chrisx

Someone mentioned a 9 speed cassette with a 40 or 42 was it? I forget what brand it was.
Why
I am fixing up my old 95 Mongoose Alta. for desert travel. To use an 11 speed 42 with a single chain ring, you need an 11 speed 1x crank. The 1x must be the proper number of mm from the center to work properly, in the biggest cog, people have reported problems. I want to use 9 speed on the old bike for a couple of reasons. I already have an xt 9 speed crank, easy enough to remove the 2 extra rings. I am searching for wide rims. Velocity has the Cliffhanger at 25mm internal. Ryde has a 35mm internal at 800 grams. I rejected that one. Then there is this one, Inspired Team 26" Rim - at WebCyclery|WebSkis|Bend, Oregon. I can not figure out what to do about the 20mm holes. I want to run 2.8 x 26 tires.

I am looking for 2 things;
A 9 speed cassette with a large cog, 42 would be nice.
Wide rims for rim brakes. 30 to 35 mm internal width would work well.
I am using hand me down parts from my other bikes mostly. I do not have hand me down wheels though. I do have two xt hubs, 36 hole, and one Hope 32 rear hub, as hand me downs. This bike will be left places as I hike the Pasayten Wilderness in Washington, or search for cave paintings in Baja. (Does that explain the hand me down parts?)

nfmisso

https://www.amazon.com/Race-CSM980-9.../dp/B01N4KXIQF

To go 1X; you still need something to prevent chain drops, either keep the old FD as a chain keeper (cheapest) or wide-narrow chain ring like this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UCIOM5O
https://www.amazon.com/USAmade-Mount.../dp/B01BMZW914

depending on your crankset bolts quantity and BCD.

Most 1X wide-narrow chain rings work fine on 8, 9 , 10 and 11 speed. So then it becomes a shifter and RD choice. Sunrace has 10 speed 11-42 if 2 more teeth would make a difference. They also have 8 speed 11-40 if you want to save $10 on the cassette; and more on the shifter if you are using indexed.

I am running 1x9 on my Trek 720 commuter with a 44T USAMADE wide-narrow chainring, Shimano HG400 12-36 cassette, KMC X9.93 chain, 2016 SRAM X7 long cage RD.

chrisx

Thanks
I am thinking 32 tooth chainring. I use friction shifters most of the time. (suntour power thumb shifters work with 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 speed cogs. well I skipped over 10 speed. I am sure on the rest.

I see now that there are many wide range 10 speed cassettes to choose from. I must have fallen asleep and not noticed. And yes SunRace has a 8 speed 11 - 40 $16 cassette. wow. I may choose one of the 10 speed ones. 11 speed cassettes are reported to cause large cog shifting problems with 9 speed tripple cranks. The inner 22 cog could rub on the + size tire. The center 32 ring is not in the right position to work well with the 42 tooth cog. Maybe. Who Knows. (To much internet ?)

! good answer
Maybe someone will pipe in with a 26 inch rim brake rim at 32 mm internal.

More clicks and they have all sorts of stuff that costs to much
https://www.universalcycles.com/shop...1&category=648

saddlesores

sunrace makes those 9-spd in 40T and 42T, and also these 46T (11-spd)

https://www.amazon.com/SunRace-11-Sp.../dp/B01MCWWZBB

but.....if you're using an older 9-spd triple, and you have friction shifters,
and you gotta keep the FD as a chainkeeper anyway....why not go with with a double
in front and increase your range?

dump the big ring, or replace with rock-ring bashguard.

chrisx

I want a single chainring on the front. The inner 22 ring will cause tire rub, if I use 2.8 inch tires. Or, so they say. I will make sure I need to spend mony and change the rings after I get the tires on. https://www.universalcycles.com/shop...&category=3673
Shimano has 11 46 11 speed. Getting a narrow wide ring could be the least expensive route. It is an xt crank. A replacement xt would cost more than a new chainring. I should have replaced the rings on this one a couple of years ago. Not spend to much money on a bike that I park in the woods or desert and return to in a few days or a week or two. I have a Fargo with a double if I want to go for a road ride. The xt tripple was on the Fargo for years. The Fargo now has an xtr 28 40. With the larger 11 42 or 11 46 cassettes I do not need the 22 any more.

I can not find the sunrace 11 42 9 speed. If you point it out, I will choose that one. If not I may choose 11 42 10 speed.

This old bike will be used for Camping trips, and back roads in Guatemala or Nicaragua.. Now I use it for library and store trips. Places where I park outside. Bike theft is on the rise again this year.

saddlesores

longer bottom bracket spindle?

chrisx

hollow tec II does not work that way.
For a stiffer and easier to remove from the bike bottom bracket, you lose width choices. 118mm square taper might work as a 1x. That change would cost more than a new chain ring alone.


https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...unrace+9+speed

chrisx

I think 1x became popular because of the shorter chain stay craze. As they battle to remove mm from the chain stay, the tire gets so close to the seat tube, there is not enough room for a front derailleur.

