bpohl

Hello, has anyone bought one of the Nashbar cassettes? I'm looking at them right now and giving them some consideration, since the price difference is so substantial. Anyone got any advice?

Brian Ratliff

Don't buy Nashbar bicycle components. Their house brand clothing is okay, but their components... very low quality. It seems as though they get such cheap stuff because they allow high tolerances in their manufacturing, which makes the manufacturing less expensive, but the parts don't work very well.

That said, what can they get wrong with a cassette? I haven't tried it; perhaps their cassettes are okay.

tsl

I use their 8-speed cassettes without any problem. They're quiet, wear well and shift just fine. Shiny too!

DevLaVaca

Nashbar doesn't make prime components, but the house brand isn't junk either. They tend to be well-made and durable, if not the lightest or flashiest. I've got quite a few N-brand components on my commuter, and it gives me less trouble than most other bikes. In particular, my Nashbar 26" slicks are the most problem-free I've ever owned.

tsgrab

I used their 28t cassette on a trip to the Rockies about a month ago. It was a little noisy (could be from a worn chain, new cassette combo), but it did the job for me. Once I got back home, I put the original 25t cassette back on.

covenant

Bought one of their 28t cassettes myself this summer, along with a Nashbar 9 speed chain. Works great!
I even swapped out some of the smaller cogs with shimano cogs and they work fine together.

DinoShepherd

I just slammed an Performance brand 8-speed on my MTB. Probably same as Nashbar. Made in Taiwan.

Seems good to go so far.

-Z

sced

I've also had good luck with Nashbar stuff and buy there preferentially because of the good value. The long reach brake calipers I bought recently are obviously Tektro dual pivots and work great.

songfta

If memory serves me correctly, Nashbar and Performance cassettes are re-branded SunRace units. They're not the lightest in the world, but they work well - and the price is nothing to sneeze at either. I've used their 8-speed and 9-speed cassettes on my bikes without any problems.

pelikan

I use a NashBar Cassette on my trainer/commuter bike. No problems whatsoever, since I don't care about weight on that bike.

bpohl

Hmmmm... I may go with the Nashbar. One more question, though, should I decide to go the other way on the quality scale...

Is a Dura Ace 9 cassette compatible with an Ultegra 9 setup? I wouldn't see why not, but would hate to spend the money and find out that it won't work.

kudude

yes. compatible

pelikan

So your deciding between DA or NashBar? Interesting.

bpohl

In a sense, yes. I'm trying to decide whether or not it's a component that is really worth sinking a lot of money into. Most of what I've seen is only about $20 extra from Ultegra to DA. So, DA seems like it would just be a given. However, If the performance difference is minimal, I don't know why I wouldn't save 60 bucks and go with the Nashbar, especially for a product that may not last very long.

furballi

OK...to re-open this discussion. Just bought a Nashbar 8-speed 12T-28T cassette for $12 US. Item is made by DnP Epoch Hyperflo (Taiwan). Largest five cogs had cut-outs to reduce mass. Sprockets appear stamped, with "C" quality workmanship (some burrs).

My concern is the smallest 12T spocket. The teeth appear beefy, but the thinnest section of the "spacer ring" is only 0.032". Also see a few burrs at the bottom curve of a few teeth (source of stress riser). Filing down the burrs may help. Perhaps I should have ordered 11T to obtain more "meat" at the smallest sprocket.

Has anyone experienced destructive failure of the smallest 12T sprocket during normal use? I may swap ou the smallest sprocket with the original Shimano that's virtually un-used for peace of mind. Finally, has anyone bought this Nashbar cassette for less than $10? I'd say that's about fair value.

the beef

your 12t will not break don't worry.

furballi

Thanks for the update. So the Nashbar sprockets are heat-treated for strength? I went back to the Nashbar website to check out the reviews. An individual lost a sprocket while riding downhill. Not sure if this was an isolated incident. The quality of stamped-steel can be all over the map.

If you've used this product and didn't encounter any failure with the 12T sprocket, then that's good enough for me...no need to RMA for the 11T version cassette. Just don't want to encounter the same experience as this user:

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...shbar+cassette

zzzwillzzz

i've got an 11-28 9 speed on the tandem. it's held up fine on the tandem which are really tough on cassettes.