Bicycle Mechanics - Am I going to hell...

...for mixing and matching cassette sprockets? Is it really bad cuz the ramping doesn't match up as well? Or is it just bad if you mix an old and a new one? Or are there other reasons?

You won't go to hell but your shifting might.

Well, so far so good on the shifting. There have been a couple times when I was mashing out of the saddle when the chain seemed to jump a bit, but that might have been the case before I fiddled around with the cassette. Also, I took a spill recently and now my derailer squeaks like a dying mouse, so maybe it's a little out of whack. But changing from one gear to the next doesn't seem to be a problem.

there's nothing wrong with mixing cassettes, unless you introduce a huge gap between some gears.

even then, a 4T jump between gears still offer acceptable shifting performance for 20T and higher. it's just that the jump in gears really sucks because of the major ratio change itself, especially on taller gears.

Some matches work better than others.

Back in the days of freewheels, we didn't have no rampin', and we shifted just fine.

Ramping does make for smoother shifting, so it's nice to have it, but you won't go to hell if your cassette isn't "properly" ramped on some shifts.

If you are going to sprocket hell, I've been there for a few years now, and it ain't so bad... Truthfully, the shifts on my mixed cassettes are maybe a tiny bit slower and more "rattle-y" than the original, but it's really nice to have a bigger bail-out gear or two sometimes.

Oh, you're going to hell, allright. But not because of that. ;)