I lost grams of the crank set. I gained grams on the cassette. Did I win or loose. 11 42 or 46 and a 1x crank is a wide range for a mt bike or a back roads tourer. Not quite enough for a touring bike, or is it?

BobG

Chris- You may find a 9 speed "Mega Range" cassette as large as 42 to be too widely spaced at the low end. Way back I had a "Mega Range" 7 speed freewheel, maybe 14-32? When I'd top out a hill in the 32 a 6 tooth jump up to 26 was like hitting a wall. Too abrupt. You might have 28-34-40 jumps on a 9 speed 40. Looks like if you go 10 speed with a 42 you may have just one 6 tooth jump at the bottom (36-42). If you use a 40 that may keep the last jump to 4 teeth (36-40). I'm now using a conventionally spaced 11-34 cassette with a triple chain ring for the bail out gear.

veganbikes

I would most certainly agree. I am running a 1X7 hybrid with just a 11-32 cassette and I dislike the wide spacing between certain gears. It would certainly be a bit better on 9 speed but 1x is best under 11 speed.

I don't have any real chain retention aside from an outer CX chainguard and so far haven't dropped a chain. I am running an old XT derailleur (the one before XTR came out) and a Surly chainring and I believe Shimano chain and cassette and that is it. No FD or narrow wide or anything. Granted this is mostly a road ridden bike and some light off road stuff (unpaved paths)

nfmisso

Sunrace 10 & 11 speed options:
https://www.amazon.com/Sunrace-10-sp.../dp/B01JAICGZ4

https://www.amazon.com/SunRace-11-Sp.../dp/B01M702ZTU

chrisx

One more reason to like friction shifters. Trigger shifters ruined the bicycle. More convenient sure.. Now you need more cogs because they can not make the jump. Trigger shifters fail some times. Well, my 25 year old Suntour power thumb shifters can make the jump. I lost count, they may be on bicycle number 7. I remember the old mega range. I never had a problem with mine. Did they some times shift down 2 or 3 cogs when you wantet only 1 cog smaller? (endeavor to persevere). I guess now they call it a wide range cassette.

Sunrace
Cogs: 11,13,15,18,21,24,28,34,40
11-42t, Champagne (11,13,15,18,21,24,28,32,36,42)

Modern shifting is smooth as butter, they have improved, a lot.
I can sacrifice an exelent shift for better climbing.

**Long ago I could not shift on a hill. On my ten speed as a child I had to A. shift before the hill, or B. ride up the hill in the highest gear. I need big cogs now, I am getting old.

With the wide tire blocking the 22 tooth chainring, I need a wide range cassette.
I do not have the perfect solution.
The wide range 11 speed moves the largest cog closer to the spokes.
Thanks for helping me cobble together an old bicycle.

BobG

Chris- Yep, I was just pointing out that if you chose the 40 tooth max 10 speed rather than the 42, your shift up from low to the next higher would be 4 teeth to 36 instead of 6 teeth to 36. I guess I am splitting hairs as that's only a 1.3" difference assuming 26" wheels.

Not an issue of finding the gear. I use friction shifters also. Just my personal style but when I top out a steep hill I like to shift up as gradually as possible. I recall a tour I did a few years back with a group of strangers on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I was using that 7 speed Mega Range freewheel. Others in the group would make fun of me when I couldn't keep up my spin after the 6 tooth up shift*! I replaced it with an 8 speed, 28-32 bottom. That slight change made a world of difference.

*Then again, it may have been the one that jumped from 24-32. I don't remember.

nfmisso

Alex DM24 is another low cost choice. Alex makes good rims. The DM24 is 24mm on the inside and 32mm on the outside. Enough - but not generous for 2.8 inch tires.

nfmisso

Hi Bob;

A couple things:

• You are confusing ratio jump with tooth count jump - it is the ratio that is the killer, not the tooth count. 34-40 is less than 18%; less of a jump than 11-13, which is a fraction more than 18%.
• The 7 speed MEGA range is 14-34 with the last jump being 24-34; that is almost a 42% ratio change !! AKA knee killer.

When choosing a cassette (or freewheel or IGH); ideally look for approximately equal ratio percentage jumps over the whole range, with slightly larger ratio being okay at the low end because of where the engine (rider) is on the power curve relative to speed.

BobG

You're right Nigel. Thinking back it may well have been a 24-32 Mega Range that tormented me so much. @chrisx, disregard my ramblings. That said, the closer spaced the low cogs the better.

chrisx

the shift ramps have improved in the last 30 years
I need to worry about chain line first, then better shifting.

Mr Pink57

Will a 26x2.8 tire fit on the back of the bike? That bike must have pretty generous clearance for that tire size on that old of a bike, when 2.2 was monsterous.

chrisx

yes
many old mt bikes can take a + tire

Mr Pink57

I would be more concerned with the height, a 26+ is effectively a 27.5x2.25.

chrisx

Could be close on the fork.
Will fit the rear.

2.8 is not quite as tall as 3.0.

Find out for sure soon enough. Maxxis says the new 2.8s are on the water.