Cassette Sizing?

I am looking at buying a Shimano XT cassette for my '04 Trek 4300. I am doing the upgrade from 8 to 9 gears. So, I need to know what size to get. I know nothing about cassettes, so help would be greatly appreciated.

The sizes availabe are:

011/32
011/34
012/34

what do these numbers mean? wich will I need? I can provide more inforamtion if neccessary.

Thanks in advance!

I hope your upgrading components now, buying a better frame/fork next winter, and then transferring them to the new frame and putting the old components back on the 4300 frame. It really doesn't justify a full XT setup.

The first number is the smallest cog and the second is the largest. I tend to spin and rarely push big gears for long so I use a 12-34. If you tend to pedal at a slower cadence, a 11-32 might work better for you.

I believe the cog sequence goes:
11-32: 11-12-14-16-18-21-24-28-32
11-34: 11-13-15-17-20-23-26-30-34
12-34: 12-13-15-17-20-23-26-30-34

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Bri
1,000,000 bicycles = 2 megacycles

The 11-32 has overall smaller faster gears. If you want an easy cassette get the 11-34 or 12-34 which have a larger 34 cog for hard climbs. Decide whether you want the faster 11 cog at first or if you want a smaller jump between the first two small congs with the 12-34.

On a somewhat related note, you'll save a lot of money by going with a lower spec 9-speed cassette. You really don't lose much at all, except for a few grams of extra weight.

I run an LX-spec chain and cassette on my otherwise XT/XTR bike.. I see little value in dropping serious extra cash on consumables like chains and cassettes.

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Peter
Cannondale Synapse Carbon Scalpel Cyclocross Ultra

I would say its the opposite. LX is not worth the cost. At least here the difference in price between XT and LX is so minimal its not worth considering LX unless your budget is seriously tight.
The difference in cost between an XTR chain and LX level chain is about 2 dollars so its not even worth considering anything less than the XTR chain. An XT cassette is $38 while and LX is about $30. There is not such a large drop in weight between XT and XTR when compared to the price difference but there is when comparing an LX cassette to an XT one. The XT uses an aluminum cog carrier which cuts weight considerably. LX doesn't use a carrier. They both have the same steel rings so they will wear down about equally as fast.

Thanks for your help! I think I will go with the 11-34, as I will need the large 34 cog for climbing hills, and will be ok with the larger jump between the 2 smallest cogs.

Thanks again!

I wish I lived where you are; here, XT cassettes are about 40-50% more expensive than LX, and you just don't want to know how much the XTR stuff is (chains or cassette)...

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Peter
Cannondale Synapse Carbon Scalpel Cyclocross Ultra