jonwvara 

I'm basically a freewheel guy, not a cassette guy, and 7 speeds (or 5 or 6) have always been plenty for me. But my Cannondale tourer does have an 8-speed cassette hub, and I was recently thinking about switching to a 9-speed cluster--until I checked prices.
Jaysis!
Why do 9 speed cassettes cost over $100 when a 7-speed is less than $30? Is there some added manufacturing cost that I don't know about, or is it just a matter of Shimano wanting to pay for its tooling? Or is it a tax on people who feel the need to use up-to-date equipment? Or just plain highway robbery? Or what?

sonatageek

You should be able to find a 9 speed cassette for a lot less then $100. How about this 9 speed SRAM (Shimano compatible) for $24.
https://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...+Cassette.aspx

They also have Shimano Deore and Tiagra for just a bit more.

tarwheel 

Shimano is phasing out their 9-speed gear and trying to force consumers to "upgrade" to 10-speed. So they have quit making some of their best and most popular 9-speed components -- such as the Ultegra bottom bracket -- and jacking up the prices on the rest. I am hanging onto my 9-spd gear and snapping up parts whenever I can find them for decent prices. If my shifters go, I will replace them with bar-ends or down tubes.

miamijim

It sounds like your implying manufacturers aren't allowed to recoup R&D expences.!!!!
I think the answer is a combination of eveything. 9s ushered in the era of lightness with a complete redesign of the casstte. Prior cassettes were simple 7 or 8 cogs with 6 or 7 metal or plastic spacers. 9s switched over to a carrier design with groups of cogs riveted together which in turn lead to lighter cassettes and of course a higher cost.

That being said, I think $22 is reasonable for a cassette:

https://wheelworld.com/product/shiman...-hg50-4156.htm
https://www.blueskycycling.com/produc...te-9-Speed.htm
https://www.ebikestop.com/shimano_tia...?PARTNER=qbike
https://directbicycleparts.com/page.c...d=4261_e6dfef1

jonwvara 

Okay, good to know there are cheap 9-speeds to be had. I obviously hadn't looked very hard. Interesting to know that the 9-speed design is different--I'd assumed that you could just unbolt everything as on a 7- or 8-speed. So this means no more replacing individual cogs? Or is that still possible somehow?
And sure, of course Shimano can and should recoup their R & D costs from those willing to foot the bill. As I said, 7 speeds is plenty for me.

jgedwa

They are allowed to sell whatever they want. But one might think it would not endear them to their customers when they start to smell that they are being manipulated. It really does not pay in business to not give the customer what they want.

jim

miamijim

After reviewing some technical documents it appears entry/mid level 9s cassettes are built the same as 7/8s cassettes while the higher end are modular in design. A 9s cassette will fit on an 8s Hyperglide hub. See below pics for modular design pics:

Business810

I think a lot of what it comes down to is how many customers there are of each kind. There is a lot of money to be made off of the racer/recreational crowd that wants the latest and greatest - more than off of us retrogrouches that are content with older gear.

dit

I am using one of these and it has worked fine for me.

jgedwa

Admittedly, the market for truly retro-grouch stuff is pretty niche. But, we are talking about 9 speed stuff here. Based on no evidence whatsoever, I will guess that the number of people who are riding gear that is one generation behind is far greater than the number of people riding cutting edge stuff. If Shimano wants to squeeze everyone into the "racer" mold, then I think they are leaving money on the table.

jim

YoKev

I use this SRAM cassette (the 11-32) on my dedicated XC mountain bike. I ride hard, and its doing it's job without any complaints. I would definitely get another one.

Business810

True, but I don't see them discontinuing 9sp chains, cassettes (consumables) any time soon - especially with Sora, Tiagra, and mountain groups still being 9sp. Shifters and splined bottom brackets are the only things that are missing, and I was never a fan of splined BB's anyway.

