Custom Cassettes

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tatanab
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Joined: 8 Feb 2007, 12:37pm

Re: Custom Cassettes

Post by tatanab »

First hand experience of custom versus manufacturer's cassettes.

The only place I have a manufacturer's cassette is on my shopping bike which has old Shimano 6 speed working from indexed thumbshifters. The changing is precise and silent.

All other machines use Marchisio with Campag. Marchisio sprockets have taller teeth with little shaping to them, much like old Regina sprockets. The tall teeth and very hard steel give them a good life. The tall teeth also make the gear changes not as smooth as they might be (I've never used a Campag cassette so cannot compare directly). If assembled to manufacturer's instructions the sprockets align in a particular way to ease gear changing. 8 speed works just fine with Ergo or down tube levers, but I never got 9 speed to work to my satisfaction.

Marchisio drive the freehub through individual sprockets so I am aware of the possibility of them digging in. This is in the same way as clutch plates dig into the clutch hub on old British motorcycle. In truth I have not found this to be the case. Yes there is some marking, but that is all even though I gear lower than Mick at 24x30 for loaded mountain touring. I don't gear as high either at only 48x14 because I am probably a bit more of a spinner than he is. Different styles, same result.
Jonty

Re: Custom Cassettes

Post by Jonty »

This discussion is way over my head, but if it's any help I bought a Mich Campag splined 11-27 cassette from Company Z in London to replace my 11-23 Campag cassette and give me a lowest gear of about 20 inches rather than 24.5.
Works fine. See my post in Reviews for contact details.
jonty
ChrisButch
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Joined: 24 Feb 2009, 12:10pm

Re: Custom Cassettes

Post by ChrisButch »

I've been grappling with this problem for years. Until recently I've always used Marchisio: although, as you say, Chris Bell at Highpath won't stock the 10-speed version (he does do 9-spd, however). More recently I've tried BBB cassettes, which do have a more sensible spread of sprocket sizes: but they wear very quickly. The American IRD cassettes are, however, excellent. There only seems to be one UK importer: http://www.wheelroom.co.uk/. IRD make a much wider range of sizes than Wheelroom list, (both Campag and Shimano compatible), but they will get hold of the other sizes to order (see the IRD website for what's available).
The spread of sprocket sizes in the standard 10-speed cassettes from Shim and Campag, even the widest ratio offerings, is indeed absurd for many riders - straight through for the highest five, then wide gaps thereafter. What many of us need is, if anything, the reverse of this.
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CREPELLO
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Joined: 29 Nov 2008, 12:55am

Re: Custom Cassettes

Post by CREPELLO »

I've got to ask you Mick, but did you dimiss or overlook the possibility of a 54T outer ring? It's what Mark Cavendish does afterall :mrgreen: 8)
ChrisButch
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Re: Custom Cassettes

Post by ChrisButch »

Forgot to mention another option: the cassette packages Mavic offer for their wheelsets. These are loose collections of sprockets and spacers, so you can mix and match to quite an extent. They're very good - I suspect the sprockets may actually be made by Marchisio, as they look similar.
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Mick F
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Location: Tamar Valley, Cornwall

Re: Custom Cassettes

Post by Mick F »

CREPELLO wrote:I've got to ask you Mick, but did you dimiss or overlook the possibility of a 54T outer ring?

I dismissed it.
The 53t is big enough, and as I have a stock 53/42/30 Campag Triple and front mech, I didn't want to change anything there. It changes sweetly and perfectly.

Later this morning, I'll be off for a test ride with my new cassette. Hopefully, everything will be fine. I have yet to put the rear wheel back on!

I have two worries:
1. I have a Medium Cage rear mech, and my 13-29 is at the far end of the range. Small ring/small cog is only just ok, and big ring/big cog is only just ok too. Now I've gone down 1t to 12-29, the chain may be too long on small/small.

2. The gears may not change as sweetly as before.

Stand by for a report.
Mick F. Cornwall
thirdcrank
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Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 2:44pm

Re: Custom Cassettes

Post by thirdcrank »

I can just about imagine why you need a top gear of 53 x 12 :shock: (it's only quite recently that I abandoned my ambition of breaking the record for most TdeF wins - LA put it beyond my reach :wink: ) but why do you want to be able to ride about in 30 x 12 or 53 x 29? (Because they are there?)
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Mick F
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Re: Custom Cassettes

Post by Mick F »

Hi TC,

Why?

