Cassette help please!

Hi

I run a SRAM RIVAL set up, On the front I have 50/34 and normaly a 11-23 Cassette fitted for cummuting and general use!

I also own a 11-32 and Medium cage mech on the cheshire cat 2015 and the cheshire cobbled classics 2014 the 11-32 will go on as they both involve a lot of climbing when I did the C2C in june I didnt have 11-32 on the 2nd day with near 2000m of climbing the extra teeth would have been so welcome

the rest of the time the 11-23 will stay on to keep a certain level of strength in my legs the more you ride and the harder you push the fitter you will get but you still have to enjoy it!

if its going to be a hilly ride its only a 10 minute job swaping over and I dont care when people say about my choice of gears I generally get up the hills quicker on my 34, 23 than they do I just choose to make it easy!

I just wrote this in another 'thread' but seems just as applicable here....

I investigated the whole compact/triple 'business' when I bought a road bike and boy were there some megabytes of data on it. Opted for a compact in the end but where I live is pretty hilly so I'm occasionally out of the saddle. I was recently in the Vosges and Swiss Alps and triples were EVERYWHERE! Granted it's a bit more 'hilly' but they were being ridden by 'wiry' locals who looked like they spent most of their spare time riding bikes. I remember a Dutch couple burning past me on a Cat 1 climb; I was in my lowest gear and they still had a few more to play with. I went into a local bike shop and was admiring a row of Orbea bikes (incl carbon); all fitted with triples and not a compact in sight. A friend of mine who has done the Etape and Marmotte said that he'd wished he'd had a triple on the final climbs. Not sure it matters what you're riding but nothing beats overtaking someone on a hill riding a more expensive bike than yours.

My first road bike (felt f95) came with compact 34/50 and a 11/25 cassette. After struggling up hills a bit I changed the cassette to a cheap 11/32 Shimano one from wiggle (about £9) fitted it with a new chain and it works fine on the 9 speed Sora derailleur. I think it is a medium cage. I was advised by several people that it wouldn't work but it is absolutely fine. Didn't even need to tune the gears! Needed a slightly longer chain.
Just got a new carbon bike with Sram rival 12/28 and it feels about the same on the hills as the 32 on the heavier bike. But been out in the wind so not properly road tested it yet. Definitely faster tho.
Like others have said it is definitely better to apin up the hills than grind away. Your knees will thank you and you will enjoy it more and therefore ride more. Which is what it is all about. When was the last time you checked out the other guys cassette?

Why some people think it's not the done thing to cycle at an efficient cadence up long steep hills, I cannot understand.

Personally I say put on whatever gears you need to maintain a comfortable cadence up the steepest hill you have to deal with.

If you believe riding fast up steep hills is essential to avoid falling over, I think that's a different problem and it might be wise to work on your bike handling. With practice it is perfectly possible to ride an 26" mtb or tourer with a 22x32 gear up very steep hills at an efficient cadence without wobbling that much.

My wife and I retired to Korea and I shipped out my 20-speed Felt F75, a good entry-level road bike. Whereas the 11-28 cassette was fine for me in London, I was struggling on Korean hills even in the city. To give you an idea of the gradients, the first time I unloaded a toolbox from the car outside our flat I made the mistake of putting it on the road. It accelerated downhill until it lodged against a tyre of the next car down. Plenty of hills like this.

So, with the Felt 8 years old and needing replacement chainrings, cassette and chain, I switched to a 12-32 and my original Shimano 105 copes fine. I can vouch that the extra 4 teeth do make a difference; I can now cycle up to my gate and climb pretty well all the local hills.

Losing weight, getting fitter and putting up with pain? If your cycling is more endurance than enjoyment, you'll probably give up long before your free bus pass and pension. After 50 years on more bikes than I care to count, I'm routinely getting up at 5a.m. this summer to enjoy riding before the temperature hits 30C. We also have a self-built timber house on a steep mountain road in the countryside. For this I ride my Giant XTC with 30 gears. You'll read comments about modern bikes having "too many gears". Well, I wouldn't like fewer: they all get used within the first 10 minutes of steeply undulating mountain roads.

Finally, when you get to the wrong side of 60, your legs don't rev like they used to. You become more diesel, less petrol, you have the torque but the legs can't be persuaded to fly round. More gears over a wide range mean that the legs can keep a steady rhythm and frequent gear shifting takes care of the road speed.

Enjoy riding and you'll cycle more and drive less. That'll go a long way towards fitness and weight control. When retirement gives you more time for cycling, you'll be keeping up with the speed merchants half your age and it won't hurt. Honest!

