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**Industry_Hack** · 02-24-2010, 01:12 PM

Wild, you have that backwards. More gears does not equal easier gears. The Shimano website isn't working so well right now, so I can't access all their cassette specs, but the more cogs, the less likely you are to find a big fat one out back.

chh55 · 02-24-2010, 01:23 PM

The rear fork does not get spread wider for 11 than it does for 8... the standard dimension back there has stayed the same at 130mm since the 80's. All the sprockets just get narrower and narrower.
Interestingly the chain needn't be weaker because it is narrower... in fact the opposite is the case! Assuming of course that the plates are the same thickness. If you make the pin shorter you increase the strenght of the chain. The individual sprockets are thinner and thus weaker and prone to wear however.
I thought the speed number had topped out at 10, it seemed a nice round number. Campy going to 11 reminded me laughingly of the amps in Spinal Tap their volume controls went up to 11!

chh55 · 02-24-2010, 01:26 PM

[QUOTE=fleeter;22577]it possible to slap a cassette on that has fewer gears?
QUOTE]

Your shifter (brifter) is indexed for 10 so unless you want to pop for a whole new shifter then you better stay with a 10 speed cassette!

**wild** · 02-24-2010, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Industry_Hack

Wild, you have that backwards. More gears does not equal easier gears. The Shimano website isn't working so well right now, so I can't access all their cassette specs, but the more cogs, the less likely you are to find a big fat one out back.

Hack that is not what I was trying to say what I am trying to say is the jump from gear to gear is in smaler incerments . The 7 gear is 12-14-16-18-21-24-28 and the 10 gear is 12-13-14-15-16-17-19-21-24-27
Bud

**Industry_Hack** · 02-24-2010, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chh55

Interestingly the chain needn't be weaker because it is narrower... in fact the opposite is the case!

It's a fact in the MTB that broken chains were not much of an issue with 8 speed chains, but were suddenly pretty common with 9 speed. The only chain I ever broke was a 9 speed.

**Industry_Hack** · 02-24-2010, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wild

Hack that is not what I was trying to say what I am trying to say is the jump from gear to gear is in smaler incerments, like on a 7 Gear casett going from 72.9 gear in. to the next gear 82 gear in. but on a 10 gear casett you go from 70.4 gear in. to 78.7 gear in. . the 7 gear is 12-14-16-18-21-24-28 and the 10 gear is 12-13-14-15-16-17-19-21-24-27
Bud

Those folks that like to plod along don't really like shifting too much. They're more like to stick around the larger cogs as much as possible. And the larger, the better for them.

But I see your point.