LowCel 

I am getting ready to order a new cassette but I would like a few opinions. I have been riding a Chorus 13-29 cassette since August. I am getting quite a bit stronger climbing (thanks to losing 30 pounds) so I plan on ordering a 13-26 cassette. My question is are there any benefits to the record cassette other than the 50 grams of weight savings?

Retail on the Record ti cassette is $350. Retail on the Chorus is $165. I know there are better prices, I would rather compare the cassettes based on retail price just to keep it fair.

surfncycling

This isn't a put down or anything like that, everyone starts out somewhere, but if you are using a 13-26 I don't think 50 grams is really worth $200 difference at the moment.

2Rodies

I agree. I use Campy on both my bikes, Record on the 481 and Chorus on the 381, and I don't have the Ti cassette on either bike. My bikes are not the lightest around both weight about 17.5 to 18 pounds. I could easily get both of them to under 17 but at what price? Well it would cost me 700-1000 bucks and I don't believe that I'm loosing races over that one pound. Save your dough and go with the steel cassette.

Patriot

Personally, if you are going to ride the bike often, like a daily rider, or even use it for training, I would stick with the Chorus. When I built my bike, I was faced with the same question. I have Record Ders/Shifters, but I stuck with the Chorus cassette for one reason, Longevity. The Ti gears on the Record cassette are very well known for only lasting about a thousand miles or so. Sometimes a little longer. They really are for racing ocassion only.
The Chorus is really the best bet, as it will last for 5000+ miles easily, if taken care of.

Read the reviews on the www.road**************** website. They have pretty much the same explanation there as well.
Saving 50g is great, but for me, it wasn't worth the short lifespan.

LowCel 

Thanks everyone. That is pretty much the same way I felt about it. I am running record drivetrain everywhere else (except crank and bb) but I was hesitant on the cassette mainly because of longetivity. I don't mind spending the money, I just hate to do so needlessly.

For what it's worth my bike weighs approximately 16.5 pounds, I really don't think 50 grams is going to make much of a difference.

Oh, it wasn't an easy decision on the cassette size either, I really want the 12-25 but there are some pretty good climbs around here, especially after a long ride. I want to keep the 26 for a bail out gear. Hopefully I don't have to use it much. BTW, why won't campy make a 12-26**********

galen_52657

Why not save some more cash...

https://www.glorycycles.com/cave10sp20ca.html

you could buy 2......

LowCel 

Honestly because I get them at cost. A good friend of mine owns the local shop, plus I help out there from time to time.

galen_52657

well then you could get the Veloce for about $30 and buy 3....

LowCel 

lol, I hear ya. Don't want to go below chorus though.

Hipcycler

What's up with the Veloce'?
I believe that's what's on the new Klein that I have waiting for me at my LBS...

LowCel 

Hipcycler - What do you mean what is up with Veloce?

53-11_alltheway

What's the difference between Veloce Cassette and Chorus Cassette? A few grams I'm guessing.

Hipcycler

Where does it rank among riders here I guess....after reading some of this I take it Veloce' is not top of the line, but how bad can it be! This is going to be my first experience with Campy...drivetrain and the wheels....once I get this Klein this spring.

LowCel 

Volece is basicly the forth line down for Campy. The pecking order kind of goes record - chorus - centaur - veloce - mirage - xenon. I would guess that it is pretty comparable to Shimano 105 or Tiagra.

It is a very good component group and you should be very happy with the way it performs.

Hipcycler

Ah. Thanks LoCell...I'm using Tiagra now and looking forward to trying this legendary Campy stuff out come spring!

LowCel 

Actually it is above Tiagra. You are definately moving up.

Patriot

Actually guys, the truth is, the Veloce would probably even outlast the Chorus cassette, (but not by much) because its steel is even harder with that shinier plated finish. The carrier web for the sprockets are also made of steel instead of aluminum alloy like the Chorus and Record. So, in reality, the Veloce is even heavier duty. However, you are getting a good 30-40g more weight. From what I understand the Centaur and Veloce cassettes shift just as nice as the Chorus. The only real thing here, is the pure desire to shave weight as much as possible. It just depends on how much you are willing to pay for it.

53-11_alltheway

It almost seems to me that Campy really has 3 levels.

Record/Chorus almost use the same quality of parts (alloy carriers, BB, D springs in shifters,etc.)

Veloce/Centaur

Mirage/Xenon.


For all you guys wanting Centaur over Veloce. I don't think there really is much of a difference in durability and quality. Centaur is probably a little lighter, but the "guts" are the same as Veloce.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

galen_52657

That would be correct.

Take your pick:

Record 10 @ $200 = 188 grams
Chorus 10 @ $129 = 220 grams
Centaur 10 @ $110 = 233 grams
Veloce 10 @ $75 = 250 grams

As far as service life, the Record will wear out first as it uses titanium cogs for the larger cogs.

The money you save between the Chorus and Veloce will buy a new chain....

53-11_alltheway

That's the part that kills me. Why would you want to pay an extra $54 to make your bike temporarily 1/16th of a pound lighter?

$54----> That's two months gym membership dues.

squeegy200

Interesting conversation I encountered this weekend. One of the major online bike retailers builds their high end bikes with Chorus or Record. But in speaking with their builders, they use Centaur cassettes on all of their build kits unless otherwise specified.

Hipcycler

I'm just happy I'm moving into Campy! No need to worry about more money to shed weight here....Just ridin' for fun.

don d.

Every race is "temporary" but a victory lasts forever.

velocipedio

for what it's worth, there are two things to consider:

1. if you're careful about chain replacement, you'll find that the , chorus and centaur cassettes will last well-nigh forever.

2. i have a veloce 9sp cassette on my cyclo-cross bike and, after two years of racing on it it mud and rain and ice and snow, it has minimal wear. of course, i'm particularly diligent about cleaning my cross rig after every race and changing out my chain [a sram pc-59], so that probably has a lot to do with it.

in any event, the chorus, centaur and veloce cassettes are very, very durable, and they all shift equally well.

galen_52657

don,

a 16th of a pound weight savings aint gonna win you a race old buddy....