Hi guys,
Asking this question because Orbea is having sales in my country. the 2022 model is $2000 off ! But it is on 11 speed.
These days bicycles are in 12 speed. so my question is “does it make sense to buy 11 speed even though it is $2000 cheaper?”
thanks.
Depends on what you mean with “make any sense”.
For riding? Sure. Makes plenty sense! This year I went from 11 to 12 speed. Guess what? It made no difference at all for me.
For selling later on? I have no idea.
I would have no problem going back to 11 speed and buying a better bike with that, if the right offer came along.
My concern would be spare parts. Whilst chains and cassettes will be available for ages, I was told recently that Shimano weren’t selling any 11 speed Di2 shifters, disc version anymore. That was in the UK, so I’m not sure if it’s a problem in other places.
Well. I have no idea about that. But I have never kept a bike long enough to be needing a new shifter 
So just sell it again in a couple of years and get a new one by then. Win/win!
Without a doubt, the best way of doing it 
Buy the bike. Take that savings and buy your spare parts when you find them at a good price. You will find that over time even 12 speed stuff will be discontinued as 13 speed or some other new drive train comes along. I rode a 9 speed for 22 years. Still have a few spares I never had to use. Just built a 12 speed gravel bike even though the 13 speed stuff has been released. Saved $$$$. Now looking for spares on close out sales.
Switching to music, bass guitars have been 4 string for, well, ever. Then someone brought out a 5 string, and there are now 6 string bass guitars. I asked a musician friend if they were going 5 or 6 string. Their response was ‘Why? I get one more note. My existing guitars are perfectly fine. There’s really no real reason to get a new guitar and buy into the hype’. 11-speed is just fine. If you can get a great bike for a great price, and it’s missing a gear, why not get it.
I’d be more concerned about overall range of the gears and progressions. If there’s a suitable gear range for my riding conditions, and I’m happy with the gearing steps in the parts of the cassette I’ll spend the most time (if I’m sensitive to that), no big difference between 11&12.
12-spd is dead, 13-spd is in. Buy the 11-spd and enjoy riding your bike.
I have only had to buy replacement shifters and derailleurs on my mountain bikes so to crash damage. Never on my road bikes.
On the other hand, you could always put 12 speed on in the future.
The past year I went from 11sp 1X to 12sp 1X on my mtbs. The number of speeds may no difference. The main diff was lower gearing with 12. That increased my cadence on steep hills, but not my performance. Things are a bit different on road bikes when aero drag is dominating, speed goes as the cube root power, and closer spaced gearing helps finding just the right gear needed. For me, that only comes into play in tough group rides or actual races.
Depends on the frame. I upgraded my 2003 Ti bike from 3x 8 speed to 2x11. So got a lot more life out of it, even if what I really wanted was a new bike.
I have an 11sp Campag Super Record mechanical equipped bike. It actually has the same number of gears as the 12sp Dura Ace Di2 equipped bike sat next to it in my shed.
I just looked at making my MTB 1x9…so…I think you’re fine.
But the chances that an 11sp would be 2x makes for even more range. 
I needed an 11 speed 105 or Ultegra shifter, couldn’t find one in the US for a reasonable price, and ended up getting an entire 11 speed groupset from ebay for about $500. Feels like a brand new bike now
Have you ever listened to metal written on 8 or 9 string guitars?
Yes of course it does, shimano is one of those manufacturers wherin their older stuff is so good that it almost outcompetes the newer stuff, you will not notice the difference between 11s and 12s in their racing groupsets but the 2000 dollars saved is massive.
Having recently gone from 11spd to 12spd I would like to pile on saying it makes absolutely no difference at all, in fact, in some cases I find it kind of annoying in the mid range with the 12spd. Just bought a new cassette with a wider range and hoping that helps.
I think there’s a point at which a product is so good that adding anything just doesn’t move the dial. I think that’s 2x11 Di2 and SRAM Eagle 1×12. Perhaps after a few more generations the cumulative benefit will make the upgrade worth it? I’m actually still on 1x11 off road, but I can see where the benefits will be if I upgrade. With 2x11 on road, I really can’t.