Replacing cassette

bobbob_

Hi everyone,

I have recently taken up the opportunity to go cycling for two weeks from Marseilles to Madrid. I am a bit worried that I will be cycling the Pyrenees with extra weight and the same bike I have at the moment.

I am currently running a Shimano SRAM PG-950 11-26 but wondered what would be the alternative for the steep climbs at the end of a long day to make it easier?! I understand I will need a new chain aswell, but wondered which cassette to go for?

Any help would be greatly appreciated as I have no idea what to go for and can't really afford to just drop it into the local bike shop for them to sort!

Thanks in advance!

Rob

Weejie54

What are your chainring sizes?

bobbob_

Hi, it's a double and its 50/34.

Cheers

oldwelshman

Try a 13/27 or13 29.
You dont need a 11.

andymiller

Fit the lowest gears you can - going down the other side you'll be reaching for your brakse way before you run out of gears. Cnsider getting smaller chainrings as well.

ugo.santalucia

bobbob_ wrote:

Hi everyone,

I have recently taken up the opportunity to go cycling for two weeks from Marseilles to Madrid. I am a bit worried that I will be cycling the Pyrenees with extra weight and the same bike I have at the moment.

I am currently running a Shimano SRAM PG-950 11-26 but wondered what would be the alternative for the steep climbs at the end of a long day to make it easier?! I understand I will need a new chain aswell, but wondered which cassette to go for?

Any help would be greatly appreciated as I have no idea what to go for and can't really afford to just drop it into the local bike shop for them to sort!

Thanks in advance!

Rob

if you want to climb the mountains fully loaded, you need a triple. Even a 34x29 won't be enough with bags

bigjim

I've got a 36 rear cassette on the back of one of my 9 speed bikes. No problems. try running on the original chain before you splash out. If it's not too worn it could be fine. But if it starts jumping around, time for a change.

andrew_s

You'll need an MTB rear mech if the large sprocket is 30T or bigger.

bigjim

You'll need an MTB rear mech if the large sprocket is 30T or bigger.

I've not changed mechs on my bikes. Although they are quite long cage but standard road mechs though.

andrew_s

You must have a longer than standard gear hanger then.
It's not the cage length that matters but the angle of the parallelogram. This dictates how far down the cage moves as it moves inwards. Road mechs don't move down far enough to leave room for the chain between the sprocket and top jockey on 32T or bigger. 30T can often be made to work by fiddling with the B screw and the chain length. 32T can be made to change, but it sounds as rough as hell, as the mech cage gets forced down each time a roller passes between jockey and sprocket.
Shimano's official limit for a road mech is 28T