Cassette!!!???

GER 67

Next year me and my mate are travelling to Grenoble to cycle a few Alpine climbs, at the moment I'm using a 50/34 and 10 speed 11-25 cassette, will it make a huge different if i change the cassette to a 11-28 ? also do i need to change the chain for this?

sungod

the 28 will give you a lower gear that's about 12% easier than the 25

yes, should be a longer chain

if you take care to never cross-chain on the big ring you could get away with the current chain, but, depending on how much slack there is currently, making a mistake could be costly and/or risky

smidsy

Also often makes sense to replace the chain when fitting new cassette as this gives optimum results. No point scrimping to find your jumping out of gear under load half way up a mountain.

Even if you can do it on a 25 no harm having the 28 as a bail out gear.

Only problem with a 11/28 is you go from 24 to 28 with no other option.

zx6man

smidsy wrote:

Also often makes sense to replace the chain when fitting new cassette as this gives optimum results. No point scrimping to find your jumping out of gear under load half way up a mountain.

Yup, if you current chain has done plenty of miles, chances are it wil need swapping anyway with new cassette

drlodge

smidsy wrote:

Only problem with a 11/28 is you go from 24 to 28 with no other option.

I've got ...-24-28 on the cassette, its not really a problem as the only time I use the 28 is up a b@stard steep hill.

smidsy

Of course you could mix a cassette to your own recipe so you could get a 25 in there as well.

My 9 speed 12/27 has a better jump of available gears but this new fangled 10 speed stuff seems to insist on a 3 or 4 teeth jump at the larger end of the scale. Wierd really.

buckmulligan

smidsy wrote:

Of course you could mix a cassette to your own recipe so you could get a 25 in there as well.

My 9 speed 12/27 has a better jump of available gears but this new fangled 10 speed stuff seems to insist on a 3 or 4 teeth jump at the larger end of the scale. Wierd really.

Yeah a 12-27 cassette is probably more suitable than an 11-28. I know that for the new 105 10-speed stuff, the 12-27 cassettes have jumps of two or three teeth at the low end (12-13-14-15-16-17-19-21-24-27), whereas the 11-28 cassettes have jumps of three or four (11-12-13-14-15-17-19-21-24-28); I'd definitely go for the smoother shifting rather than that extra tooth at the back.

sungod

sram's pg1050 and pg1070 cassette ranges have two options for xx-28

11-12-13-14-15-17-19-22-25-28 imho the missing 16 is annoying
12-13-14-15-16-17-19-22-25-28 this is better if you don't need the 11

GER 67

Say that I'm going for the 12-27 do I lose power on the down hill, cos at the moment I feel that I need another gear when I'm coming down somewhere like the Llanberis Pass, I know....for that I would have to go for a 53 ring! Also I'm doing Hillclimbs next season.

sungod

what cadence?

imho on the 50-11 if you are below 100, then you don't need 53-11, you need to up your cadence

smidsy

If you are genuinely spinning out on your current 11 for any length of time then obviously the 12 will lose you some speed.

However if that is the case I'll put you in touch with Brailsford. :-)

GER 67

Well Smidsy, That would be a good idea,Mr D.Brailsford used to live up the road from us!!!! I've got a 52mph under my belt, down Llanberis Pass!!!!! Happy Days!!!

drlodge

sungod wrote:

sram's pg1050 and pg1070 cassette ranges have two options for xx-28

11-12-13-14-15-17-19-22-25-28 imho the missing 16 is annoying
12-13-14-15-16-17-19-22-25-28 this is better if you don't need the 11

Does anyone really need an 11 sprocket? My cassette is 13-14-16-18-21-24-28 with 34-50 chainset, and I very rarely get the chance to spin out the 50-13 combo, yet alone a 12 or 11 if I had them. And when I do, its for a matter of seconds.

Getting closer ratios is where the 11 speed cassettes come into their own, so on new bike I've got
12-13-14-15-16-17-19-21-23-25-27. Note the lack of an 11!

pilot_pete

And to be honest, if you are spinning out on the downhills, chances are you would actually accelerate if you stopped pedalling and got into an aero tuck position...

PP

Buckled_Rims

When I read about non-elites wanting an 11 tooth I just raise my eyeballs to heaven :-)

The Jeremy Clarkson attitude to speed is amazing. The fact that that you'd use an 11T gear is about 0.01% of the time, yet to have a close ratio cassette like a 12-25t which is incredible more useful is discounted. The fact that some say they do 50mph + is misleading. They might do that speed, but, they will almost certainly brake far more advanced, making all that speed wasted. A close ratio cassette will gain minutes, a 11-28t will only gain seconds IMO.