"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - Your Custom Cassettes

Just made an 11-25 by combining an 11-23 and a 12-25. It's good for the training routes I do around here: lots of hills and flats.

Cogs are: 11-12-13-14-15-17-19-21-23-25

Have you made a Frankensette?

Campy 11-29 and 13-25. I don't need the 11 or 12 for most crits, I don't really need the 25 either, but it's there. The 11-29 is good for climbing and cyclocross.

You had steel cogs? The ti/steel setups have pinned pairs of cogs, so it's hard to combine a 12-25 with something to make it an 11-25. I did it on the cheaper cassettes but on the nice ones I can't do it.

In the past I ran all sorts of custom cassettes, like one for a crit with a big hill (I think it was a 12-21 plus a 26, 7 speed). With 10s it's much less necessary.

The other day I was thinking about my old setup - 54x42 (or 45), 12-21 or 11-21. I seemed to think that was fine for everything. A 23 was unusual. Now people are running much smaller gears, even me - a 39 (horror!) and a 25 (double horror!). Even a 23T seems to be as small as I'll go in a crit - buying an 11-21 didn't seem to make sense.

cdr

You had steel cogs? The ti/steel setups have pinned pairs of cogs, so it's hard to combine a 12-25 with something to make it an 11-25. I did it on the cheaper cassettes but on the nice ones I can't do it.

In the past I ran all sorts of custom cassettes, like one for a crit with a big hill (I think it was a 12-21 plus a 26, 7 speed). With 10s it's much less necessary.

The other day I was thinking about my old setup - 54x42 (or 45), 12-21 or 11-21. I seemed to think that was fine for everything. A 23 was unusual. Now people are running much smaller gears, even me - a 39 (horror!) and a 25 (double horror!). Even a 23T seems to be as small as I'll go in a crit - buying an 11-21 didn't seem to make sense.

cdr

It was two Ultegra cassettes, dunno if the cogs are steel or Ti. But it shifts just as well as the "stock" combinations.

Just made an 11-25 by combining an 11-23 and a 12-25. It's good for the training routes I do around here: lots of hills and flats.

Cogs are: 11-12-13-14-15-17-19-21-23-25

Have you made a Frankensette?

I did this too.

You don’t need two cassettes. Just a 12-25, and an 11 cog and lockring. (removing the 16 cog and spacer)

I used to make mix 'n match cassettes and freewheels all the time to conform with the junior gear restrictions. Now I just have an Sramano 11-25 which is combining my SRAM 11-28 with my Shimano 12-25 to make a good road race cassette. That reminds me, I have to put it on this week to make sure it shifts well for the road race next weekend.

I did this too.

You don’t need two cassettes. Just a 12-25, and an 11 cog and lockring. (removing the 16 cog and spacer)

I think you'd need the 11, 12, and 13 cog from the 11-23... that's what I did anyways.

Just made an 11-25 by combining an 11-23 and a 12-25. It's good for the training routes I do around here: lots of hills and flats.

Cogs are: 11-12-13-14-15-17-19-21-23-25

Have you made a Frankensette?

I have 3 sets of cogs. Enough to make any of the following 10 speed sets:

11x23, 11x25, 11x27, 12x23, 12x25, 12x27

It was two Ultegra cassettes, dunno if the cogs are steel or Ti. But it shifts just as well as the "stock" combinations.

I didn't specify - I have Campy. The bigger cogs are all pinned together in pairs - so I have:

12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 17 - 18 - (19 - 21) - (23 - 25) <=== (paired are in paranthesis)
11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - (17 - 19) - (21 - 23)

So I can't combine them :(

I also have some individual Ti cogs but the spacers don't match the non-Ti ones. Kind of a pain. Ends up I have one all Ti 12-25 and one steel/Ti 12-25. I think the missus will get them.

cdr

Ahhh - with the Ultegra cassette, the only carrier/spider is on the largest three cogs - 21/23/25 in my case.

Ahhh - with the Ultegra cassette, the only carrier/spider is on the largest three cogs - 21/23/25 in my case.

Correct!