Please help me pick a cassette
 

Hello,

I have a 2002 Giant Rainier. It has a Shimano Deore LX SGS rear derailleur. It originally came with a 9-speed 11-34 cassette, but I was riding a lot of flat pavement out in California so I had it fitted with a road cassette with a wider range (not what the exact range is).

Now I've moved to Eagle, CO and I want to start riding single track, so I would like to replace the cassette with something more suitable. I have a road bike now so the Rainier will be used for off-road almost exclusively.

We have some steep hills here, and since I'm just getting started mountain biking here I'm thinking I need all the gearing help I can get.

Should I go back to the original 11-34 cassette, or should I go with something else?

What brand/model cassette would give me the most bang for the buck? I don't mind spending a little more to improve the shifting, but I don't want to spend extra for something I won't really be able to tell a noticable difference at my level.

Thanks for your advice!

Alan

I'd say you'll do fine with an 11-34 again.

I've done fine with SRAM 950, 970, and 990. I haven't really noticed much in difference in shifting performance...just weight.

My favorite is Shimano XT. Seems to shift smoother. Better build quality than the SRAM 990. XT over LX though...still mainly weight savings.

Best bang for you buck seems to be somewhere around the 950-970 range. You can also order a 30t middle ring for a gawd-aweful price from a custom CNC dude over at mtbr. I remember reading somewhere else that there was some back-alley guy making 21t grannies too. both of these custom chainrings options are pretty expensive and won't gain you a crap load.


Another option would be the new 36t cassette designed for the 9ers.

if your bike is fitting up to a 34 gear, your off better then me. Most derailliers have to be "special" to run those very low ranges.

Here's a guide:

What land are you going over?
Flat? Higher gearing
Hilly? Medium gearing
Mountain? lower gearing

Your set up at the moment is fine for anything as long as your running a three gear ring in the front. Sorry, might have missed some info there.

I'm running 9-28, only because I don't want to fork out more $$$ for a new rear deraillier

+1 for a Shimano Deore M770 XT cassette. You should be able to find one for $70-80 range. The way the cogs are arranged on a spider, it stresses the freehub body significantly less than other brands of cassettes. 12-36t is also an option; the HG-61 tends to chew into an aluminum freehub body quite a bit though... like this:

http://www.xrs.com/pics/munchedFHbody.jpg

I acquired this wheel on a used bike from someone ~240 lbs. Swapped in an XTR cassette a while back and it worked fine for 1 1/2 years. Last few weeks 4th gear has been slipping on occasion and there's been creaking noises emanating from back there so I decided to change it.

PG-990 or XT. Neither will eat into your freehub.
11-34 or 11-36t. Your call. Not lower. You have a road bike for lower.

11-36?

Like 10speed or home brew?

My bad. The Shimano HG61 comes in a 12-36T, not 11-36T.