Difference between 105 and Ultegra 9-speed cassette?

Quoted message said:

What's the difference between a 105 and Ultegra 9-speed cassette (besides about $10 in price)?

The Ultegra is lighter due to its aluminum carrier body, while the '105 cassette is entirely steel.
It *seems* that Ultegra cassettes are quieter, but could be my imagination. I notice no difference
in shifting quality or lifespan though.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles chainreactionbicycles.comchainreactionbicycles.comOpen ↗

Boyd asks-<< What's the difference between a 105 and Ultegra 9-speed cassette (besides about $10 in
price)? >><BR><BR>

Last section(largest) of the cogset is on a carrier for ultegra, just pinned together loose cogs for
105. The pins can be taken out for cleaning, BTW, a good thing.

Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St. Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535 vecchios.comvecchios.comOpen ↗ "Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

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

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

What's the difference between a 105 and Ultegra 9-speed cassette (besides about $10 in price)?

The Ultegra is lighter due to its aluminum carrier body, while the '105 cassette is entirely
steel. It *seems* that Ultegra cassettes are quieter, but could be my imagination. I notice no
difference in shifting quality or lifespan though.

Also take a look at SRAM Shimano compatible cassettes. They are lighter than Ultegra and about the
same price. The chrome plating (I think) is nice and shiny. Performancebike has them.

[email hidden] (Richard Chan) wrote in :"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

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

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

What's the difference between a 105 and Ultegra 9-speed cassette (besides about $10 in price)?

The Ultegra is lighter due to its aluminum carrier body, while the '105 cassette is entirely
steel. It *seems* that Ultegra cassettes are quieter, but could be my imagination. I notice no
difference in shifting quality or lifespan though.

Also take a look at SRAM Shimano compatible cassettes. They are lighter than Ultegra and about the
same price. The chrome plating (I think) is nice and shiny. Performancebike has them.

Aren't the SRAM cassettes one piece? I'm only concerned because I tend to where out some gears
faster than others; its a lot cheaper to replace one or two gears than the whole cassette.

- Boyd S.

Quoted message said:

Also take a look at SRAM Shimano compatible cassettes. They are lighter than Ultegra and about the
same price. The chrome plating (I think) is nice and shiny. Performancebike has them.

Unless they've changed from the generation I tried, the SRAM cassettes are all individual steel
cogs, not bolted together tightly enough to allow multiple cogs to carry the load. When used on an
aluminum cassette mechanism, they tend to dig in pretty nastily, making them a bear to remove. Could
be they're made differently now.

The Ultegra and DuraAce cassettes, for the most part, spread the load by either attaching multiple
cogs (three) to one alloy carrier, or by incorporating spacers into the individual cogs. The issue
is that the contact surface between cog and body (which is what must carry the pedaling forces) is
considerably greater, and less likely to damage the cassette mechanism.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles chainreactionbicycles.comchainreactionbicycles.comOpen ↗

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> What's the difference between a 105 and Ultegra 9-speed cassette (besides about $10 in
> price)?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

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

Quoted message said:

The Ultegra is lighter due to its aluminum carrier body, while the '105 cassette is entirely
steel. It *seems* that Ultegra cassettes are quieter, but could be my imagination. I notice no
difference in shifting quality or lifespan though.

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] (Richard Chan) wrote in :"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Also take a look at SRAM Shimano compatible cassettes. They are lighter than Ultegra and about
the same price. The chrome plating (I think) is nice and shiny. Performancebike has them.

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

Quoted message said:

Aren't the SRAM cassettes one piece? I'm only concerned because I tend to where out some gears
faster than others; its a lot cheaper to replace one or two gears than the whole cassette.

SRAM #7 are single cogs which may be swapped. SRAM #9 uses a spider.

--
Andrew Muzi yellowjersey.orgyellowjersey.orgOpen ↗ Open every day since 1 April 1971

Quoted message said:

That issue aside, how well do the SRAM cassettes shift compared to Shimano/Campy, and how long do
they last? Any difference?

The SRAM cassette I used was a 12-26 9 speed, and it worked just fine; I noticed no difference in
shifting between it and my Ultegra. A bit noisier perhaps, but otherwise fine.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles chainreactionbicycles.comchainreactionbicycles.comOpen ↗

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Also take a look at SRAM Shimano compatible cassettes. They are lighter than Ultegra and about
the same price. The chrome plating (I think) is nice and shiny. Performancebike has them.

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

Quoted message said:

Unless they've changed from the generation I tried, the SRAM cassettes are all individual steel
cogs, not bolted together tightly enough to allow multiple cogs to carry the load. When used on an
aluminum cassette mechanism, they tend to dig in pretty nastily, making them a bear to

remove.

Quoted message said:

Could be they're made differently now.

The Ultegra and DuraAce cassettes, for the most part, spread the load by either attaching multiple
cogs (three) to one alloy carrier, or by incorporating spacers into the individual cogs. The issue
is that the contact surface between cog and body (which is what must carry the

pedaling

Quoted message said:

forces) is considerably greater, and less likely to damage the cassette mechanism.

The SRAM #7 has loose swappable cogs. Their #9 is a spidered system. As in Shimano, choose your
feature set, as both formats are current.

ps-We sell quite a few SRAM cassettes as the weight and available sizes are favorable to some
riders' tastes. It's good to have a choice of alternate vendors IMHO.

Distribution is excellent too, so prompt delivery is a factor for us. Most of our suppliers
have them.
--
Andrew Muzi yellowjersey.orgyellowjersey.orgOpen ↗ Open every day since 1 April 1971

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

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

What's the difference between a 105 and Ultegra 9-speed cassette (besides about $10 in price)?

The Ultegra is lighter due to its aluminum carrier body, while the '105 cassette is entirely
steel. It *seems* that Ultegra cassettes are quieter, but could be my imagination. I notice no
difference in shifting quality or lifespan though.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles chainreactionbicycles.comchainreactionbicycles.comOpen ↗

Well, I'm not a particularly strong rider and I sheared my ultegra cassette spider to pieces after
~5000 miles, so I'd go 105 next time!

Quoted message said:

Well, I'm not a particularly strong rider and I sheared my ultegra cassette spider to pieces after
~5000 miles, so I'd go 105 next time!

Not a typical experience. Between our two shops we sell probably 400 road bikes/year with Ultegra,
maybe a lot more if I think about it, and none of my customers have (yet) "sheared" an Ultegra
cassette body. And some of them *are* very strong riders. I'd say something was defective about
either the body or the installation (although I can't figure how it could be installed that would
cause that). But it's certainly not a reason to avoid an Ultegra cassette (or DuraAce, for that
matter, which also has an aluminum carrier for many of the cogs).

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles chainreactionbicycles.comchainreactionbicycles.comOpen ↗