The ideal 9 speed cassette

Aug 13, 05 17:29

Post #1 of 20 (3527 views)

Don't know if this one exists (doubt it), but if I could build one up, it would look lilke this:

12 14 16 17 18 19 20 22 25

Basically, I find the 12 and 13 redundant. Any condition where I can actually push a 13, I can just as easily push the 12 (ie downhill....). The 11 is way too small a cog and really if I can use this cog in a triathlon, I am better off saving my legs and coasting (ie I am already rolling along faster than 60 kph). Where I want "tight spacing is 16-17-18-19-20". These are my flat and rolling terrain gears. Tight spacing here is great. Once I get beyond 20, I am hitting some steeper hills, so I am quickly needing to shift from 22 to 25.

By the way, I run a 48 tooth big ring. I spend all my time on the flat and rollers in the big ring. When I get into some serious hills, it is over to the 34. In that cog, the 34x(16,17,18,19,20) is really nice for a long sustained climb, saving the 22 and 25 for bailout when it gets super steep.

I really don't understand the utility of many cogs that start with 11-12-13-14...basically a waste of gearing.

What studly gearing are you 55 tooth guys using...is it something like 11-12-13-14-15-16-17-18-19 ?

Re: The ideal 9 speed cassette [devashish paul] [ In reply to ]

Aug 13, 05 17:52

Post #2 of 20 (3494 views)

DP, you might be able to bastard build close to that cassette out of a couple of SRAM PG-970s ...all their cogs are seperate and come apart with a 2mm allen wrench. They have 26 vice 25, though.

I normally run a 11-23 DA with my 50/34 compacts for the rolling Quantico, VA terrain...but when I'm headed to longer climbs to the west of me I'll slap on the 12-26 SRAM cassette...the 26 does, indeed make a good bailout gear when needed...

Re: The ideal 9 speed cassette [TriBriGuy] [ In reply to ]

Aug 13, 05 18:17

Post #3 of 20 (3476 views)

Brian, that sounds like a good plan. Remember the old Regin a freewheels when you could do just that. When Shimano first started using the freehub bodies we were supposed to be able to build custom, but that has gone out the window !

If you are in Quantico...is Doug Marocco still there. If so, say hi. We met at the World Military Games 1995 and then again at Wildflower 96. At the 95 World Militay Games the top 4 looked like this:

Hellriegel
Dmitri Gaag
Norman Stadler
Olivier Marceau

and way back in finishing the race two time zones off the pace

Doughboy Dev (48th....)

Pretting studly

Re: The ideal 9 speed cassette [devashish paul] [ In reply to ]

Aug 13, 05 18:25

Post #4 of 20 (3466 views)

We apparently ride very differently up here in the Northeast where the hills are severely steep but not many are more than a 1/2 mile long. Not much in the way of flat riding here at all. Certainly nothing more than a few minutes long. I don't know even a single person who rides a big ring of 48, nor even one person on compact cranks.

I've always ridden on a 53/42 up front (650 wheels) except for experimeting with larger rings a few years ago. My rear is an 11-23, which I've modified a bit. This IS my ideal cassette. I believe it is a 11-12-13-14-15-17-19-21-23. I ride in the 42 down to the 13 where the chain angle gets too steep to go further and then use the big ring for only the 11-12 cogs. I've been considering experiment with a 39 up front because I'm simply not as strong as I was 10 years ago but worry that it'll throw everything into confusion.

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Elivis needs boats.

Last edited by: Schwingding: Aug 13, 05 18:40

Re: The ideal 9 speed cassette [devashish paul] [ In reply to ]

Aug 13, 05 18:33

Post #5 of 20 (3455 views)

The 11 is usefull for those of us who ride 650's

Re: The ideal 9 speed cassette [Schwingding] [ In reply to ]

Aug 13, 05 18:46

Post #6 of 20 (3441 views)

Where are in you in the Northeast ? I used the 48 with a 12-23 at Tupper Lake Half Ironman for a top 10 bike split. Seriously, unless your engine is within 10% of Lance, why would you use gearing (transmission) that is geared within 10% of him. Really, you need to be substantially undergeared compared to a pro rider. Most bike shops and manufacturers sell us pro gearing, when when our engines are not even within 50% of the top pros (top marathoners run 2:0x, competitive age groupers around 3:00. Lance and Pantani did Alpe D'Heuz in sub 40 while competitive amateurs barely go under an hour).

I was riding with a young lady a few months ago who thought she was a "grinder on hills". The only reason she was a grinder on hills, was because she ran out of usable gears at the low end and even when she was not out of gears, her cadence band was pretty limited, so she would benefit from tighter gearing in the middle to stay in her optimal cadence band.

Dev

Re: The ideal 9 speed cassette [devashish paul] [ In reply to ]

Aug 13, 05 18:52

Post #7 of 20 (3427 views)

I love it when some guy who doesn't know me or where I live tells me what I need to be doing.

Get off it. You don't know me, nor is Tupper Lake anywhere near where I live - totally different climbs, I've done IMUSA twice.

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Elivis needs boats.

Re: The ideal 9 speed cassette [devashish paul] [ In reply to ]

Aug 13, 05 18:57

Post #8 of 20 (3419 views)

Agreed, most of us duffers are overgeared.

I've been doing the Mt. Diablo hill climb in northern
cal the last few years and am trying something new
this time. I used a compact crank with a 12-25 last year but
could have used more middle gears at the start, which
is only ~5%. I noticed shimano is selling an ultegra
level 14-25 for juniors giving 14,15,16,17,18,19,21,23,25.
A great climbing cassette, as long as you don't mind
coasting downhill.

