Help - Upgrade the wheels or the groupset

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Sanchpanza
Posts: 33
Joined: Mon Feb 15, 2021 10:34 am

by Sanchpanza

I can see people have skirted around this before... but I have some specifics...

So I have a bianchi Infinito cv , with campagnolo potenza 11 speed , and campagnolo shmal mille c17 hoops...

I have the money to upgrade... and the options are....

Upgrade the groupset to the rather tasty chorus 12 speed... OR

Upgrade the hoops to the campag wto45s....

Now the caveat is I live in the north of England in the Pennies... its lumpy... and after an off I am a nervous descender....

I ride on most days around 28kph on average so I am not fast..... not slow... average...

So the question is... do I go for the bling , eatra granny gear, slight weight benefit of the groupset, or the bling aero benefit of the wheels....

Help....

by Weenie


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AJS914
Posts: 5397
Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 6:52 pm

by AJS914

There's never a right answer. Upgrades almost never make financial sense. Buying a new groupset to gain one cog - not worth it IMO. WTO offer some serious wheel bling but you know that you could probably buy a Chorus groupset and a cheaper set of wheels for similar money.
Last edited by AJS914 on Tue May 30, 2023 3:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Nickldn
Posts: 1867
Joined: Mon Mar 25, 2019 12:35 am

by Nickldn

I have both.

WTO 45s are great climbing wheels and hold speed well on flats. They are good in crosswinds with 25mm tyres.

Chorus 12s is pernickety to set up and maintain, but more engaging than a Shimano groupset.

Question is: do you want to go faster (WTO 45), or do you want more gear range for climbing (Chorus 12s).
Giant Propel Advanced SL Red Etap 11s Easton EC90 wheels CeramicSpeed BB Zipp SL70 bars 6.5kg

Vitus ZX1 CRS Campy Chorus 12s Bora WTO 45 disk brake wheels Zipp SL70 bars 7.5kg

SL8 build with Craft CS5060 Wheels in progress

jeanjacques
Posts: 349
Joined: Thu Apr 14, 2016 11:01 am
Location: France

by jeanjacques

I was in the same boat with Shimano 9000 groupset and Zonda, I bought the wto33 and sold the Zonda.
Two weeks later I sold the wto and bought a new pair of Zonda... Missed the peace of mind, the break silence and can't see a real benefit. Now I know my bike is good enough and every change will be a waste but difficult to keep this wisdom with all the bells and whistles everywhere :wink:

Butcher
Shop Owner
Posts: 1925
Joined: Sun Jan 03, 2010 4:58 am

by Butcher

Put it in a good long term retirement portfolio. :D

CampagYOLO
Posts: 705
Joined: Thu May 06, 2021 3:58 pm

by CampagYOLO

If you're a nervous descender then I'd say stick with the Shamals. It rains a lot in your part of the world and if it starts raining then the decreased braking performance of the carbon rims is hardly going to help your confidence. I know the Pennines and it can definetly rain even when the forecast says otherwise!

If the money isn't better spent elsewhere then get the Chorus.

Nickldn
Posts: 1867
Joined: Mon Mar 25, 2019 12:35 am

by Nickldn

CampagYOLO wrote:
Fri May 26, 2023 5:26 pm
If the money isn't better spent elsewhere then get the Chorus.
Did a sprint ride today on my Chorus 12 bike, recently readjusted (again). No electronic is as engaging and fun in terms of shifting, when it works (I have ridden them all).
Giant Propel Advanced SL Red Etap 11s Easton EC90 wheels CeramicSpeed BB Zipp SL70 bars 6.5kg

Vitus ZX1 CRS Campy Chorus 12s Bora WTO 45 disk brake wheels Zipp SL70 bars 7.5kg

SL8 build with Craft CS5060 Wheels in progress

robertbb
Posts: 2179
Joined: Thu Jul 23, 2009 3:35 am

by robertbb

Butcher wrote:
Fri May 26, 2023 4:28 pm
Put it in a good long term retirement portfolio. :D
+1

Sanchpanza
Posts: 33
Joined: Mon Feb 15, 2021 10:34 am

by Sanchpanza

CampagYOLO wrote:
Fri May 26, 2023 5:26 pm
If you're a nervous descender then I'd say stick with the Shamals. It rains a lot in your part of the world and if it starts raining then the decreased braking performance of the carbon rims is hardly going to help your confidence. I know the Pennines and it can definetly rain even when the forecast says otherwise!

