Change cassette for hills
 

I have Dura Ace 9-speed and on hills I sometimes feel like I could use an extra low gear, and on the flat I rarely get near the smallest cog.

Thinking I might change the gearing, what do you recommend?

What do you have now? 11-23? 12-25? 12-28?

12-25 I believe

Perhaps a 12-27 or 13-30 would work. Sheldon Brown/Harris Cycles claim the 13-30 will work with either the short or long cage rear derailleur.

Shimano Dura Ace and Ultegra come in 12-27. Any higher than that you're not buying Shimano and you're probably going to replace your rear der to accomodate. 12-27 requires no changes from your current setup.

You really are probably better off going to a compact crankset then changing your cassette (if you don't already have one). It should get you much more appropriate gearing.

I switched to a 12-27 this summer, and quite frankly, almost never use the 27. I actually never dropped into it even going up Mt. Evans last weekend, as the 25 was fine for me. I think a 28 would be overkill.

Keep in mind, if you do drop to a 12-27, make sure the 53-27 combo will not rip off your derailer. I was warned of that, as the mechanic at a LBS said some people have too short a chain, and accidently when not realizing it drop into the 53-27 and snap.

If you don't use the 53/12, go with a compact crankset with the same cassette. If 34 is too small, you can find some 36 small rings, but maybe not DA.

I have a 13-29 for the mountains and use the 39/29 on the steeper stuff. Typically run a 12-25 otherwise, and I can do the climbs with the 25 but those 4 extra teeth keep me seated and spinning instead of out of the saddle and grinding.

Sorry to hijack, but it is preferred to change crank rings versus the cassette in order to get better ratios for climbing? Is it ok to change the tooth count only on the inner? I have a 53/39 and a 12-25 cassette. Would it be possible to get a 34 or 36 inner chainring in order to climb with? Or is that too big of a jump from the 53?

the real problem being the bcd. Compact cranks typically have a bcd of 110, normal dbls are at 130 (unless we're talking Campy at 135). that, and the fact that you need to consider the FD limits.

Ok, but as long as the bcd is the same, I should be able to find a smaller inner for the double as long my FD can handle it? I still have stock Tiagra that came with the bike. I have a Franken Gruppo - Ultegra RD, Tiagra FD, 105 Flightdeck... All came stock...

i had an 11-21 and switched to a 12-27 for a trip to the mtns.

i can't say from experience, but my guess is; if 25 isn't low enough, 27 won't be a whole lot better. again, just a guess.

perhaps going with smaller chainrings is a more affordable solution. i saw ultegra 39t 10speed rings at performance for $20. i don't know what a 9spd 36t would cost.

38 is as small as you'll find in a 130 BCD, and they are somewhat rare and spendy. To get to a 36 or 34, you'll need a whole new crankset.

my buddy does this for mt washington ride. whats involved?

<<new to mechanics.

I am currently riding an 11-23 (10-speed D/A). I'm loooking to get a 12-25 or 12-27 to throw on just for rides with steep climbing (like the Blue Ridge Extreme this weekend.) Not sure which I should get.

I would think the 12-25 (maybe even my 11-23) would be OK for the Parkway itself, but I've never been on the access roads on this ride which I hear are pretty steep. Anyone have any input, especially if you've done the Blue Ridge Extreme? I am a medium/strong rider, and I biked the Blue Ridge Parkway end-to-end last year, so I'm used to climbing all day long, but that was on a triple, and I have no idea what the non-Parkway roads are like.

I should have mentioned I have a triple.

A 13-30 would work with my current setup?

It should.

If not, you can flip out to a MTB RD cheaply and use that or the 11-32 or 11-34 cassettes. Those cassettes aren't great w/ pacelines and pack rides due to the spacing, but they'll get you up some hills you wouldn't make otherwise. I use one on my touring bike, and I wind up taking that bike over my 'fast' bike when I do long climbing rides or super steep rides.

The only comment I ever get from people who notice the setup is that they wish they had my setup.

"I should have mentioned I have a triple.
A 13-30 would work with my current setup?"

Yes. The long cage rear derailler will work fine, and cassettes are usually much cheaper than cranksets.

Triple and needing a cog larger than 25 in the rear? What are you trying to climb?

I'd give a 12-27 a try before making any other changes. They are easy enough to find.

an "extra low gear" (get the 12-27) or an "extra-low gear"? (do something drastic)



What's the little ring on your triple? You can probably go a bit smaller.

Check out this 11-28. That's what I'd get.

http://store.interlocracing.com/9elroca.html

When I'm in the lowest gear I feel like I could use one more to go down to, doesn't have to be huge.

On my hybrid/MTB I can crawl up hills at a slow walking speed with almost zero effort, I don't need to go that far, but a little more would be good.

Thanks.

The 11 probably doesn't make sense on a triple...but would for a compact. The OP said he doesn't use his high gears anyway. They have a 12-28...but that's a lot more expensive than a 12-27.

I went from a 12/25 to a 12/27 for an extra gear - lbs advised 2 teeth is more or less 1 extra gear - and didnt see a big difference. I agree with the poster who suggested going with a 11/30 or 32 mtb cassette and you'll climb just about anything.
If you search this or the mechanics forums, the same discussion was held around 1 month ago, with a lot of good info to boot.