Noob Question : Upgrading cassette
 

Hi,

This is the spec on my bike
Norco Threshold A3 2014 Cyclocross Bike | Evans Cycles

I want to change the cassette to "Shimano Ultegra 6500 9 Speed Road Cassette"

Do i need to change the front chain rings as well?
or the hubs?

Could anyone recommend me a chain as well cause mine is starting to rust, i want something light maybe

KMC X9 Light 9 Speed Chain | Chain Reaction Cycles

Just wanted to make sure if everything is compatible
Thanks for your help in advance

P.S is having gold chains tacky or cool?

just get a new shimano/sram chain and you are good. the 6500 cassette should work as well

Which cassette? as 6500 covers a lot of them, if looking to go with a 6500 cassette, the largest range they cover is 12-27, so you will loose a lot of gearing.

For your chain rusting, have you tired lubing it? all chains which aren't chrome plated, will corrode unless lubed.

For gold chains, why not, should work well with the black/blue of your bike, they are plated, so will corrode less, you will find them cheaper at Ribble over CRC.

This cassette

Shimano Ultegra 6500 9 Speed Road Cassette | Chain Reaction Cycles

I dont mind loosing some gears, i will get used to it.

and yes i use finish line wax lube and i use muc off degreaser beforehand.


Could you recommend a chrome plated chain possibly from a website that sends to the UK


EDIT: thanks for letting me know about ribble, so much cheaper saved me some money, always appreciated thanks

Ribble & Merlin are both cheaper, Planet X similar price for different brands.

Quick question: People always recommend that if you change your cassette you should change your chains aswell, but does it matter if the chain has minor-non stretching?

I doubt that Ultegra cassette works three times better than this one:

Shimano 9 Spd HG50 (Sora/Tiagra) Cassette, Cassettes, CASSETTES

normally this would be suggested if you were replacing the cassette due to wear, but you appear to want to do it just for the ratio, and on a 2014 bike, how much distance have you done? suspect not enough to warrant any change in chain.

Shifting wise probably not a lot different

The 6500 is 150grams lighter and chrome plated compared to the HG50 which is nickle plated

I really want something that is light and will last a while

Chains generally wear faster than a cassette. It's pretty common for cyclists to swap cassettes between chain replacements, to change the gearing, when they ride varied terrain. A lot depends on how many miles a cassette has been ridden before the swap. But it is recommended that you replace a cassette when you replace a chain.