cluster v cassette

Geoff Pearson said:

what is the difference between these two - in relation to rear cogs?

assuming by cluster you mean freewheel; the old system was that all the
cogs were attached to a freewheel which screwed into the hub. Cassettes
have a splined freehub attached to the hub, you then attach the
cassette to it, seems to be they way they are all going now. I can't
see any great advantage other than cassettes are much more readily
available now, and you can take the cassette to bits and swap cogs
around (although individual cogs are dearer than a cassette AIUI). It
also sells more special tools for removing them ;-)

"MartinM" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

Geoff Pearson said:

what is the difference between these two - in relation to rear cogs?

assuming by cluster you mean freewheel; the old system was that all the
cogs were attached to a freewheel which screwed into the hub. Cassettes
have a splined freehub attached to the hub, you then attach the
cassette to it, seems to be they way they are all going now. I can't
see any great advantage other than cassettes are much more readily
available now, and you can take the cassette to bits and swap cogs
around (although individual cogs are dearer than a cassette AIUI). It
also sells more special tools for removing them ;-)

Thanks. Edinburgh Bike Coop website offers both and they look identical -
and they use the terms cluster and cassette. I know I need a cassette - I
just wondered if cluster meant the cogs were not attached to each other.

Geoff Pearson said:

Thanks. Edinburgh Bike Coop website offers both and they look identical -
and they use the terms cluster and cassette.

yes they do, strange.
I've never heard of the cogs not being joined together as supplied; I'd
check before you order.

"Geoff Pearson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

what is the difference between these two - in relation to rear cogs?

Look no further than Sheldon Brown's excelent website for what you seek.

http://sheldonbrown.com/k7.html

"Boostland" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Geoff Pearson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

what is the difference between these two - in relation to rear cogs?

Look no further than Sheldon Brown's excelent website for what you seek.

http://sheldonbrown.com/k7.html

I did look here - exactly this page - before I posted but was still unclear.
However, I have just replaced the cassette on my bike so I don't need to
think about it for another 6 months.

Geoff Pearson said:

"MartinM" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Geoff Pearson said:

what is the difference between these two - in relation to rear cogs?

assuming by cluster you mean freewheel; the old system was that all
the cogs were attached to a freewheel which screwed into the hub.
Cassettes have a splined freehub attached to the hub, you then
attach the cassette to it, seems to be they way they are all going
now. I can't see any great advantage other than cassettes are much
more readily available now, and you can take the cassette to bits
and swap cogs around (although individual cogs are dearer than a
cassette AIUI). It also sells more special tools for removing them
;-)

Thanks. Edinburgh Bike Coop website offers both and they look
identical - and they use the terms cluster and cassette. I know I
need a cassette - I just wondered if cluster meant the cogs were not
attached to each other.

EBC seem to just be very loose in terminology. They appear to be using
Cassette and Cluster as interchangeable terms.

The items on their "Freehub Cassettes" page are all for cassette based
systems. They have a separate page for "Freewheels", which list various
sets of cogs for older screw-on freewheels.

--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/

"Geoff Pearson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Boostland" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Geoff Pearson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

what is the difference between these two - in relation to rear cogs?

Look no further than Sheldon Brown's excelent website for what you seek.

http://sheldonbrown.com/k7.html

I did look here - exactly this page - before I posted but was still
unclear. However, I have just replaced the cassette on my bike so I don't
need to think about it for another 6 months.

My receipt from EBC calls it a Shimano HG freehub cluster

"MartinM" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

assuming by cluster you mean freewheel; the old system was that all the
cogs were attached to a freewheel which screwed into the hub. Cassettes
have a splined freehub attached to the hub, you then attach the
cassette to it, seems to be they way they are all going now. I can't
see any great advantage other than cassettes are much more readily
available now, and you can take the cassette to bits and swap cogs
around (although individual cogs are dearer than a cassette AIUI). It
also sells more special tools for removing them ;-)

The killer advantage is that it makes for a stronger hub - certainly in
shimano-land anyway. Bent axles used to be common for tourers and tandems -
no more.

cheers,
clive

MartinM said:

Geoff Pearson said:

Thanks. Edinburgh Bike Coop website offers both and they look
identical - and they use the terms cluster and cassette.

"Cluster" is just slang for a cluster of sprockets. No dealer should use it
in their catalogues because it could mean freewheel or cassette, although I
think it's more often used for freewheels as it's a bit of an old fashioned
term.

