cassette for the mountains

yadn

hey all

building a new bike from frame (deda nerissimo) at the moment, with a week off to the mountains with some friends in view.

At the moment I run a compact chainset and a 10 speed 11-30 cassette on my alloy training bike. It seems to be a handy combination running around the hills of the south west.

I've been looking at sram force 22 for the new bike - it looks great, but it seems that 11 speed cassettes stop at 11-28t and then jump right up to 11-32t! i'm caught a little in two minds about what to do. Although I don't use it all that often, I appreciate having a 30t on the back - and have been grateful for it on a few occasions. My worry is in some of the bigger mountains that 28t won't quite be enough, but on the other hand - although I've always preferred to hold a high cadence up hills - 32t seems like a bit much.

would appreciate any experience that would give me a bit of info to go on (or if anyone knows where to get hold of an 11-30).

cheers

anto164

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-tiagra- ... 5360448631

Shimano do a wide range of varying cassettes.

yadn

checked out shimano

11speed seems to be the same thing. goes up to 28t then jumps to 32.
maybe i'll hold fire until new ultegra comes out

markhewitt1978

The new Ultegra 6800 is out and has been out for some months now. However it has the same issue you describe; it goes from 28 to 32. However is that a big problem? Unless you are racing, fit the 32 cassette and if you don't use it, fine.

dnwhite88

Which mountains are you going to? If you had the 28t cassette and were worried, you could always bring the other bike with the 30t

thegreatdivide

A 12/27 and a compact is IMO more than enough for the average roadie to get up most inclines. You could get a 32 on the back but you'd take so long spinning to the top that it probably wouldn’t be worth it ;-)

As above – which mountains are your riding up?

yadn

alps - in Italy, but pretty close to the swiss border.
wife's cousins used to live in a little village there and kept the house when they moved to England - too tempting to stay away from.

thegreatdivide wrote:

You could get a 32 on the back but you'd take so long spinning to the top that it probably wouldn’t be worth it

haha - I suppose if it all gets too much I could always feign injury and head back down for a beer anyway...

dnwhite88 wrote:

you could always bring the other bike with the 30t

true, but this bike is shiny...

yadn

markhewitt1978 wrote:

The new Ultegra 6800 is out and has been out for some months now

oops... definitely should have checked my facts on that one! time to renew cycling plus subscription maybe...

dnwhite88

That sounds like it will be great but far from flat! I have never used the SRAM wifli but read a post on here a while ago who bought it especially for a trip to the alps and the 32t sprocket is so low that it's not much use, and the next sprocket down is 28 which is a massive jump. Could you take the 11-30 off the training bike and use it on the new bike for the holiday? It should fit if you adjust the b screw on the rear mech

unixnerd

I'd say the 28 was enough, with the 32 you likely have larger gaps between gears and that would annoy me.

chrisaonabike

thegreatdivide wrote:

A 12/27 and a compact is IMO more than enough for the average roadie to get up most inclines.

:roll:

robbo2011

Here we go again, another one from the MTFU school of thought.

Look at Bahzobs post here:

viewtopic.php?f=40011&t=12944689&p=18596592#p18591595

This is all you need to know.

thegreatdivide

robbo2011 wrote:

Here we go again, another one from the MTFU school of thought.

Look at Bahzobs post here:

viewtopic.php?f=40011&t=12944689&p=18596592#p18591595

This is all you need to know.

WTF's manly about a 34/50 and a 12/27? If I'd said a double and an 11/23 then you'd have grounds for a moan but FFS, a 30 or 32 is total overkill. My mate Wheezy Nick did the L'Epine, Croix Fry, Colombier and Aravis in one day on a 27 and by his own admission he's not the best at beating gravity.

mamba80

mmm my gf rides a compact with a 11/34 mtb cassette for the Dolomites and she rides past plenty of guys who turn up on a 12/27.

Take the 11/32, the gaps are pretty much the same once you drop to the 28 down, its not a race after all.

thegreatdivide

mamba80 wrote:

mmm my gf rides a compact with a 11/34 mtb cassette for the Dolomites and she rides past plenty of guys who turn up on a 12/27.

Take the 11/32, the gaps are pretty much the same once you drop to the 28 down, its not a race after all.

You can count the teeth on their cassettes? That's quite a skill ;-) Or do you ask them what block they're riding when spinning by?

thegreatdivide

And saying your girlfriend rides a compact with an 11/34 so the OP will be fine...hmm

robbo2011

Not very challenging climbs though...

Of course, it's possible to get round with higher gearing, but it is often faster to choose a lower gear and increase cadence.

The essence of Bahzobs post is that the rider should look at the gradients they are riding and pick a ratio that lets them comfortably maintain a cadence of 70-80. This is individual to each rider, so blanket 'oh you only need a 12/27 in the Alps' recommendations are not that helpful because you are not considering the strength of the rider, the gradient in question and the altitude.

mamba80

thegreatdivide wrote:

mamba80 wrote:

mmm my gf rides a compact with a 11/34 mtb cassette for the Dolomites and she rides past plenty of guys who turn up on a 12/27.

Take the 11/32, the gaps are pretty much the same once you drop to the 28 down, its not a race after all.

You can count the teeth on their cassettes? That's quite a skill ;-) Or do you ask them what block they're riding when spinning by?

Well, you certainly havnt mastered the skill of reading, i said she uses these gears over there, not me.
she has lost count of the number of times guys talk to her about how they r struggling on high gears and wish they d fitted a mtb cassette, during and b4 the event.
The op needs a 30t for the climbs in the s/w, most of these climbs can be powered over - so what would be the pt in turning up on the gearing u r suggesting? and in anycase, why r u getting so ate up about it? what dif does it make to you? r u going with him :roll: