chorus crankset. But coming from Record 10, I was VERY impressed by how smooth the SR crankset is.


SR crank is so smooth


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