Stupidly expensive

George · Post by **George** » 05 Jun 2015 14:21

Why are Campag 11-speed cassettes so much more expensive than their 10-speed cassettes? I can't think of any technical explanation, so I'm left thinking it's just commercial exploitation.

My best bike has a 12-27 cassette, but I'm off to the mountains in six weeks or so, and (given that I invariably suffer like a dog) would ideally like the lowest bottom gear I can get. That means fitting a cassette with a 29 bottom cog. But I'm struggling to persuade myself that two more teeth is worth £100-ish (90-odd at Ribble is the best I've seen).

toby · Post by **toby** » 05 Jun 2015 15:51

Not sure which Campag group set you have George. I just did some half arsed research and while I can buy an entire Athena 11 Speed group set for less than a Chorus 11 speed group set, which fits with the price points for those product ranges, I cannot then buy an Athena 11 speed cassette on its own and have to buy a Chorus one. At least this is what Google is offering me.

I'd now be interested to compare a cassette from each range.

petemarshall · Post by **petemarshall** » 05 Jun 2015 19:16

I thought the spacings for 11 speed campag was now the same as shimano allowing less wheels on the neutral support?
If that's the case just get a shimano or sram one. Won't be as shiny but will work at least as well if not better ☺ You can replace the freewheel with a new one and get a ultegra cassette for the price you are paying for campag. ..

George · Post by **George** » 05 Jun 2015 20:40

toby wrote:Not sure which Campag group set you have George. I just did some half arsed research and while I can buy an entire Athena 11 Speed group set for less than a Chorus 11 speed group set, which fits with the price points for those product ranges, I cannot then buy an Athena 11 speed cassette on its own and have to buy a Chorus one. At least this is what Google is offering me.

I'd now be interested to compare a cassette from each range.

I don't really have a group set, Toby ... just bits and pieces. I think that they only do two (or maybe three) different 'grades' of cassette, whereas there are more groups sets, so when you buy an Athena groupset you get the same cassette as when you buy Chorus.

petemarshall wrote:I thought the spacings for 11 speed campag was now the same as shimano allowing less wheels on the neutral support?
If that's the case just get a shimano or sram one. Won't be as shiny but will work at least as well if not better ☺ You can replace the freewheel with a new one and get a ultegra cassette for the price you are paying for campag. ..

Thanks for the tip ... I'll look into it.

toby · Post by **toby** » 05 Jun 2015 23:36

Bugger. I feel cheated. I'm upgrading to Record asap.

Philip Whiteman · Post by **Philip Whiteman** » 06 Jun 2015 13:39

Have you thought about purchasing something superior at a lower cost, say Shimano?

jdtate101 · Post by **jdtate101** » 06 Jun 2015 14:09

Oh jesus Phil...better get your tin hat on before Craddock see's your post!!

George · Post by **George** » 06 Jun 2015 21:02

Philip Whiteman wrote:Have you thought about purchasing something superior at a lower cost, say Shimano?

Superior in what respect, Phil? Shimano use distinctly inferior logos and groupset names. And they are generally short on Italianness.

Besides, the original post was mainly about the disparity between Campag's 10-speed prices and 11-speed prices. Campag's mid-range 10-speeds are a very similar price to Shimano's (£30-odd). But whereas Shimano's mid-range 11-speed cassette is £40-odd, Campag's is £70-odd for the most popular ratios and about £100 for the widest ratios. It's hard to see any technical reason for that.