Help me choose a cassette

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zalle
Posts: 72
Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2016 11:14 pm

by zalle

Hi

I'm upgrading my Roubaix sl4, and one obvious item is the cassette. It comes with a deore (yes, deore) 11-34, which weighs around 430g
I'm buying an ultegra, and I need your help.

I'm a bit on the heavy side and I'm not fond of hills, so I can't use a small cassette. My crank is a compact, 170mm ultegra, instead of the 172.5 4700 tiagra. Should I get the 11-28, 230g or the 12-30, 259g?
I'm inclined towards the 12-30, I think it's the max the RD6700ss will take (it weighs 189g and I bought it to replace the tiagra which is 277g).

11-28 is good I think, it's also lighter (30g rolling weight), but my crank is smaller, so I take it it will take just a bit more effort to turn it around...
What do you think? I don't really care about the 11 or 12 small cog...

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McGilli
Posts: 373
Joined: Sun Jun 07, 2015 6:57 pm

by McGilli

A HUGE part of cycling - is enjoying it. I think you should go for the 30 tooth. If you don't really enjoy hills already - do yourself a favour and just get the easier gears. Not many things take the fun away and ruin a ride like climbing and wishing you had that one extra gear :)

Jowwy
Posts: 76
Joined: Thu Jun 09, 2016 6:47 pm

by Jowwy

I would change the rear derraulier and get a 11/32 cassette

fromtrektocolnago
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by fromtrektocolnago

i know this is weight weenies but i doubt you'll feel the weight difference. That said an 11-32 is not going to suddenly make hills feel easy that wee formerly hard on an 11-32. My own experience is that unless the climb is long in duration the 28 or 32 choice won't have a major impact on the ride. If you are talking long climbs definitely get the go 30 or 32.
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Briscoelab
Posts: 1513
Joined: Thu Jan 26, 2006 6:01 pm

by Briscoelab

The 12-30 is a nice cassette. I bet that you'll use the 28 much more often that you would the 11 of the 11-28.

zalle
Posts: 72
Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2016 11:14 pm

by zalle

Hi guys, thanks for your opinions. I ordered the 12-30. I know I won't notice 30g in weight (I just put a 220g lighter crank and didn't notice any difference...) it's the add-up of all the small upgrades.

I think I'll be able to take around 1.5kg off the original 9kg without spending millions. Then it's over, the only weight I'll be taking will be off my belly :)

superdx
Posts: 524
Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2014 1:27 pm

by superdx

Depending on what gradients you have, a couple people here are using RoadLinks to fit MTB cassettes on road bikes.

It's kind of crazy but when you hit a 16+% gradient it's nice being able to keep a 50-60RPM cadence without grinding your knees. Can get to top of a climb without burning out and ready for even more climbing!

kode54
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by kode54

just keep climbing. a fellow rider was a clydesdale weight...and he kept at climbing (stubborn i guess), but by the end of the season, he lost about 15 lbs and is climbing like a mountain goat.
his power to weight ratio changed and he doesn't even need the easier gears anymore.
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zalle
Posts: 72
Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2016 11:14 pm

by zalle

superdx wrote:Depending on what gradients you have, a couple people here are using RoadLinks to fit MTB cassettes on road bikes.

It's kind of crazy but when you hit a 16+% gradient it's nice being able to keep a 50-60RPM cadence without grinding your knees. Can get to top of a climb without burning out and ready for even more climbing!



Mine had a MTB cassette, a Dior 11-34, with a tiagra gs derailleur. It came like that from the factory...

alcatraz
Posts: 4064
Joined: Mon Aug 29, 2016 11:19 am

by alcatraz

kode54 wrote:just keep climbing. a fellow rider was a clydesdale weight...and he kept at climbing (stubborn i guess), but by the end of the season, he lost about 15 lbs and is climbing like a mountain goat.
his power to weight ratio changed and he doesn't even need the easier gears anymore.


I can attest to this. Don't be afraid of the climb. Let it exhaust you and after a few rides you won't even need the largest cog anymore.

I started riding 6 months ago and my new place is hilly. First time an 11-32 seemed not enough. Since then I had an 11-28 and now I'm on an 11-25. And I don't even use the 25t cog much.

Keep riding hills! Pace yourself, focus on breathing, cadence and so on...

/a

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