Quoted message said:

yes they do, strange.
I've never heard of the cogs not being joined together as supplied;

Campag Mirage and Veloce use all loose cogs (nice for cleaning and
customising). Apparently it's easy to remove Shimano's screws with some of
their models, anyway.

~PB

Pete Biggs said:

MartinM said:

Geoff Pearson said:

Thanks. Edinburgh Bike Coop website offers both and they look
identical - and they use the terms cluster and cassette.

"Cluster" is just slang for a cluster of sprockets. No dealer should use it
in their catalogues because it could mean freewheel or cassette, although I
think it's more often used for freewheels as it's a bit of an old fashioned
term.

Quoted message said:

yes they do, strange.
I've never heard of the cogs not being joined together as supplied;

Campag Mirage and Veloce use all loose cogs (nice for cleaning and
customising). Apparently it's easy to remove Shimano's screws with some of
their models, anyway.

I've just bought a 9-speed Shimano cassette and (I think) 5 are joined
together and the other four are loose.

In article <[email hidden]>
MartinM <[email hidden]> wrote:
<snip>

Quoted message said:

Cassettes
have a splined freehub attached to the hub, you then attach the
cassette to it, seems to be they way they are all going now. I can't
see any great advantage other than cassettes are much more readily
available now

A freehub allows the drive-side axle bearing to be closer to the dropout
than is possible with a freewheel, thus reducing stress on the axle so
it's less likely to bend or break.

Geoff Pearson asked:

Quoted message said:

what is the difference between these two - in relation to rear cogs?

See: http://sheldonbrown.com/gloss_cl.html#cluster

Generally, the best place to start looking for info on my site is the
Bicycle Glossary

Sheldon "http://sheldonbrown.com/glossary" Brown
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
| Give a man a fire, and he will stay warm for a day. |
| Set a man on fire, he stays warm for the rest of his life. |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

"Captain Bike" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Geoff Pearson asked:

Quoted message said:

what is the difference between these two - in relation to rear cogs?

See: http://sheldonbrown.com/gloss_cl.html#cluster

Generally, the best place to start looking for info on my site is the
Bicycle Glossary

Sheldon "http://sheldonbrown.com/glossary" Brown
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
| Give a man a fire, and he will stay warm for a day. |
| Set a man on fire, he stays warm for the rest of his life. |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

Sheldon

like most people who come here, I do regard your site as the bible - and it
is not often I am unable to find what I need - and in this case I found lots
of info - just not the direct comparison between the terms I was looking
for. But I know now.

Today, having replaced chain, cassette, and jockey wheels and things feeling
much better, I am left with an occasional crack noise when pulling hard and
a sort of granular feel through the pedals. I am assuming that is either
pedal bearings or the bottom bracket - so I will be back to the site to
study these. (The noise is independent of front or rear gear settings and
the BB is 6 years old).

Geoff
Edinburgh
Scotland

Geoff Pearson said:

Today, having replaced chain, cassette, and jockey wheels and things feeling
much better, I am left with an occasional crack noise when pulling hard and
a sort of granular feel through the pedals. I am assuming that is either
pedal bearings or the bottom bracket - so I will be back to the site to
study these. (The noise is independent of front or rear gear settings and
the BB is 6 years old).

One of my newest articles addresses this sort of thing:

http://sheldonbrown.com/creaks

Sheldon "Shhhhhh..." Brown
+------------------------------------------------------------+
| Aerodynamics don't make a difference. |
| How much do you hate riding that your ten mile ride |
| has to take you fifteen seconds less? - Grant Petersen |
| http://sheldonbrown.com/podcasts.html#grant |
+------------------------------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

"Captain Bike" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Geoff Pearson said:

Today, having replaced chain, cassette, and jockey wheels and things
feeling
much better, I am left with an occasional crack noise when pulling hard
and
a sort of granular feel through the pedals. I am assuming that is either
pedal bearings or the bottom bracket - so I will be back to the site to
study these. (The noise is independent of front or rear gear settings and
the BB is 6 years old).

One of my newest articles addresses this sort of thing:

http://sheldonbrown.com/creaks

Sheldon "Shhhhhh..." Brown
+------------------------------------------------------------+
| Aerodynamics don't make a difference. |
| How much do you hate riding that your ten mile ride |
| has to take you fifteen seconds less? - Grant Petersen |
| http://sheldonbrown.com/podcasts.html#grant |
+------------------------------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

Useful page - but this creak is several times per rev of chain wheel, then
silence then one big crack and continuous crepitation. I think it is ball
bearings somewhere.