If you want lower gears go for it. I recall seeing an article here last year that showed Wiggins Tour bike with a massive cassette on the back and a rear mech put together by the mechanics using an mtb cage to give it the capacity required. Me, I recently installed a deore xt mech so that I could run a 32 on the back - and I'm on a triple.

Just remember to be courteous to the purists pushing their bikes up that 20% as you pass them in the saddle

I fitted a 105 5701 GS rear mech and SRAM 12-32 Cassette to my son's road bike. It works perfectly.

A friend ran a 32 cassette in the Alps last year and will do so again this year in the Pyrenees.
He only used that gear (34 x 32) on one occasion, but says is was a real psychological help to know that it was there if needed. BTW, the cassette is used in conjunction with a long arm Ultegra derailleur.
If it makes the rides more enjoyable then who cares?

Well said Dave. Ride whatever gears make things easier for you, in my view there's a lot of stigma attached to riding low gears for no real reason.

I ride a triple and get some (friendly) stick from my clubmates about it, but I'm the one laughing as I spin up >20% gradients while they're grinding away.

Like I said, ride what works for you. I usually climb at a cadence of over 100 rpm so the low gears a triple offers are great for me

The 105 5701 GS rear mech will take a 32T rear sprocket if you want to stay with 105: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-105-5701-10-speed-rear-derailleur/

Is it worth it? well, if it's the difference between riding up hardknott pass or walking up it, like it was for me at the Fred Whitton, then yes. it's worth it.

dreamlx10 wrote:

you need to get fitter. How low are we going to go on gears just so unfit people in team jerseys and riding fancy bikes can pretend to be cyclists. I'm afraid to say there is a lot of pain and suffering to go through to get there. But when you're dropping people on a climb it feels brilliant. So stop riding a road bike with MTB gears and just get stuck in.

that's a pretty poor attitude, thanks for sharing. Kev's bike has 105 on it and you have no idea what he wears on a ride, so try not to make sweeping generalisations.

Contador ran a 32T on the day the Vuelta went up Angliru last, and he wasn't the only one. Millar ran an XX mech and a 36. You going to tell them to man up? Use the gears that work for you.

wow, that's a lot of rubbish elitism, there are plenty of people rocking an 11-25 and 0 spacers under their stem who have an awful pedalling technique, dodgy knees and avoid riding up a long hill, but they look down on people just because the bike doesn't look 'pro'.

Your rear dérailleur will take 11-30 (or 12-30 tiagra cassette to keep prices down); current tiagra (4600) or 105 (5700) mid-cage mechs will take up to 11-32 with a compact crank. As was mentioned a cheaper option might be a 9 speed mtb mech (a 10 speed mtb mech wont work). The difference in gear ratio is 15%, which is pretty significant, but not a game-changer really. And don't listen to anyone who tells you what you should or shouldn't put on your bike, or how to ride, bikes are all about freedom (and legs rather than equipment).

"And that answer is helpful how?"

Straightforward advice really,you need to get fitter. How low are we going to go on gears just so unfit people in team jerseys and riding fancy bikes can pretend to be cyclists. I'm afraid to say there is a lot of pain and suffering to go through to get there. But when you're dropping people on a climb it feels brilliant. So stop riding a road bike with MTB gears and just get stuck in.

Simon is right. If you can't ride up something on 34x28 you probably need a ladder. That ratio should get you up hills that are 25% plus and you won't find anything that steep on the Dartmoor Classic or the EdT.

However, if you do feel the need for an extra bail out gear then you'll want a medium cage rear mech.

Good luck on those rides and have fun. I really enjoyed the Classic last year.

34x28 is already a pretty low ratio. The 32t cassette isn't a lot lower and may well require a MTB derailleur (Shimano say 10-speed Tiagra works with up to 30 teeth on the cassette). It won't really get you up really steep inclines much easier - when they're that steep they are tough work whatever your lowest gear is.

dreamlx10's comment may be a little blunt but the fact is that riding hills will help you far more than even smaller gears. You will both get fitter and improve your climbing technique. If you're not very good at hills that means there is scope for being better at it, and it will be a more rewarding experience.

If at the same time you can lose some weight will also make a significant difference (assuming you're not already skinny). This also brings additional benefits such as feeling good about yourself and finding that tight-fitting lycra isn't quite as restrictive as before

Whack it in the big chain ring,dance on the pedals and push through the pain

I would say if you can't get up any of the hills with a 34/28 then don't bother going you either need to lose a lot of weight or get fitter.