Rear 105 cs-5800 Cassette Upgrade - 11-28T for 11-32T

hunty1980

Hi,

My wife currently rides a B'twin Triban 540 with Shimano 105 cs-5800 11-28T cassette. As we live in the Yorkshire Dales, she's finding the hill climbing quite challenging and I've suggested she swaps the cassette for a 11-32T.

My plan is just to replace like for like - i.e. Shimano 105 cs-5800 11-28T for Shimano 105 cs-5800 11-32T.

Is there anything I need to consider before changing the rear cassette, or is it simply a case of removing the existing cassette for the new one?

Thanks in advance,
G

taon24

Chain will probably need lengthening by a pair of links, if it was right on the current bike, and a new cassette might not like a worn chain, so depending on age a new chain might be a good idea.

keef66

You need to know if the rear mech will take a 32T cassette. eg if it's a 5800 rear mech:

Short cage version officially compatible with largest sprocket 28T (Although some claim to have made it work with 30 or 32, sometimes by adjusting the B screw)

Medium cage version officially compatible with largest sprocket 32T (so you might get away with slightly bigger...)

You should also consider the total capacity of the mech (have a google)

mfin

It's not an upgrade. It is changing the cassette.

CitizenLee

mfin wrote:

It's not an upgrade. It is changing the cassette.

Thanks mfin, I was really craving some mid-afternoon pedantry and that hit the spot perfectly

hunty1980

taon24 wrote:

new cassette might not like a worn chain, so depending on age a new chain might be a good idea.

Thanks for the reply - she's riden the bike about 6 times, so I'm assuming the chain should be fine with the new cassette

hunty1980

keef66 wrote:

You need to know if the rear mech will take a 32T cassette. eg if it's a 5800 rear mech:

Short cage version officially compatible with largest sprocket 28T (Although some claim to have made it work with 30 or 32, sometimes by adjusting the B screw)

Medium cage version officially compatible with largest sprocket 32T (so you might get away with slightly bigger...)

You should also consider the total capacity of the mech (have a google)

Thank you for the advice, Keef. I checked the rear derailleur and it has 5800 stamped on it - does this provide enough to identify if it's short vs. medium?

Thanks,
G

arlowood

hunty1980 wrote:

keef66 wrote:

You need to know if the rear mech will take a 32T cassette. eg if it's a 5800 rear mech:

Short cage version officially compatible with largest sprocket 28T (Although some claim to have made it work with 30 or 32, sometimes by adjusting the B screw)

Medium cage version officially compatible with largest sprocket 32T (so you might get away with slightly bigger...)

You should also consider the total capacity of the mech (have a google)

Thank you for the advice, Keef. I checked the rear derailleur and it has 5800 stamped on it - does this provide enough to identify if it's short vs. medium?

Thanks,
G

Just take a ruler and measure the centre to centre distance of the jockey wheel spindles. According to Sheldon Brown

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/derailers-rear.html

For a short cage (SS) derailleur it should be 50mm. Medium cage (GS) will be 74mm

vegasfoster

FYI, there are workarounds if it is a short cage derailleur.

hunty1980

arlowood wrote:

Just take a ruler and measure the centre to centre distance of the jockey wheel spindles. According to Sheldon Brown

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/derailers-rear.html

For a short cage (SS) derailleur it should be 50mm. Medium cage (GS) will be 74mm

Sorted - thank you! Looks like I have the GS Medium Cage.

Thanks again to everyone who has responded.

Poppa Wheelie

For what it’s worth an 11-32 cassette will only give her one extra gear, the lowest is 32, the second sprocket is 28. You could however use an ultegra 11-34. It will work perfectly well with the 105 mech.

svetty

Poppa Wheelie wrote:

For what it’s worth an 11-32 cassette will only give her one extra gear, the lowest is 32, the second sprocket is 28. You could however use an ultegra 11-34. It will work perfectly well with the 105 mech.

