new cassette and chain.

snig

going to change my cassette and chain, no idea at all on what to go for, suggestions would be great.

It's for a 14 mile round trip commute, all on road, the bike is a gt avalanche 1.0, not looking to spend daft money but I do prefer to buy quality components.

also just to check, all I need to buy to change the cassette and chain is...

chain whip
cassette tool
spanner to fit the cassette tool
chain tool

just watched a youtube vid, it says to use a torque spanner to tighten the cassette, is that really needed as they are quite expensive?

cheers for any help.

sorry if this was more suited tot he workshop, wasn't sure where best to post it.

alex_uk

Did you put this in the workshop forum? If swo, you may have replies from there, but here's mine:-

* What problem are you trying to solve by changing the cassette + chain?
* You need to be sure whether you've got a freehub, or a freewheel
- Freehub takes a cassette (i.e. a block of gears)
- A freewheel takes are form of cassette that has the freewheeling mechansim built in to it
* No need for a torque wrench - just do it up to a sensible feel. If you're not sure, don't over do it and check it after a day or two of cycling

rolf_f

snig wrote:

just watched a youtube vid, it says to use a torque spanner to tighten the cassette, is that really needed as they are quite expensive?

You don't need a torque wrench but they are handy. You can get perfectly decent ones, made in Germany, at Lidl and Aldi on occasion - you just need to keep any eye on the websites for when they come in. About £15. These are bigger than the ones you use for most bike purposes (You need one that goes up to 50Nm for the cassette). What is handy about them is that you can always torque up to the same amount roughly. In the past, I have overtorqued the cassette on a bike and then ridden it through winter and been unable to get the thing off again afterwards. At least with the wrench I know that if it siezes up it wasn't down to me being heavy handed!

The big torque wrench is alos useful on bottom brackets but not much else! But £15 hopefully won't break the bank.

snig

good to know, an Adli has just opened in my area so I'll keep an eye out, £50 seems about the cheapest one I could find.

snig

alex_uk wrote:

Did you put this in the workshop forum? If swo, you may have replies from there, but here's mine:-

* What problem are you trying to solve by changing the cassette + chain?
* You need to be sure whether you've got a freehub, or a freewheel
- Freehub takes a cassette (i.e. a block of gears)
- A freewheel takes are form of cassette that has the freewheeling mechansim built in to it
* No need for a torque wrench - just do it up to a sensible feel. If you're not sure, don't over do it and check it after a day or two of cycling

cheers, the freewheel question was one I was dodging lol but have now checked and it looks like it's a cassette I need as what is on there is a SRAM Nine speed index cassette 12-32, so I guess it's a freehub I have?

Reason for change, have been experiencing a few late changes and slipped gears, the bike is 2006 spec GT so I guess it could do with a change :oops: , I've changed the forks, seat and wheels etc so just really need to do the cassette now, ready for the commute, will also give me a bit more confidence pushing it a bit on the bike.

I have been reading up on cassettes etc but guess the best forum is the workshop, so I will post by buying options there and get some comments, seems shimano cassette and sram chain is the preferred option for a lot of people?

owenlars

Freewheel will have a thread you screw the cogs onto. Freehub the cassette is kept in place with a lock ring.

snig

Help greatly needed.

Changing a cassette on a GT avalanche spec here http://velospec.com/bikes/gt/avalanche10disc-2006 I've upgraded wheels, fork etc but brakes, gears remain the same.

it's for a 7 mile each way commute, flat with just a couple of hills near end, can get windy in the colder months as I'm on the coast, thinking a shimano/sram combo?

I don't want to spend daft money but do prefer quality components so how does this combo sound?

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-ultegra ... e/#itemtop 12-25

and

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/sram-pc971-9-speed-chain/

I've have even less idea on what to look for with chains, so that option may be totally unsuited?

cheers

t4tomo

Yes- cant see a 105 or tiagra 9 speed on wiggle so although ultegra is a a bit over the top, it will be fine. If you can find a 9 speed 105 or tiagra cassette cheaper then go for it as they are both virtually on a par with ultegra just marginally heavier.
Chain is compatible and at a decent discount so go for it.

snig

t4tomo wrote:

Yes- cant see a 105 or tiagra 9 speed on wiggle so although ultegra is a a bit over the top, it will be fine. If you can find a 9 speed 105 or tiagra cassette cheaper then go for it as they are both virtually on a par with ultegra just marginally heavier.
Chain is compatible and at a decent discount so go for it.

cheers, will do a search on those you mentioned.

antonyfromoz

Look at Planet x or Merlin as they often have components at good prices. Ribble have an extra 12% off on top their normal prices until the end of the month (i think you have to spend over £50 though).

Cheers!