Weight Weenies

Can you suggest which 11-28 cassette to get for rides with nasty climbs..

Ultegra CS-6700 vs Force PG-1070
the listing says 6700 is 230g
and the SRAM is 239g,
not sure how accurate because I thought usually SRAM is lighter?

The 6700 is quieter and the SRAM is a little louder

The gearing is

SRAM
11-12-13-14-15-17-19-22-25-28

Shimano
11-12-13-14-15-17-19-21-24-28

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Weights are probably pretty accurate on those......think I weighed them at my LBS when i was purchasing a new cassette and they were pretty close for the 12/25 variety.

As far as the gearing goes it looks like the Shimano would give you a bit more options in the higher gears for those climbs......just a single tooth difference in the 21-25 range, but options are options.

I would go with the Ultegra.....

I would go with the Ultegra too. I had a SRAM Red 11-28 that came with the SRAM Red group on my Kestrel and I just hated it - and the SRAM chain. Loud, poor shifting - fiddled with it for weeks and almost felt like selling the bike. Put an Ultegra cassette and chain on the bike and it was like butter.

Now, this was just my experience - so don't beat me up if you love these components. But from what I read around the internets, I wasn't the only one who solved their SRAM shifting problem with a Shimano cassette and chain. Now I'm perfectly happy with SRAM Red.

Ultegra is quieter but the Sram is better in the "struggle" gears. If you are putting a 28 on you'll prefer the 25 and 28 option to the 24 and 28 (I personally found this quite odd and too much of a jump). Both can be made to shift OK. Ultegras shifting is flawless on a good shimano chain and using a shimano chain, so is Srams. The noise kicks in on the SRAM when you use the sram chain. I know this is counter-intuitive but it's definitely what I've found to be the case.

Well.. the Dura-Ace chain even new make a buzz that is very similar to standing under a electric powerline tower. I am not sure this has to do with chainring or cassette, but using Ultegra cassette with it.

The SRAM 1071 or 1091 chains does not make this sound and over all much quieter as it aged. They are really smooth running for me..

PoorCyclist wrote:SRAM
11-12-13-14-15-17-19-22-25-28

Shimano
11-12-13-14-15-17-19-21-24-28

I used to use a Shimano 11-28, and then when I got a new bike with a SRAM drive-train, I moved to a SRAM 11-28. I didn't think it would matter, but I've found that I really like the "25" as my second lowest. There were some situations (one particularly long 6%+ grade climb) for me where, when I had the Shimano the "24" was a little too high so I was kinda forced into spinning the 28. Now, on the same climb, I can switch between 25 and 28 depending on how I feel. I guess I never thought it would make much difference ... but I've liked it.

After typing my response... I saw this. My experience has been similar!

theremery wrote:Sram is better in the "struggle" gears. If you are putting a 28 on you'll prefer the 25 and 28 option to the 24 and 28 (I personally found this quite odd and too much of a jump).

Scott

I just went through this a week ago.

For the longest I've been running the Ultegra 11-28. I love the 11 for the flats!
I just swapped out to the DuraAce 12-27. Didnt think it would be that drastic of a change but DAMN...what a difference! I see some 17% grades and I really had to grind it out to make it up the hill! The 11-28 is more comfortable.
The chain does make a lot of noise in the 28. Not so much with the 27.

Weights of my cassettes;
Ultegra 11-28 235g
DA 12-27 194g
DA 12-25 190g

Front rings are DA 7900 53x39
(Sorry to get bit ot.)

might help to note the front chainrings too.

My guess is you're using a compact?....which is XX x XX teeth??

Shimano all the way. SRAM 11-28 has this stupid big 19-22 jump in the more used part of the cassette versus Shimano's 24-28 at the very end. I wonder what was SRAM guys thinking - if they really wanted to not have 24-28, they should have gone with 11-12-13-14-16-18-20-22-25-28.

This is all super interesting... I just finally upgraded from a Dura-Ace 9spd 12-27 cassette, for the 2012 SRAM Red 11-28. I think on the steepest grades here in VT, i'm really going to love the 28; but I never considered the considerable tooth jump. I wonder if it will make an actual difference for me or not. It seems like the jump is in the top 1/3 of the cassette though - and I typically stay in the middle to bottom 3rd for most riding, so I'm hoping it makes no difference to me. Weight wise, my new Red cassette is 153g; so about 30g lighter than the D/A i'm coming off of. I'm running a KCMC X10sl chain, so will also be interesting to see what the road noise will be like. Taking my first real ride on the new stuff (been on the rollers all week) this weekend.

I have both of those, so I can compare directly:
Both have those "odd" jumps", just in different places. So it sort of depend on the particular terrain as to which works better. I definitely NOTICE it more on very steep, long climbs, where I vastly prefer the 25-28 of the SRAM.

BUT, generally speaking, the Shimano cassettes shift much more smoothly and quietly than SRAM, even on my all-Sram drivetrain.

I also have a Tiagra 12-28 just to try to reduce the odd jumps when I know I will be doing a lot of climbing.
12 13 14 15 17 19 21 23 25 28

I couldn't find an Ultegra or DA in 12-28

they should have gone with 11-12-13-14-16-18-20-22-25-28.

That is what I think also!

I haven't had good shifting experiences on SRAM cassettes in general. Plus, they are just too loud for my tastes.

I agree that SRAM doesn't shift quite as well as Shimano, and I hate the 19-22 jump in the middle of the SRAM cassette.

Do you really need the 11? As mentioned above, the Tiagra 12-28 cassette has the best gear combinations IMO. For me, the cog sizes and shift quality are more important than the weight for a cassette. Even the Tiagra 12-30 cassette offers better cog sizes than the SRAM 11-28 (again because there is no 19-22 jump). Shimano have announced that there will be a much lighter, Ultegra-level cassette in 12-30 released sometime this summer (along with a new version of the Ultegra RD which can officially handle a 30 tooth cog, although the current version almost always can already).

ScottGoBlue wrote:

PoorCyclist wrote:SRAM
11-12-13-14-15-17-19-22-25-28

Shimano
11-12-13-14-15-17-19-21-24-28

I used to use a Shimano 11-28, and then when I got a new bike with a SRAM drive-train, I moved to a SRAM 11-28. I didn't think it would matter, but I've found that I really like the "25" as my second lowest. There were some situations (one particularly long 6%+ grade climb) for me where, when I had the Shimano the "24" was a little too high so I was kinda forced into spinning the 28. Now, on the same climb, I can switch between 25 and 28 depending on how I feel. I guess I never thought it would make much difference ... but I've liked it.

After typing my response... I saw this. My experience has been similar!

theremery wrote:Sram is better in the "struggle" gears. If you are putting a 28 on you'll prefer the 25 and 28 option to the 24 and 28 (I personally found this quite odd and too much of a jump).

Scott

Not sure if it is a Scott thing, however I found the same thing. The solution is get stronger and dump the 28, that is what my buddies tell me.

Do you really need the 11 ?? Else I think the Tiagra 12-28 or the 12-30 would have a pretty nice set of cogs

12-13-14-15-17-19-21-23-25-28

12-13-24-15-17-19-21-24-27-30

Something worth considering ???

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