Road cassette on a mountain bike?

[PaulSecteur]

Hi,

When i first got my kraken it was perfect for what I needed, especially the lower gears to keep me going when things got a bit too steep!

However, now that Im a bit fitter an comfortable road riding (and more so after sampling a road bike) is the gearing on the rear casstte for road use. 99% of the time Im on the middle chainring and in 5th to 9th on the back (Middle to smallest). The annoyance I have is that if its a bit too steep for 5th, when I go down to 4th there is such a large change in gearing when all I want is a little bit lower. This is what I really liked about the road bike I had a go on.

I think the rear cassette is something like 11 (or 12) to 34. Would one of these make the changes a not such a jump? And would it fit my Kraken?

Thinking of getting the 11-26



http://www.chainreac...x?ModelID=17902

 

[Davidc]

Provided the number of sprockets is the same and it's one that'll work with the rear mech any cassette ratios should be OK


edit: to get rid of ambiguity.

 

[Hacienda71]

N+1 me thinks.

 

[2Loose]

Yes it'll fit and sounds like a good plan.

May be worth getting a new chain to go with it, depending on the wear on your existing one, or you may get the chain skipping.

 

[Crankarm]

Yep it should fit no probs although I would go for a 12-25 Shimano road cassette 105 or Ultegra (lighter) or the 12-26 SRAM version in your link rather than the 11-26. You won't notice the difference between an 11 and a 12 a sprocket as it is minimal, but using a 12-26 cassette in preference to an 11-26 will give you an extra sprocket between 12 and 26. Use Sheldon Brown's gear calculator to see what ratios you'll be getting with each cassette. Maybe get a new chain if your current one has stretched too much.

 

[3narf]

I think if you're changing your cassette, you should fit a new chain as a matter of course.

 

[Kestevan]

The 105/Ultegra road cassettes are going to be 10 speed however. It's fairly unlikely that the MB is running more then 9 speed, in fact it's quite likely to be an 8 speed - benefits to this are the kit is much cheaper

It's going to limit the OP to Tiagra level. the 9 speed come in 12-25 or even 14/25 which would be more closely geared whilst still having a fairly low range.

At 8 speed you can go 12-21 or 12-23 for a higher bottom gear or strech it out to 13-26 if you still want the lower gear for the hills.

Have a look at Chain Reaction - they have a pretty comprehensive range of cassettes for road and MB use.

 

[jimboalee]

I bought an eight speed cassette MTB to convert for road commuting use. After fitting slicks, full mudguards and reducing the width of the handlebars, I fitted a 12 - 23 cassette to replace the 11 - 34 standard issue. The rings are 24/34/42. I spend most of the time on the 42 ring using 13, 14, 15, 17 and 19.

 

[HJ]

Why not use a larger ring at the front?

 

[andrew_s]

The 105/Ultegra road cassettes are going to be 10 speed however.

9 speed 105, Ultegra and Dura-Ace cassettes are available.

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If the large sprocket is too small (eg 11-21), the changing at the large end of the cassette won't be very good as the upper jockey won't be close enough to the sprockets. A road rear mech would be needed to fix this.

 

[PaulSecteur]

Hi,

There is a link in my first post to the cassette im thinking of getting, there is a few lines of blankness, but its there at the bottom.

I dont want to change the front chainring as it will still leave the huge ratio gaps on the rear.

 

[jimboalee]

If you go on the SRAM website, they don't tell you what the sprocket build is.

Go on the Shimano website and find the cassette you want. They tell you the sprocket build. Then you can make the chart of the ratios.

Then go on the Ribble website and find Shimano HG50 ( Tiagra 9 speed ). £17.95.


COME TO THINK ABOUT IT. I've got a HG50 9 spd 12 - 23 cassette in my goodie box. Hardly used.

 

[biggs682]

have been thinking just the same about my marin , but brought an old racer or two instead , one day will get round to doing it

 

[Granville Kuosonsavath]

If you go on the SRAM website, they don't tell you what the sprocket build is.

they do you're obviously not looking hard enough
go to http://www.sram.com/sram/road/products/sram-pg-1070-cassette
click on specifications

 

[AlanW]

I been using a Ultegra 9 sp 14/25 cassette on my MTB, for over twelve months and its the best thing I ever did to be honest. For the life of me I cannot understand the logic behind a 11/32 cassette, which is the OE fit?

But to be fair, there is the odd occasion when I wish I had a taller sprocket than the 14T, but at the end of the day its a MTB for goodness sake. I need gearing that's suit the purpose, so I am 100% happy with the 14/25.

My other MTB wheels (which have the slicks fitted) has a 12/21 cassette fitted, perfect combo.