Originally Posted by
oldbobcat
And every 8-, 9-, and 10-speed cassette I've seen bolts, rivets, or swages the three largest cogs together.
No Campagnolo 8 speed cassette has any cogs attached together.
Campagnolo Veloce and below 9 speed cassettes have all loose cogs. Chorus and Record Mk II cassettes have the 2 largest pairs (11-21/11-23), 3+2 largest, or 2+3 largest cogs on carriers.
Campagnolo Veloce and below 10 speed cassettes, 2010 Centaur, and newer Centaur 14-23 cassettes have all loose cogs. Other Centaur setups put the two largest cogs on a carrier. Record and Chorus put the 2 (21 and 23 ending cogs) or 3 largest pairs on carriers.
IRD Comp cassettes have all loose cogs.
Miche and Marchisio cassettes have all loose cogs.
Shimano CS-6500 cassettes in the 13-23 and 13-25 combinations have the last cog loose. The 14-25 has the last two cogs loose.
Etc.
There's probably a reason for this.
Cyclists who can weigh 200 pounds obsess about an extra 20 grams of weight on their cassettes and are willing to pony up extra money to have the big cogs mounted on aluminum carriers. Vendors cater to that mentality and compete against each other on weight, with replacing steel cog centers with aluminum a low cost way to gain some grams.
Aftermarket aluminum Shimano freehubs also get dented by loose cogs because the splines aren't deep enough to allow the softer metal to work.