A little help up the hills never hurts, says Campagnolo with their new 12-29 cogsets. Anyone who lives in or near the mountains knows: the only way to defy gravity on a bike is with large cogs and small chainrings. Campagnolo raised the bar in 2009 with multiple 11-speed groups, with closely spaced cogs to cater a perfect spin to suit the terrain at hand. For 2010, Campy kicks it up again with 12-29 cassette cogs for the 11-speed groups, with the added benefit of easy rear derailleur compatibility.
The new cassette exceeds the 28 teeth of the sprockets offered by SRAM and Shimano, and enables the 11-speed drivetrain to be even more versatile. In fact, the new 12-29 cogs paired with a compact 50-34 crankset permits gear combinations similar to those of a 53-42-30 triple crank. Further, the use of a compact crankset rather than a triple makes it possible to obtain better chain alignment and a big reduction in weight, a crucial factor when you’re confronting those really demanding climbs.
But the really big news is that Campagnolo has managed to keep a single rear derailleur configuration, thereby avoiding the problem of the double option: a rear derailleur with medium or short arm. With 11-speed groups there is just one rear derailleur and it can work precisely and optimally from sprocket 11 to sprocket 29 with all the combinations of Campagnolo 11-speed cranksets available. You won’t have to purchase a new 11-speed rear derailleur: just fit the 12-29, take off with your bike and challenge the big climbs.
The 12-29 cassettes will be available in November 2009 for the Super Record™ and Record™, and in February 2010 for the Chorus™.
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