If the gear is selectable, you will select it, even if it's not recommended because of cross-chaining. It's easy to lose concentration and get lost in the sprocket/cog department. I would always want to be able to get all the gears, because if you can't, all hell would brake loose if the chain was too tight or too slack.

Also, powering along on the flat, 53/13 is high enough - perhaps too high. 53/14 is a good top gear on the flat.

I haven't done much to the gears, all I've done is effectively reduce my cassette from 10sp to 9sp BUT I now have an "overdrive" top gear to compensate. My idea is that on long descents, I can still pedal.

I'll still have my 13-29, but in 9 cogs instead of 10. I'll just have a tenth cog to select on long downhills - or on the flat with a gale force wind behind me!
Mick F. Cornwall
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squeaker
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Location: Sussex

Re: Custom Cassettes

Post by squeaker »

Mick F wrote:I would always want to be able to get all the gears, because if you can't, all hell would brake loose if the chain was too tight or too slack.

IME (a bit) too slack is OK - chain just rubs on the mech and reminds you (if that's hell, what am I worried about :lol: )
"42"
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Mick F
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Re: Custom Cassettes

Post by Mick F »

Yes, too slack is better than too tight, but still not desirable. I wonder if a chain might foul the wheel if it swung inwards?

Any road up, just got back from a 17 mile blast. WOW!!!! I can now pedal up to 40mph !! :shock:

The Miche cassette ran smoothly and changed gear sweetly. I think that it's actually better than the Campag Centaur I've been using the past couple of years! This is a revelation to me, as I expected that a timed cassette would be better than one without ramps and any sort of assistance. Maybe the timing on cassettes is a red herring designed to lure folk into paying more? No clunks, rattles or hesitations. Just perfection.

The Miche cassette fitted easily, and the Campag lockring bedded in well. I took the liberty to re-grease the hub whilst I was in there too. The cassette is shiny and sparkles like chrome, the Centaur one is dull in comparison.

All gear combinations could be selected with ease and with no issues whatsoever. Big/big and small/small were ok.

I'm a happy bunny now.
:D
Mick F. Cornwall
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enigmatic
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Location: Worcestershire

Re: Custom Cassettes

Post by enigmatic »

Mick F wrote:Yes, too slack is better than too tight, but still not desirable. I wonder if a chain might foul the wheel if it swung inwards?

Maybe ask Andy Schleck about that :!:
thirdcrank
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Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 2:44pm

Re: Custom Cassettes

Post by thirdcrank »

enigmatic

You've sussed him out. He's worried Contador may be going to have a crack at the End-to-End on a Raleigh Grifter :lol:
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CREPELLO
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Re: Custom Cassettes

Post by CREPELLO »

Mick F wrote:All gear combinations could be selected with ease and with no issues whatsoever. Big/big and small/small were ok.

I'm a happy bunny now.
:D

I knew you wouldn't have to worry about the extreme combinations. My Mercian is fitted with a 11-28T shimano cassette and a Centaur medium cage rear mech, which I took the plunge in buying after reading that you used a medium cage mech with your wide ratio cassette. Thanks for that. And I have a Campag long cage Comp mech paired with an XT 11-43T cassette

But I found the standard 53/42/30 Record chainset gave gears too big for me, at least with the 11-28 cassette. Sure, it was nice to speed along at 35mph in favourable conditions. Health has not been good this last year and so those rings had to go, replaced with 50/39/26, by Stronglight. Very versatile now.
reohn2
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Joined: 26 Jun 2009, 8:21pm

Re: Custom Cassettes

Post by reohn2 »

Mick F wrote:
Maybe the timing on cassettes is a red herring designed to lure folk into paying more?

You don't say!



I'm a happy bunny now.
:D

Thats what matters :D
-----------------------------------------------------------
"All we are not stares back at what we are"
W H Auden
goatwarden
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Joined: 20 Nov 2009, 12:03pm
Location: Bristol

Re: Custom Cassettes

Post by goatwarden »

CREPELLO wrote: an XT 11-43T cassette


Now that's the kind of low gear I want to be able to run on my tandem without melting the rear hub!
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