Advice re. upgrading Chorus 11 to Record 12

[M_D_S]

I am in the process of refreshing one of my road bikes, which currently has a Chorus 11 groupset, circa 2017 (rim brake) on it - 52/36 with an 11-29 Record cassette and chain. No issues - around 3,000 miles on the group.

I am considering upgrading to Record 12, going with a 50/34 and either an 11-32 or 11-34 cassette. (My most recent build has an Ultegra compact crankset and and 11-30 cassette, and I really like it -- we have a lot of climbing here in WV.)

So, is it worth upgrading to Record 12? I know the rear mech has been redesigned, but is it really that much better? Do the calipers clear bigger rubber? (My front caliper will currently clear a 28, but it's almost too tight for my liking.) Will I find the jumps to be palatable with an 11-34 cassette, or should I stick to 11-32?

Also, realistic value on the Chorus gruppo with the Record cassette and chain? (I would rather sell it on PL once I have enough posts.) It is clean and nice.. I'm a bit of a fanatic.

Finally, I would consider Chorus 12, but the materials don't seem to be on par with my current gruppo. It seems that Record is the next logical step to keep the rear mech and levers in line with what I have. Thoughts?

[JedB]

Why not just upgrade the casette, Rear Deraileur and the Right shifter to the Record 12?

A long time ago when I went from 8 --> 9, I just upgraded those three items, as the upgrade on the mechanism of front shifter's not really needed when compared with the rear.

[Wattvagen]

3k miles is literally just getting broken in on a campagnolo groupset.

if you're making the swap to get more comfortable gearing, that's a perfectly valid reason to do so. you could also get a mid cage RD for your current group, new chainrings and have the same gearing without needing anything else.

with the old group, i think you will find that many people are moving in the same direction as you, short cage RD's are not as popular as mid cage since more and more people want that 32 or 34 in the rear.

[Clean39T]

Is Record 12 worth it?

Yes, so long as it doesn't disrupt compatibility in the rest of your fleet.. you lose the ability to run Shim cassettes on other wheels, makes it tougher to use a smart-trainer, etc. BUT - the new lever shape, hood shape, paddle ergonomics, etc. is worth it (atmo). I still love R11 and R10 but R12 is great kit and if you want to try it, I say go for it!

As for the Chorus group value. It's probably increased a bit. Excellent condition will probably fetch $700 net, though bro deals will come up at $625-650 and some may pay $800 if they are desperate and the specs are perfect for them. And yes, I may be a buyer

[cgolvin]

Originally Posted by Clean39T

And yes, I may be a buyer

In other news, the sun rose in the east today.

Back on topic, I changed from Chorus 11 to Chorus 12 because I wanted the 48/32 crankset (lots of climbing and steep grades in SoCal) and I'm very happy with it. The only time I ever wish for a bigger chainring is when a fast descent briefly levels off, but OTOH I can spend more time in the big ring overall. With 11/32 in the rear I have the 1:1 bailout gear when needed, and the rest of the upper jumps (22/25/28) are the same as your R11 cassette (23/26/29).

I know others have complained about C12 materials but I like the groupset. Also, the calipers have loads of clearance, I believe even more than R12.

[RoosterCogset]

Originally Posted by Wattvagen

3k miles is literally just getting broken in on a campagnolo groupset.

if you're making the swap to get more comfortable gearing, that's a perfectly valid reason to do so. you could also get a mid cage RD for your current group, new chainrings and have the same gearing without needing anything else.

with the old group, i think you will find that many people are moving in the same direction as you, short cage RD's are not as popular as mid cage since more and more people want that 32 or 34 in the rear.

Good luck on a med cage Chorus 11s RD. If you can find one, they've jumped in price by about $100 in the last month or so, now typically going for ~$50+ more than a Record 12s RD.

[R3awak3n]

I think for most 12 is just not worth it. I think if you buy a new frame and you are buying a group, 12 is worth it because 11 parts are getting hard to source, sometimes more expensive than 12.

However I think 11 is better because of combability stuff as was mentioned... Being able to use shimano freehub wheels and cassettes is just amazing.... Also maybe you have other 11 speed bikes.

Then add to that that 11 speed is just much better looking of a group (specially if you have a 5 arm crank). If you can find a mid cage derailleur you can also have a 34T cassette and maybe 12 speed shifts better but lets be honest, I don't remember the last time I said, I wish my 11 speed campy shifted bettter. Ergonomics are the same and 1 extra gear, for read is not going to improve nothing.

[M_D_S]

Thank you for the thoughtful replies. PL is really a great community and a great resource. I have some thinking to do...

[clarendon]

Regarding clearance, see this thread: https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=249850

I have SR12 rim brake and can (just) fit a Veloflex Corsa 28 on the rear but this is a lot to do with my frame.

[jacrider]

I am a long time Campy rider.

Your 11 speed as noted is barely broken in. If this was my situation, I would start with changing the chain rings to 50/34 on the Chorus group you have. Ride that and see if it hasn't fixed your problem.

I recently upgraded my road bike from a 9-speed system to Chorus 12 (50/34 with 11-32) and like it. We also have gravel bikes with Chorus 12 (48/32 with 11-34) and love it.

Due to Covid inventory challenges, my roadbike groupset actually arrived with Record 12 shifters. Sounds exciting, but I can't tell the difference from the Corus shifters in use.

If you do want to upgrade, one thing to consider is that there are wider gearing ratios available on C12 that aren't on R12 or SR12.

Good luck with your decision.

[Dave]

Current record and SR rear derailleurs work with the same 11-34 cassette as chorus, so gearing options are the same, unless you want the 48/32 crank - that's chorus only.

[RoosterCogset]

Originally Posted by jacrider

I am a long time Campy rider.

Your 11 speed as noted is barely broken in. If this was my situation, I would start with changing the chain rings to 50/34 on the Chorus group you have. Ride that and see if it hasn't fixed your problem.

I recently upgraded my road bike from a 9-speed system to Chorus 12 (50/34 with 11-32) and like it. We also have gravel bikes with Chorus 12 (48/32 with 11-34) and love it.

.

But for the OP he wants to go from a low gear 36/29 to a 34/32 (14%). Changing the chainrings doesn't really accomplish much as a 34/29 wouldn't be very significantly different (~6%). Sometimes makes you wonder why Campy bothered with even having the short cage RD and didn't just only have the medium cage for the Chorus line. Supposedly the medium cage even works better with the 29 tooth cassettes.

[jacrider]

Originally Posted by Dave

Current record and SR rear derailleurs work with the same 11-34 cassette as chorus, so gearing options are the same, unless you want the 48/32 crank - that's chorus only.

Yup. The crankset options are only Chorus. You could obviously mix and match across the groupsets however.

[jacrider]

Originally Posted by RoosterCogset

But for the OP he wants to go from a low gear 36/29 to a 34/32 (14%). Changing the chainrings doesn't really accomplish much as a 34/29 wouldn't be very significantly different (~6%). Sometimes makes you wonder why Campy bothered with even having the short cage RD and didn't just only have the medium cage for the Chorus line. Supposedly the medium cage even works better with the 29 tooth cassettes.

I agree, the medium cage is more versatile and likely no heavier. However, I would still approach the resolution in steps - chainrings first, then RD/Cass if necessary.