11-32 Cassette Options for 1x

Triathlon Forum
1

Seeking wisdom of the masses. I am currently using a 52/36 crank set with 12-28 cassette, ratios below. Green are the ones I use 99% of the time, yellow I could stand do lose, and white get used roughly never. The bold ratios are the ones around my average race speed around my average race rpm. I basically use the small ring as a bailout, hence the 24% jump from 52-23 to 36-21. On rare occasion I drop it to 36-19, but rarely. At that point I’m climbing slowly enough to sit up and spin up the hills anyway.

Now I am looking to go 1x with 44t and 11-32. In my opinion (correct me if I’m wrong), it would be ideal to have small steps in the range that I use the most and have bigger steps in my bailout gears (maybe I shouldn’t be riding that way). In that regards, Rotor UNO or Edco > SRAM Red > Ultegra. Ultegra starts making 2 tooth jumps the earliest and Rotor the latest. I acknowledge that on a flat course I might spend almost all my time around 3.4:1 gearing while on a hilly course I might spend most of my time at the ends of the cassette, but aside from Lanzarote and Nice, the former has been more representative of gearing usage.

Rotor and Red cost $250+ for the cassette so I inquired in a custom Miche cassette with someone who builds them. He said the Rotor 11-32 is made for their derailleur and the gearing ramp won’t work well with my Shimano derailleur. Also, he made a comment that Rotor cassettes break.

Here go my questions:

  1. Do the Rotor cassettes break? I haven’t found any feedback on them.
  2. Any feedback on the Edco cassette? I’ve only found a couple of positive reviews on ST and one ST poster who said he heard they shift poorly.
  3. Would shifting be compromised with a DA9100 derailleur using any of these cassettes?
  4. Which gearing ramp would you recommend as a do-it-all cassette, knowing that 3.4:1 gearing is where my average sits?

Thanks!

https://i.imgur.com/iA48Gij.jpg

2

You have put some serious thought into this. Nice work.

I can’t answer your first two questions. For #3, there won’t be any shifting compromise since 11 speed spacing is the same throughout cassettes.

#4 is where you’re going to get a slew of opinions. I don’t really believe in a do-it-all cassette. I would normally pick out the cassette for the course. To me, a SRAM 11-28 makes a lot of sense because it holds really tight until going to the low gears. I like the climbing gears to have more spread (percentage-wise) between them. For reference, their 11-28 1170 cassette goes 11,12,13,14,15,16,17,19,22,25,28. If you anticipate a course with some hills and you’re going 1x, nearly any cassette will work with that 9100 rear derailleur. I would just find the one with the lowest gear you need for a course with steep or sustained climbs. 11-32, 11-34 (shimano), or 11-36 (SRAM) should all fit. I have a couple Shimano 11-32 cassettes and I don’t like that the 15 is excluded. Given your desired gearing range with a 44 front ring, I would think the Shimano 11-32 might not be a good fit.

The gearing choices for the EDCO and Rotor cassette do look appealing.

3

Any consideration of the 9-32 3T cassettes? they would get you a 3.56:1 spread and would half step to SRAM AXS with the required driver body update.

4

Why are you interested in converting to 1x?

Your current setup 2x seems to accomplish exactly what you wish. What is the real net benefit of a 1x system that has less range and bigger jumps- especially in the range you prefer?

5

Now I am looking to go 1x with 44t and 11-32.

You don’t want small cogs in your “cruising” range of 3.4:1.

Get a 48 for the front.

Get a Sram 11-28 for flattish races. That gives you nice 1t jumps where you will be the most.
Another option would be to combine a Shimano 12-25 cassette with something else, and drop the 11.

Get an 11-36 for hilly courses.

So weird, back in the day when we used freehweels, loose cogs were readily available; even though every freewheel model took proprietary cogs. With cassettes it would be very easy to allow customization, and yet no one offers it.

6

So weird, back in the day when we used freehweels, loose cogs were readily available; even though every freewheel model took proprietary cogs. With cassettes it would be very easy to allow customization, and yet no one offers it.

When Shimano first introduced their cassettes, the cogs were available separately, and customization was one of the marketed features. The introduction of Hyperglide a few years later changed that, because the shift ramps on the cogs were designed to line up. That’s why the cogs have the one wider spline (Uniglide cassettes didn’t have that), and are sold as a complete unit. You can still mix and match cogs from different cassettes, it just might not shift as quick or smooth…

7

You can still mix and match cogs from different cassettes, it just might not shift as quick or smooth…

Only if you buy 2-3 of them to make 1!

