tomato coupe

SRAM is, by all measures, and American company. Like many American companies, they use Asian manufacturing facilities to keep their costs down.

robertorolfo

Well, it will always look better than the alternatives (subjective, I know, but I don't even like the look of Campagnolo 12sp rear derailleurs, forget about Shimano), and so long as you can find G-springs and other little spares for under $10, I don't think it's particularly expensive.

Best of all, you get the satisfaction of maintaining and overhauling your parts, which is half the fun for some of us.

And the value in this compatibility seems to be underestimated by most. Being able to swap so easily between the various cassettes is a huge benefit. If necessary, you would easily share one set of wheels among so many different bikes with different drivetrains. They get it.

tomato coupe

The compatibility seems to be of limited value. I can't imagine sharing wheels across different drivetrains, if you have to swap cassettes whenever you share the wheels.

robertorolfo

If you save the plastic splines that come with the cassettes, or are just careful about it, you can swap cassettes in about 5 minutes. It's not difficult at all.

And for people with multiple bikes and drivetrains, it's a really nice option. You can invest in a higher quality set of wheels knowing that it won't be limited to just one of your bikes, but can be shared among 5-6 of them. Plus, you know they won't be obsolete if you decide to dip your toes into 12sp...

gt3racerich

If anyone can give me suggestions as to where I can order a Campy 10 Spd cassette I would greatly appreciate it.
Thank you.

canopus 

Depends on what size you want. I just got in 3 - 13-29's from ProBikeKit.

gt3racerich

Stupid question but I have Record 10 Spd. Does the cassette have to be Record?
Also, is the derailleur compatible with all the cassettes? I have a couple of 11-23s but I need something less aggressive.
Thanks again.

canopus 

No, the cassette doesn't have to be record, The records are nice and light and usually expensive so I use Veloce cassettes, plus I get to mix and match if I want, but they are steel, heavier, and can dig a little into the aluminum Campy freehub. Centaur and above had the riveted cogs with more meat on the freehub body spline. Your rear derailleur and shifters should work with any campy 10s cassette and vice versa.

gt3racerich

Thank you very much. I appreciate it.

zacster

I just looked around and you can still get 10sp. Not every shop has every version, but that was never the case anyway. It is mostly Veloce and Centaur but Chorus and Record are also available for a price and I never paid that price. I always thought they were way too expensive considering that they're a wear item. My current cassette is a Veloce 13-26 but I may order a 13-29 this time. I'm getting older. There's also 12-30 available but I think that was Centaur and a lot more money. I like my current shifting in the middle range and the 13-29 only pulls the 18 to replace with the 29 from my current cassette. If they made a 13-34 that would work with my Chorus 10 setup I'd get that for that matter.

But the bottom line was that I could get any combination I wanted, but nobody has ALL of the combinations in stock. And Chorus/Record is even more spotty and expensive.

Last ride 76 

Snap!
(They really might not be, hmm.)

Litespud

Chain Reaction Cycles, usually a good source for such stuff, had only a few Veloce 12/23s - no other 10sp cassettes in stock as of last night

DaveSSS 

My two bikes are actually as nearly identical as possible. One has an older version of Easton EC-90 bars and an older seatpost, but otherwise identical.

zacster

Quite honestly, I don't get why you'd want two identical bikes. To me the whole point of N+1 is that you get a different ride with each of them. I have carbon, I have steel, I have aluminum, I have skinny tires, I have fat tires, etc... The closest two I have are two Trek MTBs from the same era, one a 7000 and the other an 8000. They originally had similar components but now one is my skinny tire commuter and the other is a fat tire trail bike for the few trails there are in Brooklyn.

robertorolfo

I was going to respond to him with "whatever floats your boat," but it definitely doesn't float mine. I'm with you in enjoying the variety of riding experiences that different bikes have to offer. The only reason I could see for wanting identical bikes is if you were a serious racer that needed a backup with the same characteristics to ensure performance (kind of like tennis players having multiple identical racquets).

tomato coupe

The strings in my tennis racquets break after 6-8 hours of use. If my bike broke every 6-8 hours, the last thing I would want is an identical one.

DaveSSS 

My second Colnago C-RS was merely a very inexpensive replacement for a 16 year old look kg-461 frame. I only paid $500 difference to get a $1700 msrp frame. In the past I've owned two look 585 frames at the same time. One was a special edition red and the other was all black unidirectional carbon with power tap wheels.

robertorolfo

What kind of strings are you using? What gauge? Maybe consider switching to something more durable?

But tennis strings break, and the tennis racquet analogy isn't a perfect one for bikes. Top players will use many more racquets during a match than top bike racers will use during a stage. My comparison was more for the idea of ensuring consistent performance among multiple pieces of equipment.

I know there were some great deals recently on the Colnago C-RS, and I actually considered one myself for a little while, because it was almost too good to pass up.

But let me ask, do you ride both bikes equally? Is one more of a backup? Is one for better weather, and the other more of a "beater"?

tomato coupe

I don't think anyone wants to hear about tennis strings, but FYI Tecnifibre X-One Biphase, 16 ga.

No thank you, that would be like racing on Gatorskins.

Which is why I responded with a joke ...

robertorolfo

You are probably right, but I was curious. I definitely get more durability from poly strings compared to multis, but it is a little harder on your arm/elbow. You don't like poly?

Totally agree about the Gatorskins point, though, and sometimes humor doesn't really come across on the forum...

DaveSSS 

I ride both about the same amount. No use letting one sit for too long. I do tend to ride one in the summer and the other in the winter. I never ride in wet dirty conditions.

Homebrew01

ProBikeKit has Veloce 13-29 in stock.

zacster

I just went looking for a 13-29 10sp and they are out of stock on almost everything now. Rose Bike had some and somebody on Amazon did, but very delayed shipping. I ordered one from Amazon but it isn't coming for a few weeks. But stocks are really low or nonexistent at this point. PBK, Wiggle, Jenson, Universal, ChainReaction were all out of stock.

I did a 50 mile ride today and was having trouble with noise and I figure it is time. I have a new KMC chain to put on it already so I'm good there. It'll be fine for a few more weeks the way it is. I'm debating whether to delay using it until spring, but there is still plenty of good outdoor riding ahead so maybe not. The trainer has a 12-25 Ultegra on it that is still fine. Shimano is cheaper too.

Bike Gremlin

My first bikes were single speed ones. Having more than one chainring at the front, and quite a few at the rear was a groundbreaking improvement: I could climb any hill around my home, not having to push the bike.
I did try the 1 tooth difference road cassettes, understand the advantage, but, since I don't race, it's not that important to me.
In fact, I went "back" to friction shifters: both on the "haul everything" and the road bike. I'm happy with any cheap cassette I can find - mostly Shimano 7-speed stuff nowadays. It works - I'm happy as long as I've got the time to go riding in the hills. And I cycle commute every day.

It is reasonable and understandable for the manufacturers: they are trying to make money. But from my (a casual rider in a low income country) point of view, it's getting crazy. To hell with it. Road bike has a mix of Hyperglide and Uniglide sprockets right now. And it works. Mostly used ones will get flipped when they are worn, before I start looking for a new cassette.

BBB_Adrift

Please forgive me if this is a "bone" question. Could I simply upgrade to an 11-speed set or change to a different set completely? Some of the discussion here about modifying cassettes with different size spacers all sounds a bit complex to me. #simpleoldman.