Re: group poll; cogsets

On Sun, 29 Jan 2006 20:54:08 -0800, frkrygow wrote:

> It's not the number of cogs that matter, it's the range. The benefits
> of ever-finer steps are minimal if any, I think.
>
> Properly done, 3x5 is enough to get a person anywhere in the world. I
> certainly think they could have stopped at, say, 7 or 8 in the rear.

I disagree. I find it "nice" to have a smaller skip between gears, and
with an extremely wide jump in the chainrings, I can get that and plenty
of range as well, with enough cogs.

One reason people think that 9 or 10 sprockets in the rear is wasted is
that a standard set-up has so many redundant gears. Having 3-4 ratios
repeated on a double makes as much sense as having 2 12-tooth cogs. Mine
overlap only on the wide-reach gears (big-big and little-little) that you
shouldn't use anyway. I currently have a 46/30 and a 12-23 9-speed, and
have 15 closely-spaced gears from 100" to 34", all jumps of less than 9%.

The claim that the wheels would be stronger (due to less dish) only
applies if you have a 7-speed wheel with 130mm axle. 8-speed and 9-10
use the same space for the cassettes; going back to 8-speed will not
improve the dish. Going back to 126mm axles and 7-speed will not improve
the dish (well, maybe minimally so).

I don't think there is any real data suggesting that 8-speed chains are
stronger or longer-lasting than 9-speed. Maybe 10-speed is weaker, but
not by that much. The only thing making me hesitate about 10-speeds are
the price of the cassettes and the need to get new levers.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | Let's be straight here. If we find something we can't
_`\(,_ | understand we like to call it something you can't understand, or
(_)/ (_) | indeed even pronounce. -- Douglas Adams


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Why is SRAM going with a 10s ...
    ... > No need for wider range cassettes with 10 speed. ... The extra cogs in the usable range is the beauty of 10 speed. ... > corn cob where you spend 99% of your riding time plus some lower gears. ...
    (rec.bicycles.tech)
  • Re: Why is SRAM going with a 10s ...
    ... > No need for wider range cassettes with 10 speed. ... Veloce are loose cogs and spacers. ... > cob gears and bigger climbing gears. ...
    (rec.bicycles.tech)
  • Re: Why is SRAM going with a 10s ...
    ... The extra cogs in the usable range is the beauty of 10 speed. ... Take the wonderful 10 speed Campagnolo Veloce cassettes for instance. ... corn cob where you spend 99% of your riding time plus some lower gears. ...
    (rec.bicycles.tech)
  • Re: 10 speed cassette choices for Campy freehubs
    ... Campy that ships with 12 cogs between 13 and 27. ... have even a few more but my other 10V cassettes all have 12s and suit ... I have been using the 5.9 Record chain and I am almost shocked at how ...
    (rec.bicycles.tech)
  • Mixing cogs from different cassettes
    ... Recently decided to make the move from 7 speed freewheel hub and 27 ... inch single wall rims to an 8 speed hub with double wall 700C ... My question is about mixing and matching cogs from different cassettes ...
    (rec.bicycles.tech)