8

Funnily enough I was looking into something similar for my TT bike to take to Norseman. In particular I wanted 12-30 for Shimano freehub, which Shimano themselves don’t do in 11 speed.

I bought a Miche cassette. These guys will make you up a custom cassette from sprockets of your choosing, as long as you don’t ask for something silly.

UK but ship to US.

https://thecycleclinic.co.uk/...es-for-shimano-sram#

Cheers, Rich.

9

So weird, back in the day when we used freehweels, loose cogs were readily available; even though every freewheel model took proprietary cogs. With cassettes it would be very easy to allow customization, and yet no one offers it.
Modern tooth profiling relies on matching between cogs. Some people mix the pieces of their cassettes to create semi-custom arrangements, and shifts across the splices are usually much balkier than the other jumps. It would be possible to just sell cogs with Uniglide-style tooth profiling and tell the consumer to not expect anything in particular, but they probably consider it more convenient not to.

The same is true on chainrings. There are plenty of “pinned and ramped” rings out there that don’t specify what they’re supposed to be paired with, and in my experience, they don’t work any better than old-school chainrings without shift gates.

10

I run full shimano 9000 but use the SRAM 1190 cassette and SRAM 1x chainring as well. No issues and have been running it going on 4 years. It is for racing and is super light but durable, it is cut from one block of metal which is why it is light.

11

I bought a Miche cassette. These guys will make you up a custom cassette from sprockets of your choosing, as long as you don’t ask for something silly.
UK but ship to US.
https://thecycleclinic.co.uk/...es-for-shimano-sram#
Cheers, Rich.

Thanks! I wasn’t aware of that option. Price isn’t too bad.

12

You have put some serious thought into this. Nice work.

I can’t answer your first two questions. For #3, **there won’t be any shifting compromise since 11 speed spacing is the same throughout cassettes. **

#4 is where you’re going to get a slew of opinions. I don’t really believe in a do-it-all cassette. I would normally pick out the cassette for the course. To me, a SRAM 11-28 makes a lot of sense because it holds really tight until going to the low gears. I like the climbing gears to have more spread (percentage-wise) between them. For reference, their 11-28 1170 cassette goes 11,12,13,14,15,16,17,19,22,25,28. If you anticipate a course with some hills and you’re going 1x, nearly any cassette will work with that 9100 rear derailleur. I would just find the one with the lowest gear you need for a course with steep or sustained climbs. 11-32, 11-34 (shimano), or 11-36 (SRAM) should all fit. I have a couple Shimano 11-32 cassettes and I don’t like that the 15 is excluded. **Given your desired gearing range with a 44 front ring, I would think the Shimano 11-32 might not be a good fit. **

The gearing choices for the EDCO and Rotor cassette do look appealing.

That’s what I thought. But when I inquired about custom Miche (from cycleclinic mentioned above), there were only particular gearing options he recommended. He wouldn’t send out a copy of the Rotor gearing, for example, because it will compromise shift quality to have those bigger jumps. Like you, I prefer tighter spacing in my fast gears, and bigger jumps in the climbing gears. That’s the nice thing about Rotor and Edco options.

11-32 gives me a range from 4.00:1 down to 1.38:1, which is all the range I need. I only use 4.33 to spin out while I’m flying down a hill, that’s it. The 1.38 should be enough for anything but Lanzarote.

Any consideration of the 9-32 3T cassettes? they would get you a 3.56:1 spread and would half step to SRAM AXS with the required driver body update.

Yes, I had it in my spreadsheet but it immediately got disqualified. It has way more range than I need and big jumps where I want small ones, unfortunately

Why are you interested in converting to 1x?
Your current setup 2x seems to accomplish exactly what you wish. What is the real net benefit of a 1x system that has less range and bigger jumps- especially in the range you prefer?

Yes, it accomplishes everything for 2x. But I caught the bug and want to get a 3T Torno crank set and get rid of the FD for the sweet sweet aero benefits. Since I use 11 of the 22 gears for 99%+ of my riding, the downside seems non existent if I can match those 11 gears.

You don’t want small cogs in your “cruising” range of 3.4:1.

Get a 48 for the front.

Get a Sram 11-28 for flattish races. That gives you nice 1t jumps where you will be the most.
Another option would be to combine a Shimano 12-25 cassette with something else, and drop the 11.

Get an 11-36 for hilly courses.

