Cassette Questoin
 

Are the cogs interchangeable along brands to different speeds.

ie is a 16 tooth 8 speed the same as a 16 tooth on a 10 speed? Reason I ask is that I'm thinking of making a custom cassette for my own purposes that will suit me better. Should I be able to mix in what I want with no problems?

Thanks in advance.

Theoretically, no, they're not. Cogs (and the spacers) from different "speed" cassettes are different thicknesses.

However, you can sometimes swap one cog of the "wrong" thickness successfully. I substituted a 26T 8-speed cog for a 25T 9-speed cog in a 9-speed cassette and it fit and shifts fine. However, that's only one substitution. Generally you can't mix-and-match at will.

In your case, it sounds like you want to put an 8-speed 16T cog into a 10-speed cassette and I don't think that will work. The 8-speed cog is thicker and the 10-speed chain may have problems with fitting over the teeth properly. Try it but don't expect much.

Actually I'm trying to shorten the gaps (teeth wise) and move smaller tooth cogs to a more usable area (the middle chainring). Don't ask or say "You need 10 speed"... it's not like that. I have no hills other than some highrise bridges and I want to move away from granny gears, almost making a straight block cassette. I was just saying 10 speed because I'm more likely to find what I want there instead of buying multiple 8 speed cassettes, but that will probably be what I'll have to do..

You might be able to insert a 9-speed 16T cog into an 8-speed cassette but they are very difficult to find. For some reason, individual cogs of nearly any tooth count EXCEPT 16T are common. All of the usual suspects (Harris Cyclery, Loose Screws, etc.) don't have them.

I've converted a couple of 12x27 9-speed cassettes to 13x27 by dropping the 12 and 13T first two cogs, using a 13T first position cog and adding a 16T cog. I had a terrible time finding the loose 16T and probably couldn't do it again.

The nice thing about 10-speed cassettes is that nearly all of them have a 16T, which I love.

I'm confused about what you are trying to do. Do you need an 8-speed, 9-speed, or 10-speed cassette? What kind of shifters are you using? The difference between most 10-speed and 9-speed cassettes is the 16.
I've converted all but one of my 9-speed Shimano cassettes to start with 13 tooth cogs and include 16 tooth cogs. In the past I've been able to buy 16t cogs from Sheldon Brown and there are other sources. Some of the Shimano 9-speed mountain bike cassettes have individual 16t cogs that can be added to a road cassette. My favorite 9-speed cassette is a 13-26, most of the cogs are from a lightly used 12-34 XTR cassette that was gathering dust in my garage.

Al

I've swapped cogs to mmy own configuration like you want to do.
Initially I had -
12-14-16-18-21-24-28 and bought a 13-15-17-19-21-23-26 and made a-
13-14-15-16-18-21-24.
Since I had a few extra cogs laying around, the light bulb went off. I had an 8/9 speed Free Hub body I'd gotten for cheap, so I installed that, thinned my spacers and now use 8 seven speed cogs. (friction shifters DO have some advantages)
I also discovered that although the 12 & 13T cogs are supposed to be used in the last position only, I CAN use the 12 & 13 together.
I'm currently using a 13-14-15-16-17-19-21-24.

What cassette do you currently have? Maybe you can buy the "complimentary" cassette to fill in the gaps.

When I contacted Sheldon a couple of years ago, the Harris Cyclery web site did not show a loose 16T in either 8 or 9-speed thickness and he replied that they couldn't get them from any source. I got mine from Branford bike before their fire and before the new owners stopped carrying all Shimano parts. Now I have no idea where to get one except to disassemble a complete cassette.

Here is a link to a supplier that has had Shimano individual cogs fairly recently. They don't currently show any Shimano 16t's but they do have Miche individual cogs for Shimano including a 16. I don't have any experience with this supplier or Miche brand products.

http://aebike.com/page.cfm?PageID=30...rch&startRow=1

Al

Lots of suppliers have Shimano individual cogs, it's particularly the 16T that's so hard to find.

I'm not sure about Miche either. I've heard mixed reports about their quality and most of them aren't too complimentary.

Yeah, I think the 16 has always been the hardest to find. I suppose that's because it's the first missing cog on the high-speed end of most 9-speed road cassettes and many riders have come to the conclusion that they'd rather have a 16 than an 11 or 12. I've seen several inquiries about where to buy a 16.

Al

Get an SRAM or a mtb cassette, they don't use cog carriers and thus have cogs full begth with contact the hub splines. I'd stick to the same speed unless you have no other option just to be on the safe side.

Shimano 105-level 9 and 10-speed cassettes use carriers only for the three largest cogs so all of the smaller cogs are "full plate" and can be rearranged at will.