How can Compass Cycles justify the price...
 

on these "custom" 5 and 6-speed cassettes?

http://www.compasscycle.com/hub_gb_120.html

2-3X what those cassettes usually run, and they're using crummy, black Shimano cogs. The choice of aluminum for the freehub body is an entirely different subject matter...

who else makes 5/6 speed freehub cassettes?

custom spacers in a small order and keeping inventory.

Supply and demand. Don't like the price? don't buy em.

We seem to get quite a few threads like this.

$88? What does a Shimano or Campy 11 speed cassette cost?

Doesn't seem outrageous to me.

You could make these yourself out of 8-speed cassettes with a little time and effort.

5/6 speed freewheels run 15 to 35 bucks in the cheapy shimano and sun race.

So $88 for a much smaller market and more custom work does not seem out of line from a business pricing/profit point.

You know, these are some pretty hubs:

http://www.compasscycle.com/images/hub_gb_hf_pair.jpg

They're not cheap, but they'd go nicely with their cranks:

http://www.compasscycle.com/images/cranks_herse_01.jpg

Yes, but how much is your time worth? ;)

There's the cost to buy the 8-speed cassettes (or loose cogs, but the complete cassettes are probably cheaper), the cost to buy or make the spacers, to assemble these cassettes by hand, and then to keep them in inventory. I don't know the 8-speed combos very well, but it might take more than one to make each 13-15-17-20-23(-26) or 14-16-18-21-24(-28) custom cassette.

(If I were them, I'd use 7-speed cassettes, because they're basically lopping off the largest cog(s) from the stock 13-30 and 14-32 cassettes, and I don't know which 8-speed cassettes ever had a 14T on top.)

Someone on the internet disagrees with their pricing model.

Every time a thread like this comes up, I think about 100$ dog hotels, and laugh. http://www.forbes.com/sites/face-to-...-pooch-palace/

wouldn't mind pay that reasonable money for the idea and execution at all, IMHO.
being able to set some 'mundane' ratio gears especially onto 120mm spacing seems brilliant.
it's easy to make it like it when idea's out there, but hard to come up with the idea, no?
see no reason to justify...

If that seems expensive to you, you've got no reason to be wanting stuff like that.
I sold an old guitar for $6,500. the guy who bought it couldn't wait to hand over the money.

So, do it then.

+1

No. He should just whine about it.

What would Sorefeet say?

Hey, they're "made in the Taiwan" ! Whadyawant?

He'd fiddle with it, get all the cogs and spacers mixed up, and then complain when he couldn't shift smoothly.

Huh. I just ordered a set of custom spacers to make a 6 speed cassette for a 130OLD hub (look for the upcoming build) using HG cogs that I had at hand. It will be a 12/15/18/21/24/28 cassette used with a 53/39 chainset.

For anyone that wants to do the same thing, the spacer sizes were 1 X 7, 4 X 3.5 and 1 X 1.3, using a 9 speed smallest cog (all cogs were right around 2mm thick).

Total cost for the spacers was about $12.

Either you or I completely miss the point.

Well, it wouldn't be the first time for me.

My point(s) was (were):
a) There is a market for cassettes of fewer than 7 speeds, for various reasons. It may not be a large niche, but a niche there is.
b) One can assemble such a device for less than the price asked in the original posting, if one happens to have the cogs at hand and is willing to be somewhat inventive.

Although I must admit that I didn't pick up from the link in the original post that these were 120OLD hubs with a freewheel.
My bad.

I kind of thought a BQ subscription was steep at 8 bucks an issue. But when Jan and his sidekick raced titanium race bikes vs their personal ride with the pee wee Herman fenders ..and the titaniums lost...I was hooked. Not to mention his tire analysis is cool.

their stuff ain't cheap. But it's great they found a niche.

Lame thread.

No opinions here; just a (loaded) fact: you could buy Phils and a freewheel for less than you can buy the hubs w/cassette linked in the OP.