Re: The ideal 9 speed cassette [Schwingding] [ In reply to ]

Aug 13, 05 18:59

Post #9 of 20 (3415 views)

Hey man, not telling you what to do. Perhaps you have the engine of a pro biker and need to use the same gearing. For the rest of us, we need gearing for our lame engines :-). Don't knock the 48 tooth ring until you try it though. It really gives you lots of usable big ring gearing :-).

Back to the original topic, can you get such a set up with a Shimano cassette ?

Re: The ideal 9 speed cassette [devashish paul] [ In reply to ]

Aug 13, 05 19:00

Post #10 of 20 (3412 views)

Actually, you were...here's where

"you need to be"

--------------
Elivis needs boats.

Re: The ideal 9 speed cassette [bobm] [ In reply to ]

Aug 13, 05 19:02

Post #11 of 20 (3410 views)

Bob M,

You could use this same junior gearing and replace the bottom two (which are the ones that come separate) with a 12 and 14. Then you get 12,14,16,17,18,19,21,23,25. This would be excellent.

Dev

Re: The ideal 9 speed cassette [devashish paul] [ In reply to ]

Aug 13, 05 19:03

Post #12 of 20 (3408 views)

In Reply To:

Where are in you in the Northeast ? I used the 48 with a 12-23 at Tupper Lake Half Ironman for a top 10 bike split. Seriously, unless your engine is within 10% of Lance, why would you use gearing (transmission) that is geared within 10% of him. Really, you need to be substantially undergeared

Ooooh.....gang up on Dev time. :-) Dev was that top 10 before or after your 4 minute drafting penalty? :-) LOL ...

I agree with you, but a 54 or 55 would look so much nicer on your new P3.

Last edited by: Trevor S: Aug 13, 05 19:04

Re: The ideal 9 speed cassette [Schwingding] [ In reply to ]

Aug 13, 05 19:03

Post #13 of 20 (3405 views)

Relax my friend...the "you need to be" was directed at the general readership. I should have separated the that line to start a new paragraph. My error.

Re: The ideal 9 speed cassette [Trevor S] [ In reply to ]

Aug 13, 05 19:05

Post #14 of 20 (3396 views)

OK, top 10 in Peterborough....no drafting penalty :-). .Trev, bring your mangears out to the Ottawa half Ironman :-). I got my P3 so we'll be even :-)

Re: The ideal 9 speed cassette [devashish paul] [ In reply to ]

Aug 13, 05 19:12

Post #15 of 20 (3390 views)

In Reply To:

OK, top 10 in Peterborough....no drafting penalty :-). .Trev, bring your mangears out to the Ottawa half Ironman :-). I got my P3 so we'll be even :-)

No can do on Ottawa! Seasons over. I'm already riding my fixie (39X16 BTW)!

Re: The ideal 9 speed cassette [devashish paul] [ In reply to ]

Aug 13, 05 20:04

Post #16 of 20 (3355 views)

try starting with a couple campy 9 speed cassettes, get the shimano spacing kit, and mix and match as needed.

*
The Dude abides.

Re: The ideal 9 speed cassette [devashish paul] [ In reply to ]

Aug 13, 05 20:54

Post #17 of 20 (3329 views)

I think your right that 48x36 and 12-25 is ideal for most athletes (and probably 48x34 and 12-27 for many).

As I'm already sunk into a 53x39 DA crank, I run a 13-25 junior cassette in the back. (Honestly, who consistently needs a 53x12 in a triathlon? Nobody I'm pedaling near).

Re: The ideal 9 speed cassette [Schwingding] [ In reply to ]

Aug 13, 05 23:13

Post #18 of 20 (3299 views)

I think if you are only using your big ring with 2 cogs you are not taking advantage of what your gearing COULD do.

CST

Re: The ideal 9 speed cassette [devashish paul] [ In reply to ]

Aug 13, 05 23:20

Post #19 of 20 (3297 views)

I don't think they make a 22. Otherwise you'd be good to go. Are you on a 42 or 39 up front? If you're running a 42, try going to a 39 and running this in back:

13-14-15-16-17-18-19-21-23

That's a custom set-up as well. I used to take 12-25 8-speed cassettes apart a, pitch the 25 and put on an 11-tooth, so then I'd have:

11-12-13-15-17-19-21-23

And for racing I'd go to an 11-21 the same way. SO I have a rather large stock of 23 and 25 cogs. What, you say you can't run the cassette without the screws holding the whole thing together? Guess then I really HAVEN'T put in all those miles over the years, and I just imagined it... Just run that lockring on tight, and it's no problem (do NOT do this on aluminum freehubs).

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Some are born to move the world to live their fantasies...

https://triomultisport.com/
http://www.mjolnircycles.com/

Re: The ideal 9 speed cassette [brider] [ In reply to ]

Aug 14, 05 6:09

Post #20 of 20 (3239 views)

What, you say you can't run the cassette without the screws holding the whole thing together?

I'll second this observation. I took apart an old 12-23 8-speed, unscrewed the pins, took the 23 and changed it out with the 16 on a newer cassette. I can't remember if I bothered with the pins or not. I rode the new cassette for a long time.

Last spring I decided I really missed the 16-tooth and wanted a 25 so I bought a 10-speed cassette and put it on to see if it would work. The only thing I lost in the bargain was indexing on my shifters, but I forgot all about that inside of 10 minutes.

A 10-speed 12-25 is a really great cassette. You don't need a new derailleur or new shifters, and perhaps not even a new chain. I used to think having ten gears in back was silly; now I think it was a great, no-compromise idea. It gives you a good range from 12-17 in the big ring and 14-25 for the small ring without a really bad chainline (though the 25 is a bit of a stretch on a crank with a wide Q-factor).

Chad

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