So weird, back in the day when we used freehweels, loose cogs were readily available; even though every freewheel model took proprietary cogs. With cassettes it would be very easy to allow customization, and yet no one offers it.

I think a 46 would be perfect for me because 48/11 is overkill, but a hear you. Unfortunately the 3T Torno comes in 44t max. On the flip side though, cruising in 44/13 compared to 52/15 shouldn’t be a big problem. According to Diamondback, I’ll only give up 0.5W because of that smaller cog :https://ride.diamondback.com/friction-profiles-1x-drivetrains

I think the Torno is likely worth more than 0.5W compared to other cranksets compared to, for example, the Easton EC90SL crankset, which also looks like a winner.

Funnily enough I was looking into something similar for my TT bike to take to Norseman. In particular I wanted 12-30 for Shimano freehub, which Shimano themselves don’t do in 11 speed.
I bought a Miche cassette. These guys will make you up a custom cassette from sprockets of your choosing, as long as you don’t ask for something silly.

UK but ship to US.

https://thecycleclinic.co.uk/...es-for-shimano-sram#

Cheers, Rich.

He says he will make a custom cassette but he wasn’t very receptive to it when I asked. Granted, I started off with something similar to the Rotor gearing which is more lopsided than SRAM/Shimano, and then added one more single-tooth jump before starting the sharper ramp in the climbing gears. He says the Rotor cassette is designed for the ramp of the Rotor derailleur. After a few emails I gave up and fortunately found the Edco which is also very similar to Rotor but less than half the price. Seems the issues with that cassette have been ironed out and that might be the best choice if I pull the trigger on the 3T Torno.

13

I run full shimano 9000 but use the SRAM 1190 cassette and SRAM 1x chainring as well. No issues and have been running it going on 4 years. It is for racing and is super light but durable, it is cut from one block of metal which is why it is light.

The SRAM was looking like the best option once I came across a weighweenie thread about the Rotor cassette breaking and then went nowhere with custom Miche. But then I came across Edco, which is as light as SRAM (also machined from one piece), has one more single-tooth jump thanks to a 16t cog, and costs half the price of the SRAM.

SRAM 11-32 (196g): 11-12-13-14-15-17-19-22-25-28-32
Edco 11-32 (207g): 11-12-13-14-15-16-18-21-24-28-32

The standard 11-32 Miche has almost the same gearing as SRAM but would require going to their aluminum cassette to get the weight down to that range.

14

I don’t really believe in a do-it-all cassette. I would normally pick out the cassette for the course.

I would echo dangle’s comments. I consider myself a complete gearing dork and have created many a spreadsheet like yours (nice job, by the way)! I have a pile of cassettes and will often change up to get the optimal gearing for the day’s ride. Just figure out the highest and lowest gearing need, then try to fill in the cogs to make the tightest block at the lower end of the tooth count on up. I run Shimano Ultegra 11 speed on my road bikes and have had excellent success mixing cogs from different out-of-the-box cassettes to come up with the best combo. As long as you don’t use a crazy leap in teeth on adjacent cogs, they shift perfectly. That’s just my experience, anyway.

I have no experience with SRAM Red, Rotor or Edco cassettes, but I would be reluctant to go that route simply because I am nitpicky about drivetrain noise and would have the concern that mixing chain and cogs from different manufacturers would not be satisfactory from that standpoint, let alone perfect shifting. For the $250 price of some of those, you could probably pick up 3-4 Ultegra cassettes and have all the gearing options you’d ever need.

Unsolicited opinion, but FWIW, I’m skeptical of 1x applications on the road, particularly in the realm of TT bikes. Specifically, I’m skeptical any aero benefit outweighs the added drivetrain friction from chain deflection (which I would think is greater on a bike with shorter chainstays) and the potentially suboptimal gaps between gears. In TT mode, at least for me, the right cadence is paramount. Being stuck between a gear that’s slightly too large or slightly too small is something I’m keen to avoid, even if it means I’m losing a few seconds worth of aero drag.

15

Funnily enough I was looking into something similar for my TT bike to take to Norseman. In particular I wanted 12-30 for Shimano freehub, which Shimano themselves don’t do in 11 speed.

I bought a Miche cassette. These guys will make you up a custom cassette from sprockets of your choosing, as long as you don’t ask for something silly.

Yeah, I run a SRAM 12-27 10 speed on my 2x road bike. If I had 11 speed, I’d prefer a 12-30 over a 11-28, 11-30, or even 12-28. I keep an 11-34 in the toolbox for the occasional steeper rides, and would do the same with an 11 speed.

