Originally Posted by
Zach_Stone
So I am planning on upgrading from Campagnolo Record 8s to 11s this winter. I want to be cheap, to keep my bike looking as clean (i.e. vintatge, its a lovely red Bottecchia Professional), and to get easier climbing gears (39x25 is easy as it gets now, NOT fun climbing from the valley to the Blue Ridge Parkway), i'd also like to use a shimano 11s cassette/hub so the wheels (after a cassette switch) are compatible with my CX bike. Here is what I am thinking. I'd love to know a) if it works b) pros/cons of compact crank vs. big cassette
If you can spin 39x25 up most of the hills you'll encounter and manage the rest you're not loosing anything with the full-sized crank.
If not, stick with a triple crank. You can even buy a nice 2002-2006 Record triple crank which looks like what you're running now.
53-39-30 x 12-13-14-15-16-17-18-19-21-23-25 provides the same low gear as 53-39x11-32 but has tighter spacing which will feel better on flat ground than 11-12-13-14-16-18-20-22-25-28-32.
Compacts only provide a low gear a bit over one cog larger (34x25 is like 39x29) with the standard crank, but the small end of the cassette works like one having a starting cog two teeth larger on the double (three with the triple if you use the same chainline limits) which leads to a lot more shifting in front. They only make sense if you have physiological issues which mean you can't tolerate the wider Q factor or you're a bike manufacturer looking to limit SKUs.
If you really need a lower gear the road triple will run a small ring down to 24T. Paired with a 25 big cog that's like 39x40 or 34x36 and that's not the limit.
Group
Shifters: Campy Athena 11s
FWIW, unlike most Campagnolo ergos made since 1992 current Athena Powershift units can only shift one cog smaller per thumb button actuation and the trim options are more limited. I'd upgrade to Chorus or stick with 10 cogs using older shift levers (I bought a set of NOS 2010 Centaur Carbon Ultrashift levers and 2010 Veloce Ultrashift levers as spares before the supply dried up).