road cassette sizes

jon_h36 said:

What are the most common 7 speed shimano cassette sizes, I have just
ordered an 11-28 and hope this should be sufficient to my needs as
currently i have a 12-20 and struggle quite considerably up a few local
hills on the small front ring...

any thoughts

12-20 is a very stiff and close set of gears, perfect for a flat time trial. The
11-28 is essentially the opposite extreme, almost a mountain bike spread. It'll
make life on the hills a lot easier. You might find some of the gears have an
awkardly large gap between them. Beats the heck out of trying to climb with a
12-20 cog.

Ron

the front is a 39/52 and i am in reasonable shape,
the cassette i have just purchased has basically a 12 - 22 and then
jumps to 28 for a get out gear when i'm struggling. I can manage about
70-75% of the hills seated in my smallest gear but have to stand up and
stomp it out on a few, and there is one hill i still have to get off
and walk (14% gradient).

cheers
Jon_H

jon_h36 said:

the front is a 39/52 and i am in reasonable shape,
the cassette i have just purchased has basically a 12 - 22 and then
jumps to 28 for a get out gear when i'm struggling. I can manage about
70-75% of the hills seated in my smallest gear but have to stand up and
stomp it out on a few, and there is one hill i still have to get off
and walk (14% gradient).

Jon, in your original post you said you ordered an 11-28. You certainly
don't need an 11 with a 52 up front. Even a 12 is questionable. I think you
would be better off with a 13 or maybe even a 14.

Something like: 14-16-18-21-24-28.

Art Harris

I hastily said:

Something like: 14-16-18-21-24-28.

Oops, that's only six isn't it?

OK, then: 13-14-16-18-21-24-28.

Art Harris

jon_h36 said:

What are the most common 7 speed shimano cassette sizes, I have just
ordered an 11-28 and hope this should be sufficient to my needs as
currently i have a 12-20 and struggle quite considerably up a few local
hills on the small front ring...

All of the Shimano cassette sizess, and also some custom ones are listed at:

http://harriscyclery.com/7

We generally keep all of the sizes in stock.

Sheldon "K7" Brown
+--------------------------------------------------+
| If you find yourself standing to accelerate, |
| on level ground, it is a sign that your gear |
| is too high, or that your saddle is too low. |
| See: http://sheldonbrown.com/standing.html |
+--------------------------------------------------+
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

On 9 Apr 2005 05:12:13 -0700, "jon_h36" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

What are the most common 7 speed shimano cassette sizes, I have just
ordered an 11-28 and hope this should be sufficient to my needs as
currently i have a 12-20 and struggle quite considerably up a few local
hills on the small front ring...

any thoughts

cheers
Jon_H

I think 11-28 is a MTB cassette; your rear derailleur will struggle if
it's a road derailleur. You'll end up with a total tooth difference of
30, which needs a MTB or GS road derailleur.

Shimano road derailleurs can handle a maximum 27 tooth sprocket and 29
teeth of total difference (38 for the medium cage GS models), so with
your 39/52 rings you could use a 12-26 cassette.

If you still need a lower gear, you could switch to a MTB rear
derailleur (cheap) or a compact crankset (my preference), say 11-26
cassette with 34/48 chainrings keeps your top gear about the same and
gives a lower bottom than 39x28

Kinky Cowboy*

*Batteries not included
May contain traces of nuts
Your milage may vary

Kinky Cowboy said:

I think 11-28 is a MTB cassette; your rear derailleur will struggle if
it's a road derailleur. You'll end up with a total tooth difference of
30, which needs a MTB or GS road derailleur.

The distinction between "road" and "MTB" cassettes (and derailers,
shifters and all parts aside from tires) is a marketing one, not a
technical one.

When speaking of cassettes/freewheels, "close range" vs "wide range" is
a more reality based designation.

Back in the day, they used to be called "racing" and "touring", but when
the big mountain bike fad hit in the late '80s, all "touring" parts were
re-named "mountain."

Quoted message said:

Shimano road derailleurs can handle a maximum 27 tooth sprocket and 29
teeth of total difference (38 for the medium cage GS models), so with
your 39/52 rings you could use a 12-26 cassette.

That is the Official Shimano Party Line. The 27 tooth designation is
based on the fact that 27 is the largest they offer in a cassette they
call a "road" cassette.

In reality, all Shimano rear derailers I've ever seen, with the possible
exception of the short-lived Santé unit, will easily handle a 28 tooth
sprocket, and most will work fine with a 30.

See also: http://sheldonbrown.com/capacity for more on this topic.

Sheldon "Don't Believe Everything You Read" Brown
+-----------------------------------------------------------+
| Always listen to the experts. |
| They'll tell you what can't be done, and why. |
| Then do it. --Robert A. Heinlein |
+-----------------------------------------------------------+
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 Brown said:

Sheldon "Don't Believe Everything You Read" Brown

yeah.

http://sheldonbrown.com/real-man.html
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

Sheldon Brown said:

Kinky Cowboy said:

I think 11-28 is a MTB cassette; your rear derailleur will struggle if
it's a road derailleur.
Shimano road derailleurs can handle a maximum 27 tooth sprocket

That is the Official Shimano Party Line. The 27 tooth designation is
based on the fact that 27 is the largest they offer in a cassette they
call a "road" cassette.