I’m surprised Shimano doesn’t offer a 12-30 in the new R8000/7000 series. That said, you *can *build one, now, out of an 11-30 and a 12-25 by splicing between the 17 and 19. Should shift fine, as the cog codes (17C and 19C) that identify the shift ramps are the same as on the 9100 12-28 cassette.

You can try to recoup some of your double-investment by selling off the remaining halves on ebay, selling them as an 11-25 cassette with the proper disclosure that the ramps between the 18 and 19 aren’t the same as stock, or maybe just put them on a trainer/trainer wheel where a bit of a bodgey 18/19 shift isn’t as critical as it would be out on the road.

16

Unsolicited opinion, but FWIW, I’m skeptical of 1x applications on the road, particularly in the realm of TT bikes. Specifically, I’m skeptical any aero benefit outweighs the added drivetrain friction from chain deflection (which I would think is greater on a bike with shorter chainstays) and the potentially suboptimal gaps between gears. In TT mode, at least for me, the right cadence is paramount. Being stuck between a gear that’s slightly too large or slightly too small is something I’m keen to avoid, even if it means I’m losing a few seconds worth of aero drag.

The power loss due to deflection is quite low even at the extreme (which is rarely used). I also believe it’s good to have 1t jumps at race speed/cadence on the flat, but I can tolerate a greater spread while climbing. With 11 spd you can get an 11-28 like: 11,12,13,14,15,16,17,19,21,24,28 or 12-32: 12,13,14,15,16,17,19,21,24,28,32

17

I can’t comment on the Edco as I have never used it. I have used off-brand cassettes from others and have never been impressed. The SRAM has been rock solid. It is pricey but for a race day cassette you will get a long life and I would recommend use something less expensive for training.

18

I don’t really believe in a do-it-all cassette. I would normally pick out the cassette for the course.

I would echo dangle’s comments. I consider myself a complete gearing dork and have created many a spreadsheet like yours (nice job, by the way)! I have a pile of cassettes and will often change up to get the optimal gearing for the day’s ride. Just figure out the highest and lowest gearing need, then try to fill in the cogs to make the tightest block at the lower end of the tooth count on up. I run Shimano Ultegra 11 speed on my road bikes and have had excellent success mixing cogs from different out-of-the-box cassettes to come up with the best combo. As long as you don’t use a crazy leap in teeth on adjacent cogs, they shift perfectly. That’s just my experience, anyway.

I have no experience with SRAM Red, Rotor or Edco cassettes, but I would be reluctant to go that route simply because I am nitpicky about drivetrain noise and would have the concern that mixing chain and cogs from different manufacturers would not be satisfactory from that standpoint, let alone perfect shifting. For the $250 price of some of those, you could probably pick up 3-4 Ultegra cassettes and have all the gearing options you’d ever need.

Unsolicited opinion, but FWIW, I’m skeptical of 1x applications on the road, particularly in the realm of TT bikes. Specifically, I’m skeptical any aero benefit outweighs the added drivetrain friction from chain deflection (which I would think is greater on a bike with shorter chainstays) and the potentially suboptimal gaps between gears. In TT mode, at least for me, the right cadence is paramount. Being stuck between a gear that’s slightly too large or slightly too small is something I’m keen to avoid, even if it means I’m losing a few seconds worth of aero drag.

I’ve also thought about mixing the 11-30, 11-32 and possibly even 11-15 Ultegra cassette but it’s 100g heaver. Do those shift well? The ultegra has the top 3 and next two cogs as spiders, which means mixing them will create disproportionately a big jump somewhere. Even if you just use the big spider from the 11-32 and put it on the 11-30, you get a 21 to 25 jump, which is huge. SRAM, Edco, and Rotor have a smoother transition from small jumps to big ones.

Also, gut instinct might be exaggerating the frictional losses (see Diamondback link above) and something like the Edco cassette would not create larger jumps in gearing except in the top climbing gears where I don’t mind. With careful selection I think I can have it all: low friction, aero, light, and maintain every gear ratio I use in my 2x setup, so no sub-optimal gear ratios.

I’m leaning towards the Edco but keeping SRAM in play until I pull the trigger.

19

excelsports.com shows an 11-32 Ultegra 8000 cassette for $68.

20

excelsports.com shows an 11-32 Ultegra 8000 cassette for $68.

Thanks, it’s the one on the bottom of my table in post #1. The price is right, but it starts 2-tooth jumps before any of the other cassettes