Touring Cassette

[Mike777]

Hi all

I do a daily commute on my bike which is not hilly and about 15 miles round trip.

I would like to do some touring and wondered if my back cassette is appropriate for touring (given that it would be for the odd couple of weekends a year)

My front chainset is Shimano Deore Chainset 48-38-28 and my back is 11-25.

I wondered if this would be ok or whether I should change it and ride with it daily or maybe just change it just when I go away touring. No sure how wise the second options is as would this impact on my gear setting or just not be the thing to do.

Would appreciate any views

Many thanks

Mike

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
48 x 11 is He man gearing, do you use it much.

I have 42 32 22 x 11 - 32, its ok for about 30 mph on the flat but I have all those useable gears.

Normally its just the top and middle clanger , the granny is for lugging up steep hills when you are touring.

Your gears are wide and the top is too high the bottom is not low enough.
The problem you may have is the derraileurs capacity to handle a bigger cog on the back / more compact on the front.

Once you change for more (I.M.O.) practicl gearing (overall lower) you can keep all year round.

Probably a good idea to list the gear you have an others will give solutions.

[cycleruk]

For touring I'd change it for the lowest gear that your current setup would take.
Initially what cassette do you have, 7,8,9 or 10 speed ?
What rear derailleur is on the bike - road or MTB ?

You could also change the "granny gear" for something a little smaller quite cheaply.

[bikepacker]

I used a 22 chainring with an 11-32 cassette when I lived in Paignton, I needed it there. My advice to the OP is; if your rear mech arm is long enough to cope just fit an 11-32 cassette and leave your chainset as it is.

[tatanab]

It depends on many things - riding style, strength, touring areas, touring load and a whole lot more. You already have lower gears than I used for lightweight hilly touring right up until my mid 40s (20 years ago). When I ventured into mountains and then added camping equipment I geared lower, down to 24 front 28 rear. I agree that your top gear is already fashionably large, larger than anything I ever raced on.

Changing the cassette for a tour may be as easy as keeping a separate chain and cassette for those occasions, assuming you have a rear mech capable of supporting the range of sprocket sizes.

So to make a judgement we need more information on what your capabilities are and what you intend. If as you say it is only a couple of weekends a year then I would not bother.

[Mike777]

For touring I'd change it for the lowest gear that your current setup would take.
Initially what cassette do you have, 7,8,9 or 10 speed ?
What rear derailleur is on the bike - road or MTB ?

You could also change the "granny gear" for something a little smaller quite cheaply.

Many thanks for the replies........

Think my cassette is either 9 or 10 speed (think 10)

The rear derailleur is a MTB ....

Is the garnny gear you are referring to at the front as I hardly use it ?

Regards

Mike

[foxyrider]

You probably don't need the 32 thats being spouted above but certainly increasing your range to 28/29 would be appropriate. You are used to riding a fairly close spaced set of gears so with your triple front you should be able to cope with almost anything. Of course that might not be true if you are lumping forty kilos around the Alps I find that i need @ 20% lower gearing when loaded than unloaded, going too low can actually make it more difficult rather than easier. try loading your bike for touring and doing a regular ride, it'll give you an idea of what you need and can cope with.

Another advantage of not going too big at the rear is that you can keep the chain shorter which helps prevent loosing it on rough surfaces!

[simonhill]

If you are commuting 15 mpd and have been for a while, my guess is that you are probably due a new chain and may have to change the casette due to excessive wear. What mileage do you reckon its done?

This is no help in sizing it, but may make you feel better knowing it needed changing anyway.

[andrew_s]

For touring, with camping gear, I'd change to an 11-32 cassette, and also put a 24T chainring on.
You've always got the option of not using your bottom gear, but if your bottom gear isn't low enough, you'll suffer, or have to push (and pushing a loaded bike isn't that easy). You'll also find that you need lower gears at the end of a long loaded ride than you do on a brief test ride at home.

If you do change cassette, you'll also want to change the chain, unless it's fairly new. If you change back at the end of the tour, change the chain back too, and keep the touring chain with its matching cassette. Quick links make this sort of thing quite easy.

[ANTONISH]

I have a 24 x 34 lowest gear on my touring bike. At this level of gearing it becomes a personal thing - others may be better suited to something higher.

[Merry_Wanderer]

I have 44/32/22 x 11-34 on my touring bike but my preference is spinning rather than honking up hills. Assuming your knees are in much better shape than mine you could leave the chainset as is and have an 11-32 on the rear, which would still give you a sporting range of gears

[loafer]

I have 44/32/22 x 11-30 on my touring bike but my preference is spinning rather than honking up hills(I am 59).. this might be of use to you http://www.bikecalc.com/gear_inches

[Tigerbiten]

Unless the cassette-chain is worn out the cheapest way would be to just change the inner chainring.
Put it small-small and measure the gap between the chain and the bottom of the front derailleur cage.
You need 2 mm per tooth reduction.
So a 4 mm gap will let you drop the inner by 2 teeth and an 8 mm gap will let you drop it by 4.

[CJ]

If, as you say, you already have a MTB rear mech, a cassette that only goes to 25 teeth is borderline too small and will not shift as precisely as one with bigger big sprockets that thus come closer to the mech's guide pulley.

Ten or even nine sprockets between 11 and only 25 teeth must also necessarily be closer in size to one another, providing finer tuning than anyone needs unless they are racing at their physical limit and at a speed dictated by other riders, rather than their own preferred cadence. For normal riding, such close-ratio cassettes a bit of a nuisance, since they oblige one to shift more often than is convenient, or two gears at a time, when accelerating from the lights and adjusting speed to a changing gradient.

Now we have so many sprockets in back, as a given, simply because more gears sells bikes so that's how it must be if you want decent quality equipment, I don't know why any practical cyclist, who uses their bike as vehicle rather than a toy, bothers with anything less than the biggest cassette that'll work on their bike.

[CJ]

Another advantage of not going too big at the rear is that you can keep the chain shorter which helps prevent loosing it on rough surfaces!

Sounds like an old roadie myth to me. I've always employed the biggest sprockets available and been no stranger to rough-stuff, but so far this worker has yet to lose his chains!