New 105 is also available as an 11-34 cassette (HG-700)

hunty1980

Svetty wrote:

New 105 is also available as an 11-34 cassette (HG-700)

This one? http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-105-r70 ... 8000857982

deano802

I had the same bike, it has medium cage so can easily swap out to a 11-32 or -11-34. As it was my first road bike I found the gearing quite hard as it is 52/36 at the front. The 32 bailed me out a number of times in my first year, even though it's only one extra gear those 4 teeth make a big difference.

hunty1980

Deano802 wrote:

I had the same bike, it has medium cage so can easily swap out to a 11-32 or -11-34. As it was my first road bike I found the gearing quite hard as it is 52/36 at the front. The 32 bailed me out a number of times in my first year, even though it's only one extra gear those 4 teeth make a big difference.

Thanks Deano. Did you need to make changes to the chain, or could it cope with the 11-32. Think I'm about to press the trigger on this one (11-34) - just not sure about the requirement to also lengthen the chain http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-105-r70 ... b+Networks

keef66

Assuming the chain was correctly sized for the 28t cassette, jumping to a 34t would I think require a slightly longer chain.

Unless of course you can guarantee that the bike will never be ridden using the big chainring and the 2 largest sprockets... We all know you shouldn't cross-chain like that, but it sometimes happens when you're trying to crest a hill without shifting at the front and you lose track of where you are on the cassette. And if your chain's too short you risk damaging the mech, and the possibility that something ends up in the rear wheel

You could always fit the new cassette with the old chain and see what it looks like on the big ring and carefully changing down to successively bigger sprockets with the bike in a workstand (or upside down on the lawn )

Dark_Eyes

I have the same bike, and was thinking about putting an 11-32 on it, but was interested to know how you got on withe the 11-34, as it looks like a better option. i was wondering if you replaced the chain, or just added a couple of extra links; also how was shifting between the cogs, the more evenly spaced increments in teeth, looks preferable to me.
Any advice, gratefully received.

Tyresome

If you want to go for a largest sprocket with more than 34 teeth, you can get these extenders for your existing RD.



https://www.sigmasports.com/item/Wolf-T ... anger/DOQG

lesfirth

I have on one bike ( Wilier GTR disc) a 5800gs rear mech and a Sram 11/36 cassette. It works very well. No extender required.
Before anyone replies that nobody needs a gear that low. If you are as old as me and do not like walking up hills in the Lake District,you do and no, you will not fall over because you are going so slow.

If you ride a bike with a chain that is too short to work on big sprocket and big chainring because you do not use that combination , you are just waiting for a lapse in concentration and an expensive noise. At the other extreme, small/small, a droopy chain is not a problem.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

My Cube came with the 5800GS mech and 11-32 cassette, which has been ok for the last ~20 months. However, my passion is hill climbing, so I the 11-12-13-14-16 sprockets get little use as I rarely try and push hard on descents (using 18-20-22-25-28-32 sprockets up inclines).

Consequently, I recently bought a silver 7000GS mech for £38 https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shi ... prod173487 and plan to buy an 11-34 cassette soon. The existing mech may well have worked, but I fancied trying Shadow clutch technology along with playing it safe for the 34T sprocket use. While the 11-34 cassette gives me a slightly easier gear, it only has 11-13-15 sprockets at the high speed descent end which suits me fine, as it will give me more gear options for getting up inclines (17-19-21-23-25-27-30-34).

Don't know what I'm going to do about the chain yet that was fitted around end of October, guess it depends upon when I fit the 11-34 kit, I shall probably try simply adding a full link including another KMC Master Link as I suspect I'll change the drivetrain around March unless winter is prolonged again and I've not done much mileage on the turbo over winter as I've been climbing virtual hills!

thistle_

I swapped the 34T chainring on mine for a 32T for some hill climbing as it was cheaper than swapping the cassette.
Chain was slack in 32-11 but it's not a combo I use, and will go back to the 34T once the weather improves.

Dark_Eyes

NitrousOxide wrote:

Don't know what I'm going to do about the chain yet that was fitted around end of October, guess it depends upon when I fit the 11-34 kit, I shall probably try simply adding a full link including another KMC Master Link as I suspect I'll change the drivetrain around March unless winter is prolonged again and I've not done much mileage on the turbo over winter as I've been climbing virtual hills!

Interesting, I was wondering if I could get away with adding a couple of Master Links into the chain, spaced well apart, rather than replace it. I was guessing that 2 extra links would allow for the 4 extra teeth.

Has anybody else done this, and got any tips?