Dura-ace cassette

[RedBike]

Is it worth an extra £50ish over Ultegra?
Naturally i'm intrested in saving weight; but 50g for £50 is a bit steep. Do the Dura-ace cassettes last any longer?

What about the Sram Rival, they're slightly cheaper and lighter than Ultegra?

 

[RedBike]

I'm looking at an 11-23 ratio btw

 

[peanut]

def not in my opinion. Its not like anyone is going to know ! I might be a tad embarrased about having say 105 components on my bike cos I'm a bit vain but I'm happy to use 105 cassettes . I'd rather try save weight elsewhere at less cost like the pedals for instance

 

[mickle]

SRAM road cassettes are still too new for anyone to know how durable they are.

I suspect that in their efforts to compete with Shi**no in the shift speed arena they've removed too much material from their cassettes. They've removed several complete teeth from each sprocket! FFS. Shifting ramps is all well and good but I fear they've gone too far.

Shift Ramp History 101; Shi**no introduces UltraGlide, the removal of material from the outer surface of the sprockets to allow an easy shift point from one sprocket to the other when shifting to a bigger sprocket. HyperGlide, an evolution of UG which combines the removal of select material from the inside surface of the sprocket to facilitate a smooth shift from a large to a small sprocket. Fast forward to today, bearing in mind that the people who test these products have little interest in their durability. SRAM go the whole hog, removing whole teeth in an effort to ease chain movement over the cassette.

To answer your question, if you are totally anal about chain maintenance, are happy to replace chains regularly, way before they show any signs of wear go for DurAce. I would. If I used Sh**.

 

[yenrod]

Red - if the block or some of it is Titanium then yeah go for it.

Lightness is worht it if it is MMC or Titanium.

 

[mickle]

£50 extra nicker is a lot of money Yenners, a couple of hundred miles on a shagged chain in shitty conditions will destroy a Ti cassette. I did it to a £250 Stronglight cassette on my MTB. Gutted. You've just got to be really careful with them. New chain often.

 

[dodgy]

Far better ways to blow £50 on a bike part. You don't get a performance improvement with a Dura-ace cassette over Ultegra. Definitely not worth it.

Dave.

 

[joebe]

just go for a 105 cassette, you'll never be able to tell the difference

 

[TheDoctor]

Red - if the block or some of it is Titanium then yeah go for it.

Lightness is worht it if it is MMC or Titanium.

I may be wrong, but isn't the Red cassette milled out of a solid lump of metal?

I'd go 105 or Ultegra on the cassette, and spend the money on sh1t-hot tyres instead. Or alcohol!

Apologies - I accidentally edited Yenrods post instead of replying to it. Sorry - complete accident...

 

[fossyant]

Mickle, it's not Ultraglide - it's Uniglide !!!

The DA cassettes are way to much, especially if you are replacing them on a regular basis - Ultegra is fine and dandy. If you go for the sprockets that don't need a carrier, you can mix and match your cassettes if you have enough spare sprockets.

I'm still using UG cassettes for my 8 speed DA setup - but get them from the States as NOS !!!

 

[mickle]

Mickle, it's not Ultraglide - it's Uniglide !!!

Doh!

My excuse is I was drunk.

 

[k-dog]

I may be wrong, but isn't the Red cassette milled out of a solid lump of metal?

Yep, I think it's the middle 7 ratios are machined and then the 2 smallest cogs slip on at the bottom with spacers. THe largest ring is a separate piece that fits on as a backing plate.

 

[k-dog]

It's also steel so should last a decent time.

 

[Rob S]

If a Ti cassette lasted longer than a steel one then it might be worth paying extra for. As it is a Ti cassette is only lighter than the steel one.

 

[RedBike]

Thank everyone. I've ordered a Sram Rival off ebay for £12. At that sort of price it doesn't really matter if it only lasts half as long as an Ultegra one.

I've spent the 'savings' on an expensive KMC chain in the hope this will sort of compensate for the missing teeth. - and I rather fancied a gold coloured chain.