I took my bike into the shop for a tune up. They said I needed a new chain, cassette, and one new chain ring. I agreed and they did the work. We decided to replace the worn cassette with a 12-28 PG-950. After I got home (after the shop was closed) I did some research on the PG-950 and found out that it can be very hard on hubs with an alloy freebody. I went back to the shop today and asked them to put on a PG-970 or Shimano cassette instead, cause I was worried about the PG-950 damaging my freebody. They didn't have any PG-970s in stock, only PG950s or 990s, and a bunch of Shimano mountain cassettes. I was told they could order a PG970 in and it would arrive on Tuesday or Wednesday, but I use this bike to commute to work 5 days per week, my wife is going to her parents for Christmas on Wednesday, so if the part had been late at all, I'd be both without transportation to work (I suppose I COULD take public transit!), I'd have no way to get my bike home, and then I'd have a hard time getting to the in laws (I'm planning on biking there, it's only about 60km). They did have a Shimano HG80 11-34T (identical to the cassette that came off the bike), so I got that put on. I didn't really want quite such a wide ranging cassette (I rarely use the 30 or 34 tooth cogs), I often find the spacing between cogs a little too wide. I wanted something like a 12-28T, but at least this way I wasn't worried about it damaging my bike. So my question is: Would you have just kept the PG950 and hoped that it didn't damage the freebody?

For what it's worth, I got very good usage out of that chain, chainring, and cassette. They have between 5500 and 6000 kilometers on them, and the last two months have been on rainy and frequently gritty roads. I don't feel that any of those parts owe me anything; but this has increased my resolve to buy a bike repair stand and some tools an do the work myself.

Cheers,
Brad