Expensive Cassettes

suzyj said:

The "my gears are too hard" thread got me thinking.

I use Campy bits where possible on my bikes, mainly because I dislike microsoft products. I reckon Chorus is good gear, so ~80% of the bits on my bikes are Chorus, except for special things like down-tube shifters, or brake (not ergo) levers, where I complain a lot about there being no Chorus bit available and plonk down the extra dough for Record.

A notable exception is cassettes. I always use Veloce cassettes, as I'll be stuffed if I'm going to shell out $200 for something that's only going in the bin in 5000 odd km, no matter how many gee-wizz shifting ramps it's got, or what it's plated with.

A side benefit is that I can make up a special "alpine" cassette, with the 13-23 from a 13-26 (9 speed) cassette, and a 28 from a 13-28, for the alpine classic, as they're all loose cog, unlike the more 'spensive Centaur/Chorus/Record ones where cogs are bolted to one another.

So who sticks with the cassette that matches the rest of their group? Who runs a Sora group with Dura-ace cassette? What are your reasons?

Cheers,

Suzy (who really just wants an enormous stash of 15, 16, and 17 tooth cogs, as they're the only ones that ever wear out anyway)

XT cassette with XT group
Ultegra cassette with Ultegra group

reason: no real reason to change - the gearing I wanted was available in the cassette in the relevant group and they were reasonable quality (ie hadn't really thought about doing the 'mix-n-match' thing)

SteveA

"suzyj" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

The "my gears are too hard" thread got me thinking.

I use Campy bits where possible on my bikes, mainly because I dislike
microsoft products. I reckon Chorus is good gear, so ~80% of the bits
on my bikes are Chorus, except for special things like down-tube
shifters, or brake (not ergo) levers, where I complain a lot about
there being no Chorus bit available and plonk down the extra dough for
Record.

A notable exception is cassettes. I always use Veloce cassettes, as
I'll be stuffed if I'm going to shell out $200 for something that's
only going in the bin in 5000 odd km, no matter how many gee-wizz
shifting ramps it's got, or what it's plated with.

A side benefit is that I can make up a special "alpine" cassette, with
the 13-23 from a 13-26 (9 speed) cassette, and a 28 from a 13-28, for
the alpine classic, as they're all loose cog, unlike the more 'spensive
Centaur/Chorus/Record ones where cogs are bolted to one another.

So who sticks with the cassette that matches the rest of their group?
Who runs a Sora group with Dura-ace cassette? What are your reasons?

Cheers,

Suzy (who really just wants an enormous stash of 15, 16, and 17 tooth
cogs, as they're the only ones that ever wear out anyway)

--
suzyj

I have campag gear as well.(Record for the race bike, chorus/daytona for
training bike and chorus/athena on the touring bike)
When I recently put together the new racing bike I was more or less obliged
to "upgrade" to 10 speed. My solution was to use a 9 speed veloce cassette
and go to a local machine shop and get them to machine some spacers to
convert a 9 speed cassette to 10 speed (obviously I had to add a cog to the
cassette).
The 9 speed cassette is much cheaper than 10 speed. The 9 speed cogs are
marginally thicker than 10 speed so should last longer in theory and if you
buy 2 of say 12-23 and 13-26 or 14-28 casettes this gives plenty of spare
cogs around the middle of the cassette where they wear out.

Peter

Quoted message said:

suzyj said:

So who sticks with the cassette that matches the rest of their group? Who runs a Sora group with Dura-ace cassette? What are your reasons?

XT cassette with Sora derailer, Ultegra barends & Suntour front derailer.
If I have a group, it would be Suntour. That and the stronglight cranks are the only original drivetrain components left. Why? I replaced what I needed/wanted to and left the rest alone, or rather Bike Culture did. Was like having a new bike!

suzyj said:

A notable exception is cassettes. I always use Veloce cassettes, as
I'll be stuffed if I'm going to shell out $200 for something that's

Whats wrong with SRAM? SunRace?
Isn't it a commodity? All have shifting ramps. (expired patent?)

Quoted message said:

only going in the bin in 5000 odd km, no matter how many gee-wizz
shifting ramps it's got, or what it's plated with.