I also wouldn't underestimate the number of people moving beyond 9 speed. Ten speed gear has been around for quite a few years now, and even in the recreational group there are plenty of people who want to look the part of a racer. (Not that I have any evidence to back that up beyond my observations. Just looking around the road forum on here is pretty eye-opening, though.)

roccobike

I shop at a C&V freindly bike shop. The only components that are really getting hard to find new are 5 speed and certain Suntour freewheels, 6 & 7 speed. I'm not the least bit concerned about finding Shimano compatible 6, 7, 8 or 9 speed chains, chainwheels, freewheels or cassettes.
Now, Campagnolo is another story. With two 9 speed Campy bikes, I just might buy a spare cassette before they take the same path Campy 8 took.

jonwvara 

So you can replace individual cogs on the cheap 9-speed cassettes, but the pricier ones with carriers require you to replace them in groups? The cheap ones sound like the way to go.

YoKev

I know for a fact that you can replace individual cogs on a Shimano Sora, but I can't remember if I could on the Sram.

noglider 

I'm still trying to figure out why you want to go from 8-speed to 9-speed. What a tiny difference that will make!

jonwvara 

Yes, it's not really that important. My thought was to get a 34-tooth cog to go with my 26-tooth small chainring so I can ride the bike up the Mt. Ascutney auto road. I did that a couple of years ago on the same bike when I was down there on a tour. That previous gearing iteration had a 22-30 low. That's a very low gear but barely low enough for me on that particular ride. I think the Ascutney road is five miles long with an average grade of 14 or 15 percent--there are substantial sections of 19 percent grade. But that's probably the only time I'd use that low a gear, unless I try to do the Mt. Washington ride this summer. (I'm not a racer, but there's one day a year when the road is open to any cyclist who feels up to it.) I could just as easily forget the whole thing and keep my current 11-30 cassette.

pastorbobnlnh 

Where abouts are you located? I live almost smack dab in between these two mountains. Look in one direction and there is Mt. Ascutney. Turn around, and off in the distance is Mt. Washington, a little further away. I believe in the case of the Mt. Washington ride there are two each summer. One is a rather competitive race and it almost takes a lottery to enter. The other is more recreational. In both cases they limit the number of riders. A rider in my town did the Mt. Washington race a couple of summers back, but I've never met him.

jonwvara 

First, I should say I exaggerated about Ascutney. I just looked it up--it's 3.7 miles at an average 11.7 percent grade. But I was right about the 19 percent grade maximum.
So I guess that puts you somewhere around Plymouth? In the middle of November a couple of friends and I did a nice overnight tour from Bradford (Vermont) over the hill to Warren where we ate lunch and admired the rocket, then back over the hill to Fairlee where we spent the night. Rode through Ely, Vershire, and Corinth the next day, then back to Bradford.
I live in the town of Cabot, in Vermont--headwaters of the Winooski River. I think you're right about the Washington climb--two days only, the first open to recreational riders, the second only to racers. Either way, you've get to get a ride down in a vehicle--they won't let you descend on two wheels. I found the Ascutney descent terrifying, by the way--maybe I'm kind of timid about that kind of thing.

RobbieTunes

SRAM, and many models come completely apart, so you can build your teeth's desires.

pastorbobnlnh 

I sort of doubt you can see Ascutney from Plymouth. I live very close to Mount and Lake Sunapee. We're sort of at a higher point, so the ground slopes away to both the west and the east. One side the water flows into the Connecticut River the other side flows into the Merrimack River.

I see that Cabot is up there north east of St. Johnsbury. We're nowhere near being neighbors. I get up that way occasionally for church related meetings.

JunkYardBike

I did it with a 9-speed SRAM. I had to buy an entire cassette, however, because as far as I know, they don't sell individual cogs - at least in the size I sought. Also, the cassette I purchased had a different spacer design with plastic nubs that fit into specific holes on the cogs. I had to cut them off to fit on my current cassette.

JunkYardBike

You would also need to lengthen your chain and potentially replace the RD with a longer cage (though I'm guessing with a 26 low front ring you've already got a MTB long cage on there).

jonwvara 

Hey, we're close avocational neighbors. I have fond memories of your area--I did a bunch of work laying out and building the Monadnock-Sunapee Trail in the summer of 1976 when I was working for the Appalachian Mountain Club.