The Beacon Message Board

11-25
11-28
12-25
12-27

I have a compact set up, with 11-28 (I think!). Is 11-28 what most people use? I know it will depend on the riding you do, I want enough range to climb as well as be fast enough on the flat

11-28 is a good all round option, I reckon. If you're intending to do lots of steep hills, the 32t SRAM Apex is always an option. Anything larger than 28t is likely to need a longer rear mech, though.

Tim, I have 12-27 on one bike and 11-25 the other. To be honest I never use the 27 on local hills, although I did fit a 32 for cycling in the Lake District! Depends what your climbing is like I suppose, if you're a strong climber you may not need 28.

11-28 suit my purposes and I ride all sorts of terrain. However, it is not suitable for a 1:4 or 25% gradients. As Greg says, you can use a 32 tooth cassette but that significantly increases the margins between each gear option reducing the chance of ideal ratios. I have also heard it claimed that such big jumps between each ring on a 32 cassette can be 'dangerous'.

An 11-27 is okay for Beacon style Club runs, allowing for hills in Shropshire or the plains in the Vale of Evesham.

I quite like the 12-27 as I see no real advantage in having an 11T sprocket to be honest?

However, I did buy a 105 11-28 cassette just to get the last three rivited sprocket cluster, 23-25-28.

As the first two sprockets on the cluster are the same as the ones on the 12-27 cassette, 23-25-27.

So if I know that I am going to do a steep climb at some point, then I only need to replace the three sprocket cluster.

11-28 - with 50/39/30

Thanks. The 11-28 seems to have served me well so far but not ridden anything else (apart from the fixed at Newport!). Not had to get off and walk up anything yet anyway. Do people racing, especially circuits, generally go with different set ups?

11-21 or 12-21 with 52 or 53 front.

Tim wrote:Thanks. The 11-28 seems to have served me well so far but not ridden anything else (apart from the fixed at Newport!). Not had to get off and walk up anything yet anyway. Do people racing, especially circuits, generally go with different set ups?

Then 11-28 is not suitable. See Ed's advice above.

Cheers Ed/Phil, thought so. That explains why I didnt win my one and only circuit race at Stourport last year!

It seems in shimano you have to go to dura ace to get that cassette, is the BBB much cheaper option any good?

So to have a go and be competitive at a circuit race it's not just the BC membership and entry fee I also need to spend £124 and get these?!:


http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-t ... bbacass095
£36

http://www.parker-international.co.uk/4 ... nset-.html
£88

It seems in shimano you have to go to dura ace to get that cassette, is the BBB much cheaper option any good?[/quote]

No cos it's heavier 😉. Have you tried SRAM.
I have tried cheaper cassettes for cyclocross but they've been a bit rubbish. Not bbb mind.

Thanks Jon, yep thought that would be the case as BBB is a third of price of dura ace. Similar sram price wise to BBB after quick search only have 11-23.

Think I will look at doing more riding/miles as my priority! Not in a position fitness/time wise to properly give racing a go this year so prob will just end up doing 2 or 3 on what ive got bike/set up wise for the experience, but thats fine for the moment.

Tim wrote:
It seems in shimano you have to go to dura ace to get that cassette, is the BBB much cheaper option any good?

Don't ever mix manufacturer's parts even if they proclaim to be Shimano compatible. I once used Shimano compatible products and it caused all sorts of transmission problems, which Paul Prince diagnosed. So either use all BBB products or all Shimano products. Personally, I prefer the latter which are more durable than the former.

Sram chains are OK with Shimano.
I've used them for years as they are better than the Shimano range.

Shimano chains are made of cheese, I prefer a KMC chain on Shimano gears.

Ed Moss wrote:Sram chains are OK with Shimano.
I've used them for years as they are better than the Shimano range.

I am going sound awkward on the matter of mixing kit. My Moda was supplied with a SRAM chain and Shimano Ultegra by accident. Again, this too caused transmission difficulties which were only resolved by focussing on one brand. However, the causal problem may have quality issues with a batch of SRAM late last year - I am aware that suppliers were returning SRAM components to the manufacturer.

Tim wrote:Thanks Jon, yep thought that would be the case as BBB is a third of price of dura ace. Similar sram price wise to BBB after quick search only have 11-23.

I wouldn't have thought that the difference between a 11-21 and an 11-23 cassette would too much to worry about, unless you're a really serious racer. The gaps will be a bit bigger with the 11-23, but at the end of the day you'll have the same highest gear.

I wonder if the older Sram products were not as good as the newer ones perhaps?

I've used Sram chains, usually 1031 or 1051, with Shimano 105 cassette and Tiagra crankset for ages. However, the last chain an older and now discontinued 1030 did not run so well and gear changing was never quite right. I just put it down to poor adjustment and possible wear in the shifters and dérailleurs. I fitted a new 1031 last week and all is fine again.

I like Sram chains because of their powerlink connector. It means I can carry a spare chain on longer rides and change at the roadside with no tools and minimal fuss.

laurence_cooley wrote:

Tim wrote:Thanks Jon, yep thought that would be the case as BBB is a third of price of dura ace. Similar sram price wise to BBB after quick search only have 11-23.

I wouldn't have thought that the difference between a 11-21 and an 11-23 cassette would too much to worry about, unless you're a really serious racer. The gaps will be a bit bigger with the 11-23, but at the end of the day you'll have the same highest gear.

Correct. I've rarely used the 11 sprocket when crit racing, but (I've heard..) when you are getting a kicking and on your knees and cant find the right gear, sometimes the extra gear on the 11-21 is handy.