A side benefit is that I can make up a special "alpine" cassette, with
the 13-23 from a 13-26 (9 speed) cassette, and a 28 from a 13-28, for

You mean like a DIY Shimano Mega-Range(tm)? :-)

Quoted message said:

the alpine classic, as they're all loose cog, unlike the more 'spensive
Centaur/Chorus/Record ones where cogs are bolted to one another.

Bolted? Or just riveted? I found it easy to knock out the rivets
without damaging the cogs. Just use a hammer and one of those pointy
thingies.

Quoted message said:

So who sticks with the cassette that matches the rest of their group?

Sheldon's site has compatibility info.

suzyj said:

The "my gears are too hard" thread got me thinking.

I use Campy bits where possible on my bikes, mainly because I dislike microsoft products. I reckon Chorus is good gear, so ~80% of the bits on my bikes are Chorus, except for special things like down-tube shifters, or brake (not ergo) levers, where I complain a lot about there being no Chorus bit available and plonk down the extra dough for Record.

Im just bracing myself for that campy gouge =\

I ordered the cheap stuff (veloce, 10sp) for my new road bike, I guess if I like it I can always go to chorus later, when I get that winning lottery ticket.

Seems though for casettes, with campy, you have to pay more AND get something heavier, it just cant be right.

till

ps: where is my wheelset dammit, and then Ill have a whole bike for bike week!

suzyj said:

The "my gears are too hard" thread got me thinking.

I use Campy bits where possible on my bikes, mainly because I dislike
microsoft products. I reckon Chorus is good gear, so ~80% of the bits
on my bikes are Chorus, except for special things like down-tube
shifters, or brake (not ergo) levers, where I complain a lot about
there being no Chorus bit available and plonk down the extra dough for
Record.

A notable exception is cassettes. I always use Veloce cassettes, as
I'll be stuffed if I'm going to shell out $200 for something that's
only going in the bin in 5000 odd km, no matter how many gee-wizz
shifting ramps it's got, or what it's plated with.

A side benefit is that I can make up a special "alpine" cassette, with
the 13-23 from a 13-26 (9 speed) cassette, and a 28 from a 13-28, for
the alpine classic, as they're all loose cog, unlike the more 'spensive
Centaur/Chorus/Record ones where cogs are bolted to one another.

So who sticks with the cassette that matches the rest of their group?
Who runs a Sora group with Dura-ace cassette? What are your reasons?

Cheers,

Suzy (who really just wants an enormous stash of 15, 16, and 17 tooth
cogs, as they're the only ones that ever wear out anyway)

I'd go Veloce too. I used to have an 8sp Record because it was given to
me for free. Now I've got Centaur with a Centaur cassette because the
bike was custom built so I just bought the group.

I'd go Veloce as a replacement or maybe BBB. I don't think 'high end'
cassettes make much difference, certainly not enough to justify the
price. No way am I paying $200 for a cassette.

I spose it doesn't matter too much to me because I don't seem to wear
out cassettes very much.

Oh...and I use Record chains because you can get em cheap on eBay 🙂

--
Nick

In article <[email hidden]>,

suzyj said:

So who sticks with the cassette that matches the rest of their group?

I'm running an Ultegra cassette on a mainly 105 group. But only because
I picked it up in the US for $US30...

--
Shane Stanley

suzyj said:

snip stuff...

recently did the same thing Suz.
Had 10spd chorus and couldnt be bothered sheeling out that doe for the chorus cassette so went with 12-26 Miche to replace my post-Alpine 13-29!
The Miche is surprisingly light and was $90. I havent weighed it but in the hand I couldnt tell the diff from the old chorus cassette.
Shifts just the same, as far as i can tell and Miche stuff you can basically make up any combo you want.
I wanted the 12T for the crits (wish I had got the 11T now but I hadnt done any flat crits at that stage 🙄 ).

flyingdutch said:

recently did the same thing Suz.
Had 10spd chorus and couldnt be bothered sheeling out that doe for the chorus cassette so went with 12-26 Miche to replace my post-Alpine 13-29!
The Miche is surprisingly light and was $90. I havent weighed it but in the hand I couldnt tell the diff from the old chorus cassette.
Shifts just the same, as far as i can tell and Miche stuff you can basically make up any combo you want.
I wanted the 12T for the crits (wish I had got the 11T now but I hadnt done any flat crits at that stage 🙄 ).

