Cassette range - options

guanciale

Does anyone here know whether it is possible to get a cassette (10speed Shim/SRAM) that has a wide range of options for climbing (say 28 or 30 teeth) but isn't gappy.

What I would like would be something like a 14-28.

I currently have 11-25/12-27/11-28 on different bikes. The 12 and 11 tooth cassettes are only used on longer downhills but even then I would rarely if ever spin out on these. I would gladly give these cogs up for a tighter range from the 19 tooth upwards.
Anyone know of such a cassette or is it advisable to simply build it myself?

Thanks

Cee-Jay-Cee

They're not sold as standard so best option would be to buy a junior cassette and build your own.

com1

http://www.probikeshop.com/en/gb/miche-cassette-10s-shimano/71241.html


Or you could get a very tight lower range cassette (11-21) and go for a smaller crankset like... Edit - or an MTB crankset which would give better range)


http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ie/en/cranksets/road-cranksets?f=4294963637,4294962601


(only a customer of both shops - they were the highest google response for the question )


A handy calculator here...


http://www.bikecalc.com/gear_ratios

guanciale

Thank you for the responses.
More questions:
1. Where would I get a junior cassette.
2. Has anyone experience with Miche cassettes - if so would you recommend?

The CX crank option is a non runner - an expensive non-solution in that I would go from 34-28 to 36-28, but I would still have a happy cassette. Thanks anyway.

borris4

Miche cassettes are excellent, nice chromed finish too. Individual cog, not on a spider so you can build your own custom cassette. Much cheaper then Campagnolo cassettes.

lethal dose

Recently bought a Miche Primato 12-30 11 speed to replace 11-25 as I wanted/needed to increase cadence on hills and also alleviate some of the pain issues I had been suffering. Did the trick nicely so much so that I set a new PB after 50k of some of the worst hills near me!

NeedMoreGears

I have a Tiagra 12-30 for the hills

12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21, 24, 27, 30

I don't find it too gappy , although sometimes a 32 would come in handy

dreddie

Miche do a 13-29 which is compatible with Shimano/SRAM, available on Bike24 for €36

https://www.bike24.com/1.php?content=8;product=20040;menu=1000,4,27;mid=0;pgc=0;page=7;orderby=2

borris4

You may buy yourself one of those Dreddie for the inaugural Carlow Laois International Tour.

guanciale

Thanks for all of the suggestions. Miche it is then.
I wonder if Shimano/SRAM/Campag are all missing a trick here with road bike gearing.
I suspect that a lot of riders who don't race and rarely, if ever, get the value from an 11 or 12 tooth.
I like going downhill but I think that I would value less gaps from the high teens to mid twenties sprockets relative to the top end speed I would get on an 11 or 12. In any case once I reach a certain speed on downhill aerodynamics as opposed to more spinning the 11 drive my speed.
I like the idea that I use all of my sprockets - presently I can't say that I do unless I have a long flat road with a ferocious tailwind behind me.

cdaly_

To get the low gear I wanted without the gaps, I took a 12-27t cassette, split it apart by driving out the three retaining pins, removed a 23t and a 27t sprocket and added a 28 and 32t from an old MTB cassette. That left me with a nice tight block from 12-21t (in 6 sprockets) with a 25-28-32t low end. When changing cassettes, the 28 and 32t sprockets were essentially un-worn so they would just move to the new cassette.