chaadster

I need a Chorus groupset, but man, they're pretty scarce right now. What's up with that? Is there some new 2018 stuff about to drop? 12 speed, maybe? Should I hold off until...when?

Drew Eckhardt 

12 speed is about due

1991 8-speed
1997 9-speed 6 years later
2000 10-speed 3 years later
2009 11-speed 9 years later

but won't be here in 2018

Doge

Does that in any way correlate to the melting of the ice sheets?

HTupolev

*Some* significant technical barrier is going to have to give to move beyond 11-speed for road-sized cassettes. If we're going to bother, we should be more ambitious than 12-speed... maybe 13-speed or 14-speed.

11-12-13-14-15-16-17-18-19-20-22-24-26-28

kbarch

There's also a point of diminishing returns in terms of gear shifting. If you have all those gears to choose from, you start wasting time and energy just shifting - might as well just get a mushy CVT.

chaadster

Rather than the execution or practicalities of 12 speed, I’m interested in the reason for the apparently sudden paucity of Campagnolo groupsets, particularly those above Potenza, but also Potenza.

Is it a clearing of the way for new models? High demand? A fire in Romania?

raria

I think the point of diminishing return will be when we no longer need a front derailleur.

Wspsux

Campagnolo, why you so difficult!?

exmechanic89

The point of diminishing returns was already started back in '91, with 8 speed cassettes.

trailangel

Thanks for that. Too many gears already. All you need are the right gears.

mstateglfr 

Campagnolo Chorus 11 Speed Groupset | Chain Reaction Cycles

here ya go. your need has been met.

chaadster

It has not-- mid-compact are OOS at that link-- but more to the point, the limited range of offerings is exactly what I'm talking about.

I can get what I want at RaceViewCycles, apparently, but again, the thread is not about me finding what I want, rather understanding what is going on with the limited availability of Campagnolo groups.

jitteringjr

Seeing how Sram already has 12sp for MTB why do you say a significant barrier prevents this for for road cassettes?

HTupolev

SRAM pulled off the 12-speed MTB cassette partly by making the big cog so huge that it could sit out over the spokes, rather than just on the freehub body. On a "road"-sized cassette, you'll have to squish the extra cog on the freehub somehow. There's not much room to increase wheel dish at this point, so probably either the bicycle frames will need to get wider or the chain/cogs/whatever will need to be made considerably more narrow.

fietsbob

Define 'Need"?

jitteringjr

Interesting. I hadn't looked that close at the details.

ptempel

MTB also went up to 135mm spacing so is 5mm more than road. So not a fair comparison. You could probably get an extra cog with the 5mm. But wheel dish, heel strikes and BB spindle length (or DS crank arm) changes would have to be addressed as well I would think. As far as lack of Campy Chorus groupset availability goes, I have no idea...

Edit: Checking merlin I see a fair amount of out of stock there as well. Its difficult to buy a groupset without a rear derailleur...

https://www.merlincycles.com/campagn...017-71985.html

mstateglfr 

Ha, yeah i just jokingly tossed up the first google link.

Campy is interesting- i dont remember the last time i saw a new bike for sale with Campy on it. And what bikes i rarely do see, they are usually retroish in age.

I could just live in a Campy black hole, but there is a healthy cycling community here and 20000 riders each day on ragbrai, but rarely a bike draped in new Campy.

Seattle Forrest

I'd love one!!

I'd put it on a 50x34.

Drew Eckhardt 

Yeah. With a triple 50-40-30 x 13-14-15-16-17-18-19-21 you could have a 13-19 straight block for plains rides East of Boulder, CO; a low like 42x29 sufficient to get over everything in the Colorado Rockies; and not want to change cogs depending on which direction you rode.

I only upgraded to 9 cogs in 2001 because Campagnolo discontinued my beloved 13-21 and I couldn't abide a missing 18 cog.

Drew Eckhardt 

1. Campagnolo big cogs have overhung the freehub body since we got 10 speed in 2000.

2. The majority of disc brake road bikes use a 135mm OLD which adds another 2.5mm of room to the drive side without changing dish.

pickettt

It's just too much money to be sitting on the sales floor.


Over the past 20 years, there has been an explosion in the road bike populace that don't have the same appreciation for the history of cycling as some of us. It's not a bad thing, they just want to ride. Campy is a huge part of cycling history, not to mention, IMO, the best ergonomics matched with arguably the best quality. The price point is still hard to justify for some, and rightfully so.

Doctor Morbius

I believe you may be on to something with this. So if I'm still riding 9-speed I'm not contributing as much to global warming as the 11-speed crowd?

FBinNY 

This is peak time for OEM sales, and I suspect that Campagnolo is focusing on meeting commitments for their bike company clients rather than the after market.

When an OEM supplier fails to deliver or delivers late it can shut down production, and bike makers don't forgive that easily.

chaadster

Thanks for the reply. I didn’t know that and hadn’t considered it. Campagnolo is teeny-tiny compared to Shimano, I know, so I can imagine that even relatively small OEM calls are likely to have these kinds of follow-on effects in the consumer market.