Early this season, I decided to bite the bullet and got a new 2012 Red Cassette, 11-28. I wanted that extended gearing, and the low weight that came with it. Also, they (and reviewers) claimed that the new design was silent. What could go wrong? Well, $300 and 1k miles later, damn that thing is noisy. Loved the gearing range (though the 3t jumps were sometimes annoying) and the weight - 158g for this size; but seriously... less than silent.

So this week I got a good deal on a new D/A 7900 cassette; and went for the 11-25 this time since I don't intend to sell the Red. Weight came in at 172g; so ever so slightly more, even with the reduced size of the largest cog. Took it out for its first spin today and....SILENCE. Wow. I forgot what it was like! Shifting was spot on as well (I'm running old red shifters, and old red rear derailleur). Whats more, I had a creaking noise coming from the rear wheel area for the past few hundred miles. I had tightened down my cassette numerous times; and the noise would not go away, so I assumed it was the wheel. That noise is now completely gone too - so I guess the way the D/A cassette connects to the hub is somehow less prone to stress points (the Red only has that one ring that mates with the hub, while the D/A has multiple). This was a huge thing for me; as I hate creaks.

Now that D/A 7900 comes in the exact same gearing range as the new red - and at a fraction of the price (I bought this one new for $195, but they can be had for $140 on Ebay), I see no reason at all to go with Red unless you really want that extra 10-25g weight savings. To me, the noise (and creaks) that comes associated with that savings is simply not worth the price.

Is the SRAM red cassette you have the PG-1090 or is it the very new XG-1090 ? THe XG-1090 supposedly addresses the noise complaints of the PG-1090

I am SO glad to see this post - and the timing is perfect. I need a new rear cassette and was thinking about a new red - based on the assumption it was actually as quite as claimed. Then yesterday I started wondering if I should just go dura ace since I they're indisputably quiet. Guess you just made my decision. Thanks

This post does not really prove anything. Certainly not that RED cassettes are noisy and DA are not. There are too many variables. Tons of people ride RED cassettes, including myself, that are dead silent, even after thousands of miles.

A noisy cassette could be the result of riding a low quality chain or chain not compatible with that cassette, or it could be misaligned rear derailleur, or it could have been that within that 1k miles that you rode it... you went through heavy rain or a sand storm, or you never cleaned and oiled your chain/cassette. CLEARLY it's not the cassettes fault for being noisy, because if so... it would have been noisy from the start... not 1,000 miles down the road.

And who's to say that after 1k miles on your new DA... it's not going to be as noisy too?

I've got the old Red cassette on three bikes and can't say its noisy, though on my bike with a set Bonty carbons I wouldn't hear it above the noise of the free hub when freewheeling anyway

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Ti or dye!

The Weenie formally known as CAADHEAD

i have an old red cassette and if it is getting noisy you need to stop whinging about it and clean the chain - then its quiet. it is like a service alarm.

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Evo 5.63kg SL3 7.045kg viewtopic.php?f=10&t=110579" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

the new red cassette is a lot quieter than the old one

but if you haven't got the rear mech set up correctly, it'll be noisy, with sram the b tension makes a big difference to noise (and shifting performance)

All good replies here!

To set background straight: Its the new XG cassette, not old.
I'm running a new this season (purchased with new cassette) KMC X10sl chain, widely recognized to be the best chain to use with SRAM or Shimano. I wipe down and degrease my drivetrain regularly. I'm anal about such things. I don't ride in the rain either.. I'm just one of those fair weather bikers. Bike is a Cannondale 2011 Supersix. Cranks are the old style Red, purchased new in 2011. My shifting is spot on; derailleur is adjusted properly, including B-screw (I've tinkered with this setting a number of times to see where the best location was)

Now onto the comments.

I'm not trying to "prove" anything; so your right. This proves nothing. Yet, my comment is valid to my experience; and I would suspect that there may be others out there who have a similar experience. Just because my cassette is noisy does not mean yours is. This is a data point, which should be taken into consideration amongst all data points.

I'm not whining about my cassette. This is the first time I have ever spoken a word about it on this site, or any other -- and in my mentioning of it, I also put forth a working solution to my issue. In my definition, whining would be if I came on this site saying "my cassette is too noisy... waaahhh..." Clearly, i'm not whining. But thanks for your comment, as unhelpful as it was. As I said, my drivetrain is clean.

This also begs the question -- say my drivetrain was filthy (or just my chain). The fact that I could switch from one cassette to another, with the same "filthy" chain; and experience a sudden silencing of drivetrain noise, and a creak that has plagued my riding CLEARLY indicates a difference that is the result of the different cassette design. Now, I understand that my situation is unique dependent on my frame's chainline, and the overall condition of drivetrain components. Never the less, there is nothing about my setup that is out of the ordinary.

SO -- now that's all said... I'm totally phsyched for all you folks that run the XG Red cassette with no noise. That simply has not been the case for me from the get-go. I have no comparison to make as to whether my XG cassette would be quieter than the older red cassette. I imagine it would be; but to be honest, I've been told the old Red cassette was very noisy. So perhaps I have a reduction in noise, but its still louder than I would like. At any rate, the D/A cassette worked wonders for me; I'm happy with it, and that's the end of the story. Take from it what you will, but don't tell me I'm wrong.

Well obviously. I would find it alarming if my cassette made any noise when freewheeling.

I have the new Red cassette and it's substantially more quiet than the previous generation. I wouldn't say it's as silent as 7900 but it's close,imo. I run a KMC chain with it,fwiw.

You know, something occurred to me that I forgot to post; which I think is just useful "take it or leave it" information. The noisiest cogs were those that proceeded the 3 tooth jumps. Namely the 19t and 25t gears. I suspect this has something to do with the height of those gears against the chain.. Meaning that when the chain is in the 19t and 25t gears, it physically has the ability to be meshed up against more metal (being the 22t and 28t) in the next gears. Since I didn't get a 11-28 D/A cassette, I suppose there is no way to make the direct comparison. Just throwing it out there. Regardless, my D/A is quieter in all gears than the Red.

just weighted my 11-28 red cassette at 154 gr, should have it installed soon, and it's beautiful!

I'm running the Ultegra 12-23 with a DA 7801 chain because I find it's so smooth/durable and queit. Not the lightest combo but one area that drives me nuts if it's not working %100 like I want. The rest of my setup is new Red which is fantastic. I think I read into the propoganda too much against the new Red cassette.

I do want to try an X10SL chain but hear the black DLC can strip the chainring coatings. I have nice black Praxis rings that I want to keep black.

My slightly worn KMC chain was quite a bit louder than the 1091R with my 11-28 XG-1090. I'm not sure if the chain brand or the wear is the culprit.

Also, the newer red derailleur was much much quieter than the old one using the 1091R. This, however may be due to the larger capacity for b-screw adjustment on the new rd.

I found the same exact thing, 1091r is much quieter than the 10sl chain.

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Curt Brown
2012 Cannondale Supersix EVO SRAM Red 10.8#'s
2012 Cannondale Super X 14.1#'s and dropping....
2011 Cannondale Carbon Flash 1 17.2#'s
1999 Cannondale F2000, SRAM XO 18.9#'s
http://cbevo.com/2012_cd_supersix_evo_31.html