Sram Apex 11-32T cassette

penexpers

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/SRAM_Apex_PG1050_10-Speed_Cassette/5360051896/

10 speed cassette, will apparently work with a short cage RD. When combined with a compact, it gives lower gearing than many triples but without the poor shifting of a triple.

It goes 11, 12, 13, 15, 17, 19, 22, 25, 28, 32.

32 would be a very good bailout gear to have, tempted to get one as soon as they become available over this side of the pond.

blorg

You need the whole groupset (or at least the Apex rear derailleur and SRAM shifters.) Apex is designed as a compact double group with the range of a triple.

mloc123

A compact with a 32 on the back? Jesus wept.

penexpers

blorg wrote: »

You need the whole groupset (or at least the Apex rear derailleur and SRAM shifters.) Apex is designed as a compact double group with the range of a triple.

Reports are that it works with shimano RD's as well.

blorg

There are situations where that sort of gearing is necessary. I would not be without a triple on my touring bike. I was fine but would certainly have taken a lower gear than 34-28 on the Marmotte. Again, the thing is designed as a replacement for a triple. There is nothing particularly macho about mashing up a hill because you lack the gearing; indeed it is bad technique.

blorg

penexpers wrote: »

Reports are that it works with shimano RD's as well.

I would be sceptical but certainly interested if you buy one and get it working. The Apex RD has a longer cage and is designed to handle the 32T sprocket. As it is I have had issues with chain slack on one bike even with 50-34 12-27 that required a long cage derailleur. On another bike it is OK with the short. Even the long-cage Shimano road derailleurs are rated only to 27T (old) or 28T (new) - you can push this a bit certainly but 32T is very far out of spec.

Incidentally I find even 11-28T gappy climbing so suspect this might be a problem for me, at least.

mloc123

But what's the point of it? Surely a triple is much better suited. The benefit of a compact being it was a simple crank change to get a double but if this now requires a different derailleur also you might aswell go for a triple.

penexpers

blorg wrote: »

I would be sceptical but certainly interested if you buy one and get it working. The Apex RD has a longer cage and is designed to handle the 32T sprocket. As it is I have had issues with chain slack on one bike even with 50-34 12-27 that required a long cage derailleur. On another bike it is OK with the short. Even the long-cage Shimano road derailleurs are rated only to 27T (old) or 28T (new) - you can push this a bit certainly but 32T is very far out of spec.

Incidentally I find even 11-28T gappy climbing so suspect this might be a problem for me, at least.

I would be a bit skeptical too. I can only find one report of it working with a Shimano RD (Ultegra short cage) and he needed to get a longer b-screw.

In any case, I might buy it anyway and see if I need the Apex RD. I wouldn't need the Sram shifters (I don't think) because I tend to use friction shifting these days (bar end shifters).

blorg

mloc123 wrote: »

But what's the point of it? Surely a triple is much better suited. The benefit of a compact being it was a simple crank change to get a double but if this now requires a different derailleur also you might aswell go for a triple.

The benefits of the compact are better front shifting and the aesthetics IMO. Most people would be buying Apex as a group/on a new bike so it wouldn't be a matter of swapping anything.

I don't think most people getting compacts are thinking in terms of swapping their cranks out, but if you had a SRAM compact and wanted to swap to this the RD and cassette would be the only thing you would need to change... Going to triple you would need to replace literally everything.

papac

There is (imo) an ulterior motive here which is to stop producing triples- small market and a pita for the manufacturers.

This group would be great for not so strong people when faced with serious gradient-if they don't mind the gappiness.

I for one would prefer a triple with a close ratio cassette.

niceonetom

papac wrote: »

There is (imo) an ulterior motive here which is to stop producing triples- small market and a pita for the manufacturers.

This group would be great for not so strong people when faced with serious gradient-if they don't mind the gappiness.

I for one would prefer a triple with a close ratio cassette.

I think SRAM are pretty candid about their desire to see the triple go the way of the dodo. The are marketting apex as suitable for touring. They even seem to want to get rid of triples for mountainbikes where the granny ring is still standard issue. See their XX ten speed mountain groupset.

I'll sing the praises of compact gearing more than most but, having used an 11-28, I think 11-32 is a ridiculous cassette for the road. There is a place for triples (touring and and serious mountains).

Lumen

mloc123 wrote: »

But what's the point of it?

As a late entrant in the market (compared to Shimano and Campag) SRAM need to do things differently to take market share.

Lots of people have an irrational aversion to triples. This is a product for those people.

cdaly_

papac wrote: »

There is (imo) an ulterior motive here which is to stop producing triples- small market and a pita for the manufacturers.

This group would be great for not so strong people when faced with serious gradient-if they don't mind the gappiness.

I for one would prefer a triple with a close ratio cassette.

No! No! Don't let them!

Close ratio and triple is the business...

blorg

SRAM have never produced road triples so it is a bit of a moot point.

papac

blorg wrote: »

SRAM have never produced road triples so it is a bit of a moot point.

Maybe I should have said avoid producing triples.

penexpers

I've heard another report of this working with the Ultegra GS rear derailleur

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?669790-Sram-Apex-11-32-10-speed-cassette-Shimano-shifters-amp-rear-derailleur-fear-no-hill

rughdh

mloc123 wrote: »

A compact with a 32 on the back? Jesus wept.

Got me up the Marie Blanc in the Pyrenees last year (Quebrantahuesos). A 30 would have done it, but walking wasn't an option (hotfoot after a few metres), and I had no idea what I needed, so overcompensated. 8-speed though, with a Shimano Deore dérailleur.