In reality, all Shimano rear derailers I've ever seen, with the possible
exception of the short-lived Santé unit, will easily handle a 28 tooth
sprocket, and most will work fine with a 30.

See also: http://sheldonbrown.com/capacity for more on this topic.

Sheldon "Don't Believe Everything You Read" Brown

Obviously this will depend on the hanger geometry, and you might get a
bit more depending on chain length and B-tension adjustment, which
will both affect the position of the top pulley as it tries to shift
onto the largest sprocket. As an Acera RD is cheaper than another
cassette, the OP has a bail out option if he finds his old RD won't
cope with his new 11-28 cassette.

Kinky Cowboy*

*Batteries not included
May contain traces of nuts
Your milage may vary

Sheldon Brown said:

The distinction between "road" and "MTB" cassettes (and derailers,
shifters and all parts aside from tires) is a marketing one, not a
technical one.

When speaking of cassettes/freewheels, "close range" vs "wide range" is
a more reality based designation.

I spend a lot of time in low gears riding long climbs (well, actually
the same climb over and over again). I've always wished cassettes were
available that packed more sprockets in the 21 - 29 range because
sometimes I just need a little change of cadence for variety. My
8-speed bike finishes with 21-23-25 and my 9-speed bike goes 21-24-27.
I got an extra gear (a 14 I think) that I could do without and I lost
one that I'd use a lot. I want a 13-15-17-19-21-23-25-27-29: I know
the steps aren't equal and the log-log graph of gear jumps isn't
conventional - I don't care. Plus the low gears wear out a lot faster
so I'd have a cassette that lasted longer too.

Hell, now that cassettes are almost expensive as cranks I might just go
compact when this one wears out.

--
My bike blog:
http://diabloscott.blogspot.com/

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In article <1113254856.91f498c9705990ff32a52b7b9f42eb5f@teranews>,

Diablo Scott said:

Sheldon Brown said:

The distinction between "road" and "MTB" cassettes (and derailers,
shifters and all parts aside from tires) is a marketing one, not a
technical one.

When speaking of cassettes/freewheels, "close range" vs "wide range" is
a more reality based designation.

I spend a lot of time in low gears riding long climbs (well, actually
the same climb over and over again). I've always wished cassettes were
available that packed more sprockets in the 21 - 29 range because
sometimes I just need a little change of cadence for variety. My
8-speed bike finishes with 21-23-25 and my 9-speed bike goes 21-24-27.
I got an extra gear (a 14 I think) that I could do without and I lost
one that I'd use a lot. I want a 13-15-17-19-21-23-25-27-29: I know
the steps aren't equal and the log-log graph of gear jumps isn't
conventional - I don't care. Plus the low gears wear out a lot faster
so I'd have a cassette that lasted longer too.

_ That's an impossible cassette to get with shimano, since the 27
is only found in the Ultegra 21-24-27 cluster and I don't 29s are
available in any cluster. However,

13-15-17-19-21-23-25-28-30

is possible.

Quoted message said:

Hell, now that cassettes are almost expensive as cranks I might just go
compact when this one wears out.

_ Huh? you can get perfectly servicable HG50 or HG70 cassettes
for $30 or less. They have all loose cogs to boot so you can make
your own. Buy one road one with the small gears you want and
one MTB one with the big gears you want. Or just by the
individual cogs if you only need one or two to make the cassette
you want.

_ Booker C. Bense

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Booker C. Bense said:

Diablo Scott said:

Hell, now that cassettes are almost expensive as cranks I might just go
compact when this one wears out.

_ Huh? you can get perfectly servicable HG50 or HG70 cassettes
for $30 or less. They have all loose cogs to boot so you can make
your own. Buy one road one with the small gears you want and
one MTB one with the big gears you want. Or just by the
individual cogs if you only need one or two to make the cassette
you want.

From Sheldon's site - this is an Ultegra custom cassette 13-30 like
what you suggested, and it's about the closest thing I've seen to what I
would like:
http://tinyurl.com/6gu92
"CS922 Century Special $99.95* "

And thanks to Sheldon for thinking of me and designing this, but why
doesn't Shimano offer it as a standard, instead of making Captain Bike
cannabalize two for one?

Nashbar has a 34/50 compact crank for $80 http://tinyurl.com/636l4 (I'd
need to get an ISIS BB too).

Booker C. Bense wrote with maximum security:

Quoted message said:

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

Quoted message said:

I spend a lot of time in low gears riding long climbs (well, actually
the same climb over and over again). I've always wished cassettes were
available that packed more sprockets in the 21 - 29 range because
sometimes I just need a little change of cadence for variety. My
8-speed bike finishes with 21-23-25 and my 9-speed bike goes 21-24-27.
I got an extra gear (a 14 I think) that I could do without and I lost
one that I'd use a lot. I want a 13-15-17-19-21-23-25-27-29: I know
the steps aren't equal and the log-log graph of gear jumps isn't
conventional - I don't care. Plus the low gears wear out a lot faster
so I'd have a cassette that lasted longer too.

