With that big road race going on in France right now, it is always good to check in with the spy cameras in the mechanics areas for the latest technology that may become an upgrade to your bicycle soon. Here is our take on some of the latest things to surface across the pond…

Today we are taking a look at something that really was’t released at the Tour, but is a big story anyway. Campagnolo’s Super Record 11 speed gruppo.

We’ve flogged the topic of 11 speed already. So, we won’t go there. What we do want to point out is that now that 11 speed is a reality, there will be some implications that will come of it. Just what these implications are going to be are not quite clear yet, but The Bike Lab is not going to lt that stop us from making some hypotheses.

First of all, now that the 10 speed barrier has been surpassed, look for Shimano, SRAM, and FSA to follow suit at some point. (FSA is already rumored to be doing both mountain and road 11 speed) Now that 11 speed is here, you can also start to kiss all of your 8 speed stuff goodbye as all the 8 speed replacement parts get phased out in favor of trickled down 9 speed. Speaking of trickling down, this will most likely force all 9 speed road gruppos off the market in a big hurry. 8 speed Sora? Yeah….gone. It wouldn’t surprise me to see all of Shimano’s lower end road groups become 10 speed within a couple of years time. Campagnolo is already doing this, and so is SRAM.

Wear issues will become worse. We saw an increase in parts replacements due to wear with 10 speed, and can we really expect 11 speed to hold the line or be better? I think not. Campagnolo assures us that its 11 speed chains will be stronger than its current 10 speed chains, but the jury is stll out on that one. With an ever decreasing amount of material used, it becomes more apparent that the limits of consumer acceptability and wallets are going to be tested further.

Maintenance issues will be more frequent due to the finicky nature of 11 speed drivetrains. 10 speed leaves little to no room for “error”. 11 speed will not tolerate the inattentive owner. Tuning derailluers, cleaning, and checking for wear will become skills that most owners will now have to take more seriously, or at least they will have to become very friendly with a shop mechanic. I am afraid that it will become a hard pill to swallow for owners of 11 speed when they weigh the cost of entry to 11 speed versus the cost to maintain the parts in working order.

Are there any plusses? Well, Campagnolo promises a wider gearing range, not just shorter jumps between ratios, but that is also on tap for 11 speed. Campagnolo claims that it’s racers and consumers have asked for this. Well, if that is true, then they will also get the consequences that come along with this new step. I honestly can say that as a shop mechanic I am still trying to explain 10 speed. Eleven? Yeah…….right.

Besides the issues of the mechanics of Super Record, Record, and Chorus, I like the uses of materials, the ergonomic updates, and the light weight. The look is decidedly carbon, with a liberal dosage of the material used throughout the parts. Prices will be steep, undoubtedly, but the groups promise to be top notch and should reflect Campagnolo’s long history of excellence with ErgoPower.

Will any of this affect mountain biking? I’m sure that some facets of what we see here will show up in mountain bikes sooner than later. Will it work? That is yet to be determined, but generally speaking, this stuff will get flogged pretty hard before becoming available to the general public. Perhaps it is already being flogged out there. My guess is that it is.