Broke ANOTHER Nashbar Cassette
 

OK, this is absurd. A few months ago, I decided to swap out the old, poorly maintained cassette on my 1993 Rockhopper. This is my commuter bike, so I wasn't going to spend a bazillion dollars to shave 15 grams on a steel bike that hauls my stuff back and forth to work, so I bought a 7-speed ATB cassette from Nashbar, along with a new chain. About a month later, the bottom cog on the cassette broke and fell off during a ride to work. Got another cassette from Nashbar to replace that one (must be a defect, I figured). After two weeks, the bottom cog of the NEW cassette broke last night on the way home. Luckily, it broke such that 1/3 of it fell off while the other 2/3 remained in place, so the cassette was rideable as long as I avoided that gear. It was suggested when I posted my first cassette breakage that perhaps the ape-like bike mechanic (me) over-tightened the lockring, a theory I was willing to accept as possible. However, the new cassette was most definitely not over-torqued. I also do not mash the gears when shifting, so the cassette was not subjected to any excessive pedalling force. I called the LBS when I got home and ordered a Shimano HG50, which will be in tomorrow. The mechanic jokingly asked me if I'd learned my lesson with the Nashbar components, and I contritely told him I had. First, last, only Nashbar stuff going on my bikes! Fortunately, I had kept the old original cassette, which did a fine job of getting me to work this morning.

For all those who told me to take my broken cassette to the LBS after the first incident, you were right on!

I've had one Nashbar cassette and it was pretty bad. It shifted horribly and wore down pretty quickly if I remember correctly. I will go with SRAM cassettes or maybe Shimano when I need a replacement.

It seems that a few years back Nashbar branded stuff used to be much better quality than it is now. Their selection has gotten much worse too but that's probably a topic for another thread.

I've ridden 3 or 4 Nashbar cassettes without incident. They may wear faster than higher end cassettes but I get about 4 - 5K miles of every type of riding with minimal maintenance. Mine have all been 8 speed cassettes so maybe you got a hold of some from a bad batch.

Can I expect the same issues with my newish Forte (Performance Bike) 8-speed cassette?

Bazillion?
How about spending $30-50 for nice sram or shimano cassette that will last you for thousands of miles, hmmm?

Yeah, and... it's not the weight-savey, it's the no-breaky!

The guys at my LBS sing nothing but praises for SRAM.

Right, now I know! I wasn't expecting a cassette that couldn't handle normal pedalling forces, even if I was only paying $15 for it. But, given the choice of replacing a cassette every couple weeks (and being stranded to boot), versus buying one for double the price but then not worrying about it, that's not much of a decision. Thus the call to the LBS last night!