Campag 12sp cassette - crap quality or counterfeit?

[mrfox]

I've been a Campagnolo fanboi ever since the days of the 10 speed Daytona stuff, so it pains me to write this...

I'm not impressed with their 12sp cassette, to put it mildly. For starters, the tolerances are miserable. The 2 groups with the largest sprockets slide onto the freehub body as they are supposed to, but the individual cogs - particularly the 16 - require copious grease and convincing to go on. The difference is big enough to show up clearly on my cheapo calipers.



This predictably results in gauges and bitemarks on the freehub.


Worse, after only maybe 1000km, the teeth look fairly chewed up. The coating on the 17-19-22 is blistering and flaking off where the chain engages.


I take meticulous care of my drivedrain, and the bike was only ridden in dry weather. My 11sp sprockets - the presumably less-durable titanium ones, no less - look far better after many times the km I put on this cassette.

As indicated in the title, I almost can't believe Campy would put their name on this product, and I now suspect I may have gotten a counterfeit article (I bought from a reputable seller, or so I though (Planet Cyclery)).

Am I being paranoid? Is what I'm seeing normal? What are other folks' experiences with durability?

Thanks!

(Edit to add: This is Super Record.)

[joeyb1000]

I have 5 pair of wheels with campy hubs and chorus and SR 12s cassettes. I am not having any of the issues you describe.

[maxim809]

E-mail Campy if you haven't already, but I haven't experienced this either. I have multiple Campy SR 12spd cassettes.

[Leon]

Running two 12spd Campy cassettes here. No issues. Your pictures are quite shocking.... I guess this looks in the direction of counterfeit... What chain are you using? Where did you buy this cassette? At a Campy dealer?

[WorkonSunday]

i have 3 cassettes, none of them has what you shown in that last photo.

with regards to bite-marks how much torque did you use for the cassette cap?

[Butcher]

Is Campagnolo that big for counterfeits to flourish or are cheats that desperate?

I can't see any fix to prevent indentations from single cogs. It's why Campagnolo elected to have deeper freehubs.

[wilwil]

Ive fitted two Chorus and one SR 12s cassettes and have never experienced any of these issues.

[mrfox]

Thanks for the responses. Glad to see the consesus that this is not normal for a SR12 cassette - I must have gotten a lemon, or an outright fake.

What chain are you using? Where did you buy this cassette?

Campagnolo everything.

I had to cobble the groupset together from various sources due to availability issues, but all bought from reputable sellers. The cassette came from Planet Cyclery.

how much torque did you use for the cassette cap?

40 Nm. Always with a torque wrench.

I can't see any fix to prevent indentations from single cogs.

I guess the bite marks are nothing out of the ordinary, but the longitudinal scratches halfway down the freehub body from the tabs on the cogs aren't normal. That's from putting the cassette on and taking it off, not from use. It's like that for all the 4 tabs.

I'll be reaching out to Campy. Will update here once I hear back.

[joeyb1000]

But, which wheel is that. All my Campy cassette bodies are silver.

[mrfox]

But, which wheel is that. All my Campy cassette bodies are silver.

LightBicycle with a Carbon-Ti hub. (I should've been clearer earlier - with "Campagnolo everything" I was referring to the groupset, not wheels/hubs/frame.)

It's possible that the Carbon-Ti freehub isn't exactly to Campag spec, of course. I'm blaming the cassette for the poor fit since the huge variation between sprockets seems very odd.

[Orbital]

My carbon-ti hubs have no issue with Campag cassette.

[gorkypl]

This is my personal sr12 cassette after ~5000km, bought from a 100% legitimate source.
Measurements are also consitent with yours (around 29.40 and 29.49 mms) with no issues (scratches, dents) on Campagnolo Bora WTO freehub.

[rudye9mr]

^SR cassette 6000km
Used Epic Ride for abt first 3000km
Switched to MSWax after reading reviews abt both from Friction


^ new SR cassette on another wheelset

Above is just a data point from my exp

No issues as OP described

[Leon]

I have a SR cassette with 7000km on it on the same SR chain. Although I clean it regularly I didn't see any wear as I see here. But let me take a closer look and take a picture when I'm at it again.

[Roadrocket]

My SR 12s 11-32 cassette after more than 10k km with second chain looks ok without any damages. Will post pics later.

My humble guess is the freehub may be out of Campy specs.