Cassette question...

djwright4341

I'm thinking of getting a new cassette for my MTB. It's probably about 15-16 years old and spent several years rusting behind the house before I got it out, cleaned it, reshoed it with road tires, accessorized it and have been commuting on it for a couple of months now. I can't justify the expense of a new bike to my wife since mine is fine now, but she will let me spend a little money on this one. My current one has five cogs on it and I would like to add a couple more gears. My question is this--how do I determine if a cassette from a website will fit my bike? I'm looking at buying a cassette from performancebike.com but I don't want to buy the wrong thing. Sheldon Brown's site gives good info but didn't really answer my question.

boudreaux

I'm thinking of getting a new cassette for my MTB. It's probably about 15-16 years old and spent several years rusting behind the house before I got it out, cleaned it, reshoed it with road tires, accessorized it and have been commuting on it for a couple of months now. I can't justify the expense of a new bike to my wife since mine is fine now, but she will let me spend a little money on this one. My current one has five cogs on it and I would like to add a couple more gears. My question is this--how do I determine if a cassette from a website will fit my bike? I'm looking at buying a cassette from performancebike.com but I don't want to buy the wrong thing. Sheldon Brown's site gives good info but didn't really answer my question.And if you have a freewheel,a cassette won't work on that hub. An old 5 speed mtb isn't worth spending any money on. Ride it into the ground and then beg for something better.

djwright4341

From looking at Sheldon Brown's site, I would think I have a "traditional threaded hub" and "traditional threaded freewheel" on my bike, but I can't tell if the cassettes on the websites are threaded or not and, even if they are, if they will work on my bike. Some I can because it shows the sprockets apart and they are most likely cassette clusters that Sheldon describes.
Riding it into the ground may take a while. I'm only commuting 10miles one way, and this old beater seems really solid after I got it cleaned. The only new parts I had to buy to get it into working order were cables and chain. The only really rusty parts were the wheels and cranks, but steel wool revealed it to be surface rust and those parts look shiny as new. For a decade and a half old department store bike my parents got for me in high school, this thing has surprised me with how sturdily it's built.

boudreaux

From looking at Sheldon Brown's site, I would think I have a "traditional threaded hub" and "traditional threaded freewheel" on my bike, but I can't tell if the cassettes on the websites are threaded or not and, even if they are, if they will work on my bike. Some I can because it shows the sprockets apart and they are most likely cassette clusters that Sheldon describes.
Riding it into the ground may take a while. I'm only commuting 10miles one way, and this old beater seems really solid after I got it cleaned. The only new parts I had to buy to get it into working order were cables and chain. The only really rusty parts were the wheels and cranks, but steel wool revealed it to be surface rust and those parts look shiny as new. For a decade and a half old department store bike my parents got for me in high school, this thing has surprised me with how sturdily it's built.Cassettes aren't threaded and are not interchangable with freewheels.

Mark Willis

I'm thinking of getting a new cassette for my MTB. It's probably about 15-16 years old and spent several years rusting behind the house before I got it out, cleaned it, reshoed it with road tires, accessorized it and have been commuting on it for a couple of months now. I can't justify the expense of a new bike to my wife since mine is fine now, but she will let me spend a little money on this one. My current one has five cogs on it and I would like to add a couple more gears. My question is this--how do I determine if a cassette from a website will fit my bike? I'm looking at buying a cassette from performancebike.com but I don't want to buy the wrong thing. Sheldon Brown's site gives good info but didn't really answer my question.You are hosed. There is no way to upgrade that freewheel(you don't have a cassette on it) without also getting a bunch of other stuff. Just buy a used bike.

djwright4341

Oh well, I really just wanted to get a new toy for my bike and thought some more gears would be useful. Guess I'll just have to get something I can put on this bike, then move to another bike when this one does crap out on me. Any suggestions on how to wear out a bike faster so my wife will let me get a new one? Or any suggestions on arguments I could use to justify a new one when I have one that works fine but is old as the hills?

boudreaux

Oh well, I really just wanted to get a new toy for my bike and thought some more gears would be useful. Guess I'll just have to get something I can put on this bike, then move to another bike when this one does crap out on me. Any suggestions on how to wear out a bike faster so my wife will let me get a new one? Or any suggestions on arguments I could use to justify a new one when I have one that works fine but is old as the hills?Get another wife. Life will be easier.

gclark8

IDEA****

Get the wife to ride the bike... :D

boudreaux

IDEA****

Get the wife to ride the bike... :D Or loan it out to the neighbor kids.It'll be TU in no time.

Doctor Morbius

... or ride the bike into a questionable area of town, park it outside while you go indoors to get something, such as a coke or a burger, and when you come out ... OH MY GOD! MY BEAUTIFUL BIKE HAS BEEN STOLEN!!!! Wallah! Problem solved. If it's not gone by the time you finish your coke go back and get some fries.

Now you have an edge to get a newer rig. The justification to significant other is to commute to work and save gas money as you're tired of paying these inflated prices. Why ... the bike will probably pay for itself in a few months time.

By the way, a friend of mine bought a mint Rockhopper at a garage sale for $100 a few years back. You can find some pretty good used values if you know what they are and are willing to take the time to look for them. Flea Markets, Goodwills, garage sales are all places to scope out.