If the money isn't better spent elsewhere then get the Chorus.
Great advice..... thanks....... I think Chorus it is then....

jih
Posts: 596
Joined: Fri Jan 29, 2016 12:54 pm

by jih

As a counterpoint, Potenza is one of my personal favourite all-tiem groupsets. The PowerShift mechanism with the dropped thumb button I find way easier to use than the UltraShift while descending or sprinting in the drops. Downside is you can only upshift one at a time, but it is so quick to hit, that hitting it two or three times is never an issue IMO.

To shed some weight in the groupset I'd get a discounted 11s Record carbon chainset to replace the alloy Potenza one, and keep everything else the same. Potenza is perfect other than the alloy chainset.

fatpinarellorider
Posts: 230
Joined: Wed Mar 01, 2023 5:30 am

by fatpinarellorider

Here is my (rather controversial I suppose) reply.

Neither. I'd upgrade the levers only (to chorus 11 I mean).
It seems to me you don't know why you're upgrading, otherwise you'd already have the answers.

I try not to upgrade just for the sake of it. Too costly.

What's your goal exactly?
Lighter weight? Or looks only? Speed (aero)? The one extra cog? Or what?
You want lower gearing? Then just buy a new cassette only. Cheaper.

More to the question is, what don't you like about your current groupset + wheels?
What do you find "rather tasty" about Chorus 12? Is it the carbon cranks? Then get just the cranks. :wink:

I don't know what 'WTO' stands for, so correct me if I'm wrong, but the deeper section Bora wheelset is also 70 grams heavier is it not? :smartass:
You know, the 1426 gram wheelset you have now is still not exactly 'bad'. Now if you had a 2kg wheelset, then okay, change the wheels. :mrgreen:

You wanna become a better descender? Then go to Tenerife for 2 weeks! :twisted:

Bling alone is not worth it (IMHO).

by Weenie


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ultimobici
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by ultimobici

fatpinarellorider wrote:Here is my (rather controversial I suppose) reply.

Neither. I'd upgrade the levers only (to chorus 11 I mean).
It seems to me you don't know why you're upgrading, otherwise you'd already have the answers.

I try not to upgrade just for the sake of it. Too costly.

What's your goal exactly?
Lighter weight? Or looks only? Speed (aero)? The one extra cog? Or what?
You want lower gearing? Then just buy a new cassette only. Cheaper.

More to the question is, what don't you like about your current groupset + wheels?
What do you find "rather tasty" about Chorus 12? Is it the carbon cranks? Then get just the cranks. :wink:

I don't know what 'WTO' stands for, so correct me if I'm wrong, but the deeper section Bora wheelset is also 70 grams heavier is it not? :smartass:
You know, the 1426 gram wheelset you have now is still not exactly 'bad'. Now if you had a 2kg wheelset, then okay, change the wheels. :mrgreen:

You wanna become a better descender? Then go to Tenerife for 2 weeks! :twisted:

Bling alone is not worth it (IMHO).
“Upgrading” the levers to Chorus would be pointless as the rear mech is incompatible both in pull ratio and spring strength.

To the OP, I’d your groupset is in good mechanical shape, there’s little point in changing it. If not, Chorus 12 would be the way to go as it offers the option of wider gearing on the back as well as the 48/32 chainset if you’re looking for lower gearing. Apply the same principle to the wheels. Are they in good repair? Are they suited to slightly wider tyres and possibly tubeless? If they’re older, maybe look at something with a 19-21 inner width with tubeless compatibility.


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