I just bought CS HG50 7 speed 12-28 cassette earlier this year and now after maybe 2000km it's done for, teeth are broken and it's all crooked I think this thing is good for some lady bike and not heavy duty use i.e. climbing steep hills and stepping hard on the pedals.. Anybody knows some decent alternatives because I sure won't buy this junk anymore..

Based on how it looks or how it works? Shimano has produced literally millions of those cassettes, and their quality control is very consistent.

Shimano cassettes are designed with twisted and shaped teeth to facilitate smooth shifts. If you're saying that yours works fine but looks wrong, compare it to close-up pictures of the same model. Chances are yours is OK.

Post pics.

Nice review!

Can you contact Lizzie and let her know that lady bikes aren't for steep hills or hard pedaling? She could probably get by with a single speed and coaster brakes.

I'm not saying it's not of consistent quality, it's just it is bottom shelf product and by lady bike I meant bike like this:



I don't have pic now but when I turn the crank the casette makes crumbling noise, at the shop they told me it should be replaced but it's hard for me since it's only couple of months old, I'm not made of money.. I regret replacing old 105 gears but it was 14-28 and it wasn't any good for me.

???

Not sure what a crumbling noise is, but are you sure the noise is coming from the cassette? Are you riding with a new cassette/old chain? Do you go out in the rain regularly? Have you cleaned and lubed the chain since you got the cassette?

Since you mentioned HG50, I'm assuming even though it is 7 speed it's still mounted on a freehub body rather than a freewheel. It's possible the freehub's bearings are shot and grinding, or the wheel's bearings, or the pulley wheels are heavily worn... Could be a lot of things other than a worn cassette, because they really should last much longer than 2,000 kilometers.

Shimano and Shimano-compatible 7-speed cassettes

Too many watts on this one. Go Dura Ace. The only thing that can keep up with a stud like you.

Next to tires, cassettes and chains are the fastest-wearing items on bikes. As Dan333SP said, the problem might be occurring because you replaced the cassette but not the chain.

If you get a new chain, let's hope that the cassette hasn't been damaged by the old chain to the point where the cassette will have to be replaced again.

Also, many people who mention that they're very strong riders mostly use the smallest two sprockets on the cassette, and those are the fastest-wearing sprockets, since they have so few teeth. Once you get the problem corrected, you should consider using the big ring in front with sprockets other than the smallest in back for most of your flat-terrain riding. The fastest riders train by spinning moderate gears so that they can spin big gears in competition.

you probably need to adjust your deraileur. I'm sure the cassette is fine. The teeth are steel, I don't know how you could brake them unless you're 500 lbs of muscle.

I replaced chain and cassette, they might be steel but look bad some of them are very thin and narrow like they broke and they're all bent when I turn crank backwards it's like wave, guy at the shop said he can tell looking at them that it has to be replaced and he's doing it for 30 years. And to be fair I should have dura ace as I ride every day for last 10 years min 50 km and often twice as that and occasionally doing 200, so I should have best cassette there is, but can't afford it.. Although from what I hear the new 9-11 speeds are not very durable as chain is very narrow and gears are made to be lightest possible and don't last long.

Well, save then. If you go any lower level you will end up spending more in the long run. Dura Ace or bust.

Those are retrogrouches being retrogrouchy.

Is the cassette on tight and all the spacers on the freehub? 7sp cassettes normally need an additional, but included adapter spacer.

What a sexist remark!

****

I call bull****, let's see this cassette. Shimano's HG50 cassettes are beefy if anything and I can't figure out how you'd break one short of deliberate abuse.

Dura Ace is the least durable cassette Shimano makes not to mention they don't make 7 speed. The cassette you have is supposed to have asymmetrical teeth to make shifting better. I'm sure that is what you are looking at and mistaking for broken

PepeM it is pretty low level and made in china of course so quality is well chinese.. rpenmanparker not sexist but bikexist I think this cassette was made for cruising amsterdam on gazelle at 15 km/h. I'm riding alot in the city, upshift, downshift and try to keep with the traffic not clog it like some so I guess that's what killed it but still thought it will last longer than 3 months.

So why'd you buy it in the first place when you subsequently commented you should've gone with Dura Ace but couldn't afford that (no critique on that - we afford what we can afford) - when Ultegra is about the same price as the CS HG50?

Still waiting for pictures of broken cassette.

Why all the hostility towards the OP? Cassettes do wear out - sometimes prematurely. I agree with the comment that the chain may have been part of the problem.

Find a new mechanic or learn how to make adjustments yourself. I hate to break it to you, but you aren't riding harder than pro cyclists and I'm sure many here also ride harder than you. If they aren't breaking cassettes neither are you.

More than likely your problem lies elsewhere and is easily fixed. Rather than continue to blame your 'cheap' cassette, I suggest you read up on bike maintenance and figure out where the real problem lies.

Sounds as if there's no functional problem---the OP just thinks the cassette looks wrong, and he got a fear-monger bike shop guy to agree with him.

Hmmm. I put almost 30,000 miles on my HG50 7 speed 12-28 cassette. It was still working perfectly for me, but I didn't feel like cleaning it and the new one I bought last winter was only about $11.

30,000 miles and $11 to replace. Quick search shows them as low as $16 on Amazon. I feel like somethings missing from the ops story. Seems like an unlikely difference in performance from Shimano.

I wouldn't be surprised if there are inferior counterfeit shimano parts and the OP may have one.

hard to imagine how poor you are if replacing a low-dollar cassette is causing you financial grief.

if you ride as much as you claim to, you're going thru a fair amount of disposable wear items (tires, chains, etc.)...

how is this one purchase such a burden...?