I do the same, drivetrains are disposable so replacements for me are usually non campag. Otherwise the good bits go on the best bike and everything shuffles down.

Chains - usually wipperman

chainrings in the past have been non campag, now I want to replace the chainrings (currently centaur) on my good bike with BBB's they are black anodised with silver teeth and will look excellent with the black & silver of the rest of the bike. Unfortunately they will have to wait till I wear th ecurrent ones out 5000 kms away at least.

Cassettes - usually veloce

Derailler replacement on my training bike is Mirage.

PiledHigher said:

I do the same, drivetrains are disposable so replacements for me are usually non campag. Otherwise the good bits go on the best bike and everything shuffles down.

Chains - usually wipperman

chainrings in the past have been non campag, now I want to replace the chainrings (currently centaur) on my good bike with BBB's they are black anodised with silver teeth and will look excellent with the black & silver of the rest of the bike. Unfortunately they will have to wait till I wear th ecurrent ones out 5000 kms away at least.

Cassettes - usually veloce

Derailler replacement on my training bike is Mirage.

got a 39T BBB chainring waiting in the shed for when I can be bothered to replace my current 42T.

wipperman chains – are they cheaper/easier than the campag 10spds?
I just bought a new chain and handed it over the the LBS to fit after looking at the unusual (to me) link-pin and need for specialty tool to fit it!
Do the wippermans have one of those 'can-break-the-chain-with-hand' style links (forgotten the name 🙄 )

flyingdutch said:

got a 39T BBB chainring waiting in the shed for when I can be bothered to replace my current 42T.

wipperman chains – are they cheaper/easier than the campag 10spds?
I just bought a new chain and handed it over the the LBS to fit after looking at the unusual (to me) link-pin and need for specialty tool to fit it!
Do the wippermans have one of those 'can-break-the-chain-with-hand' style links (forgotten the name 🙄 )

They do have the 'can-break-the-chain-with-hand' link, usually gets used once when I put the chain on and once when I take the chain of.

Note that one of the other barnds has a similar but not reuseable type link the link is joined by putting tension on the chain pulling the link together (wish I could remember which brand and explain the process better).

"suzyj" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

A notable exception is cassettes. I always use Veloce cassettes, as
I'll be stuffed if I'm going to shell out $200 for something that's
only going in the bin in 5000 odd km, no matter how many gee-wizz
shifting ramps it's got, or what it's plated with.

Suprised you only get 5000km from a cassette?!
I got through many chains and get cassettes to last double that. That's
where the life-cycle-costing comes I suppose!!

If we expand the discussion to chainrings, it's well worth forking out
double the cost for dura-ace chainrings over Ultegra - the nickel plating
(or whatever it is) on the Dura-ace chainring makes it laaaaaaaaaast a lot
longer (well more than double the hm).... does campy use any plating on any
parts of its drivechain??
There is definitly a difference in platings frmo 105, Ulterga and Dura-ace.
So much so that dura-ace isn't shiny! (Ultegra looks the nicest 😉
Gemma

Gemma said:

Suprised you only get 5000km from a cassette?!
I got through many chains and get cassettes to last double that.
That's where the life-cycle-costing comes I suppose!!

I actually have difficulty working out how long I get from components, as I tend to swap cassettes/wheels/bikes around a bit. Also I think I pull cassettes off a long time before they're properly worn out, as I fear worn teeth will stuff chains quickly.

The whole issue of when to swap chains/cassettes/chainwheels is probably a really interesting optimisation problem.

I start replacing bits when the drivetrain gets noisy. I go through three or four chains (replaced when they measure 1/16th inch over) to a cassette, and when I find that a new chain won't settle down on the cassette (invariably on the 15, 16, and 17 tooth cogs), then I start thinking about changing the cassette. It's a crying shame that individual cogs are so expensive, as I've got a small pile of used cassettes that could be brought back to near-new with three new cogs.

Quoted message said:

If we expand the discussion to chainrings, it's well worth forking out
double the cost for dura-ace chainrings over Ultegra - the nickel plating
(or whatever it is) on the Dura-ace chainring makes it laaaaaaaaaast a lot
longer (well more than double the hm).... does campy use any plating
on any parts of its drivechain??

My chainwheels seem to last near-on forever. I get better than 40,000 km out of an inner chainwheel, and have never actually worn out an outer chainwheel.

