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32 t or 34 t on rear cassette?
NB: Originally posted elsewhere on the Global Riders Network and appears via syndication.
Opinions please...
I am about to order a 11-32 teeth SRAM PG 990 rear cassette...on special at CRC..
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?m...
My Enduro has 11-34 as standard...how noticable is the difference?
http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spi...
Riding style is mainly XC ...and I haven't run out of low gearing yet on the current 11-34 ratio...
What is your view / experience on this?
Thx Hans
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Happiness is a warm shock.
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... is ok, I found not a great deal of difference,
I put a 7 speed 11-32 on my Hardtail and get up the same hills with both bikes!
The Norco @ 15.5kg and a 34 and the Hardtail @ 13.5kg and with a 32 cassette....
Bernd
A 34 gives a slightly lower gear but is also slightly heavier.
I use 34 on my trail bike and 32 on my race bike
There are 3 advantage to me using a 34:
1. the lowest possible *bailout* gear at the end of a *really* long ride
2. Better chainline in the lower gears. The second lowest cog is a 32, and it is 1 increment closer to the centreline of the drivechain. This is important in muddy conditions as it lowers the likelyhood of chainsuck, and is nicer to the chain the rest of the time.
3. I can stay in the middle ring just that little bit longer with a 34 saving the need to drop down to granny just as it gets that little bit steeper
Thanks Whisperer - that's a detailed, high quality response!
I think it'll automatically compensate for the lower 32-11 gear-ratio when I'm switching to a lower rolling circumference tyre - from the current stock Specialized Enduro Pro 2.3's to a Schwalbe RR 2.3 - apparently they are 14 mm smaller in overall diameter...
...but then ...this might impact the bottom bracket height and I may have to switch to the higher rear-shock mount...which in turn steepens the head angle...
...Not as paranoid yet as the dudes in Rob's previous post - with the classic "Scanner Darkly" bike scene on Youtube..."counting the gears..."
see: http://nobmob.com/node/2574
Rgds Hans
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"I thought of that while riding my bike."
Albert Einstein, on the theory of relativity.
The next sprocket along on a cassette with a 34 tooth bottom gear would be a 30 tooth, not a 32. But hey your logic still works for me all the same.
I wasn't thinking too deeply on the teeth numbers!
I guess by the same logic, the 32 would go down to a 28, but it may be a 29 as it's slightrly closer ratio.
I never counted them (or looked it up).
Anyway, the chain line comments stil hold!
W.
On a 32 the next one along is 28. Your chainline logic is sound. I like 34 tooth cassettes also for a similiar reason.
The really tough folk out there could use a 9 speed road cassette with a 27 or 28 lowest. They are still available out there in Ultegra and Dura-Ace groups and are very light.