_ That's an impossible cassette to get with shimano, since the 27
is only found in the Ultegra 21-24-27 cluster and I don't 29s are
available in any cluster.

29s exist, I think we have them in stock at the shop.

Quoted message said:

However, 13-15-17-19-21-23-25-28-30 is possible.

Possible, yes, but that 7.1% jump at the bottom of the range is pretty
useless. When you're climbing and need to shift, you always lose a bit
of momentum from the act of shifting. If the jump is that small, it is
likely that the loss of speed will actually cause your cadence (as well
as speed) to actually slow down as a result of the miniscule downshift.

Quoted message said:

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Sheldon "Insecure Postings" Brown
+-------------------------------------------------------+
| It is better to be victimized occasionally, |
| than to go through life filled with suspicion. |
| --Elbert Hubbard |
+-------------------------------------------------------+
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

On Sat, 09 Apr 2005 23:49:30 +0100, Kinky Cowboy <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Shimano road derailleurs can handle a maximum 27 tooth sprocket and 29
teeth of total difference (38 for the medium cage GS models), so with
your 39/52 rings you could use a 12-26 cassette.

I believe that a Shimano, road rear derailleur, handles a 30t cog w/o
problem. A Campy standard cage rear derailleur handles a 30t as well.

Arthur Harris said:

jon_h36 said:

the front is a 39/52 and i am in reasonable shape,
the cassette i have just purchased has basically a 12 - 22 and then
jumps to 28 for a get out gear when i'm struggling. I can manage

about

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

70-75% of the hills seated in my smallest gear but have to stand up

and

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

stomp it out on a few, and there is one hill i still have to get

off

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

and walk (14% gradient).

Jon, in your original post you said you ordered an 11-28. You

certainly

Quoted message said:

don't need an 11 with a 52 up front. Even a 12 is questionable. I

think you

Quoted message said:

would be better off with a 13 or maybe even a 14.

Sounds to me like Jon like to push tall gears and just might like the
11.

Doug

Bob said:

On Sat, 9 Apr 2005 10:23:19 -0400, "Arthur Harris" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Jon, in your original post you said you ordered an 11-28. You

certainly

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

don't need an 11 with a 52 up front. Even a 12 is questionable. I

think you

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

would be better off with a 13 or maybe even a 14.

I think a 12 or 13 at is needed on the high end. FWIW, I'm an
older guy, not in Tour de France shape, riding heavier steel bikes

and

Quoted message said:

I can run out a 52-14 on the flat, a 52-13 on a light downhill. But,
an 11 is way too big unless you are really in great shape.

I'm an older guy in pretty good shape riding an older bicycle with
squishy high rolling resistance tubulars on a very busy bike trail. I
have a pretty good idea about how fast I am relative to others using
the trail, and it's pretty fast. I use a 14-21 straight block with a
53/39 front. When someone passes me (which might happen once or twice
in a two hour ride on a weekend) I will usually try to stay up with
them for a while to get in a little speed work and just out of sheer
residual competitiveness, and I don't think I have ever had a situation
where I was spinning my 53/14 so fast I needed the 13 to stay up. Now,
I am sorta in the market for a 13 tooth cog for the back, because there
are some mildly downhill sections where I think with a little work I
may get to where I can start to use a 13 effectively. But, overall, I
think a 14 is more than enough for people who do not ride with
significant downhills, unless they are using a compact front.

If you are holding 80rpm with a 14 on the flats without a tailwind,
well, that's good, and I mean that. (Although I wouldn't necessarily
look for a bigger gear unless I was doing 90 rpm at least.) But most
people cannot do that, and, especially if someone has a 7s cassette and
needs the low gears, I would recommend being very realistic about
matching your setup with your ability. You can always change it later,
and odds are that if you need a higher gear you can dispense with your
lowest one.

Unfortunately, 14-2x cassettes are pretty rare, although available if
you know to look for them.

SocSecTrainWreck said:

If you are holding 80rpm with a 14 on the flats without a tailwind,
well, that's good, and I mean that.

Yep. A 52x14 at 80 rpm is 23.8 mph. At 100 rpm it's nearly 30 mph. Many
riders are happy to coast at speeds higher than that.

But if he's got a 7-speed setup and wants a 28T low, there's no good
reason not to have a 13T high. An 11T is something else.

Art Harris

Art Harris said:

But if he's got a 7-speed setup and wants a 28T low, there's no good
reason not to have a 13T high. An 11T is something else.

I think there might be one good reason, the one I was getting at- he
never uses it at a resonable RPM.

Diablo Scott said:

And thanks to Sheldon for thinking of me and designing this, but why
doesn't Shimano offer it as a standard, instead of making Captain Bike
cannabalize two for one?

You can buy individual cogs, although sometimes not easilly. Sheldon
sells, or used to sell the 13t end cog. You can use that cog from an
8 or 9sp cluster. The 30t is tough to find. I got mine off a trashed
13/30 x 7sp cassette. The large cogs don't wear out even in a 'bad'
cassette.

Then again, you can buy Campy 13/29 cassettes anytime.