The 39 tooth inner (Chorus) on my Audax bike is stuffed at the moment. I actually had to put it on backwards when I last changed chains to stop it from making awful grinding noises. I've ordered a TA one as a replacement, as I've been using a TA 49 tooth outer ring for a few years, and am well impressed with it (and it's a bit cheaper than Campy).

I've never made the switch to 10 speed, as the whole issue with chains has scared me away. Thus far I've always been able to find 9 speed Chorus parts with a little hunting (often at a big discount c/w their 10 speed equivalents), and use SRAM chains, as I never liked the Campy chains.

Regards,

Suzy

suzyj said:

So who sticks with the cassette that matches the rest of their group?
Who runs a Sora group with Dura-ace cassette? What are your reasons?

Ultegra all over the Pug.
Deore LX all over the mtb
(previously ran Alivio/Acera)
Stronglight chainring and DX cog on the SS
(previously ran salvaged sprockets)
Other stuff on other bikes.

I am a conformist (haha) that's why I basically run the same groupset
all over. Actually it's because I've gone from a whole groupset and I
don't swap my cassettes after 5000k!
~4 months/cassette sounds super-wrong. I've had three race seasons outta
mine I think.

durable hippy

I think I've worn out everything possible, but I'm keeping them all for this

[IMG]uk.geocities.com2gate.jpgOpen ↗[/IMG]

I like the fact that chains have a measurable end date and suspect that some of my clusters and chains were much too worn, while others were replaced too soon.

suzyj said:

So who sticks with the cassette that matches the rest of their group?
Who runs a Sora group with Dura-ace cassette? What are your reasons?

I run Ultegra cassettes with D-A chains and 105 rear mech. For
most of my training I run an Ultegra 12:25 cassette, for racing
on flat courses I might switch to a 12:23, if I can be bothered,
not likely to need the dinner plates anyway, so it's just for a paltry
weight saving.

The DA chains last the longest, as do the Ultegra cassettes (and
they're marginally lighter than the 105 cassettes, and have a range
of ratios). the rear mech is expensive ... so I keep with 105 -
maybe DA is better? But I change gears just fine with the 105
stuff.

Carl Brewer said:

The DA chains last the longest, as do the Ultegra cassettes

Do they really last longer? I've found zero difference between any of the cassettes that Campy make in terms of durability (actually I've never tried Record titanium stuff, but suspect it wouldn't last as long as the cheaper steel bits). The only difference between the Campy cassettes is weight, which they achieve using alloy carriers on the Record/Chorus/Centaur ones.

Same deal with chains. I've only ever used a couple of Campy chains, and find they last pretty much exactly as long as an SRAM one does. For that matter, all the SRAM ones last about the same time, regardless of price.

This makes sense, as it's wear in the pivots that kills chains, and no matter how many cutouts they have, or what the plates are plated with, the pivots are much the same...

Just my experience, anyway. Derailleurs, on the other hand, last for years and years, as do cranks, brakes etc. This is my justification for using pricy dearilleurs, cranks, brakes etc, and cheap-as-I-can-get consumables (chains and cassettes).

Regards,

Suzy

PS: Anyone tried the Miche cassettes? They make Campy-9 compatible ones, that are ~half the price of Veloce, but alas come only in 12-23, from what I can tell...

"suzyj" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

My chainwheels seem to last near-on forever. I get better than 40,000
km out of an inner chainwheel, and have never actually worn out an
outer chainwheel.

Suzy

--
suzyj

Ive worn out 2 inner rings. The first one was a 42 which lasted 26000km. I
found out exactly how worn it was when I snapped a chain accelerating away
from a set of traffic lights. The 2nd one I actually changed today as I
could feel so cog slipping under load. This one has only lasted 20000 or so
km but it is a 39.
I think it will depend heavily on how much you weigh, how many hills you
climb and your maintenance.
Like Suzy, I reckon I have had 4 or 5 chains on each of these chain rings
during their lifetimes.
I would guess I get 10-15000km out of a cassette although I've never had the
same one on long enough to really tell.

Peter

suzyj said:

PS: Anyone tried the Miche cassettes? They make Campy-9 compatible ones, that are ~half the price of Veloce, but alas come only in 12-23, from what I can tell...

Not tried, but certainly at xxcycle.com they appear to come in 11-28, your pick.

till