Dura-Ace cassette replacement
 

2004 was the first year for the 7800 series and this is what I got on my Lemond “Tete de Course”. I am needing a 12-23 cassette and they are getting scarce ($$$$). I see offerings from Miche (Primato) but I am unfamiliar with the brand and wondering if anyone has a review.

I will spend the ≈$300 for new Dura-Ace if I have to but at this point I am looking for alternatives. They would need to be known to work with Shimano 10 speeds and be comparable to Dura-ace.

Why don't you just get any 10 speed Shimano road cassette? Or SRAM?

7800 is 10 speed isn't it?


Here is something in $$ range instead of the $$$ and $$$$ range.

https://www.universalcycles.com/shop...s.php?id=30262

Or are you not in the US?

So, you want something that works as well as Dura Ace and is as light as Dura Ace. Your only option, then, is Dura Ace.

Here's Ultegra. https://www.universalcycles.com/shop...4&category=534 You won't be able to tell the difference in the weight, shifting or the 12-23 vs12-25. Enjoy!

If you want the real thing, be prepared to look where people who don't care what something costs buy stuff. Then be prepared to BOAH, "break out another hundred". As mentioned above, buy a Shimano or SRAM 10 speed cassette and call it good.

But, just in case, do retain and use the original Dura-Ace lock ring.

+1. That way people who care about such things will read the lock ring and be fooled into thinking you still have a Dura Ace cassette. Meanwhile, you pocket the cost difference and never notice the slightest performance difference with the Ultegra or 105 cassette you really purchase.

Tons of 10-speed Ultegra and 105 cassettes out there. Since cassettes are wear items, I rarely find it cost effective to get DA unless I find a huge discount.

I am a person who cares about such things.

I was able to break a recent Dura Ace cassette. They'd used one too few rivets in the design. They sent back the updated (more durable, but a few grams more) under warranty. But I'd bought an Ultegra in the mean-time. I actually am more comfortable with my Ultegra - I suspect that it will take more of a beating. If I were racing (and fifty pounds lighter) I might go for the extra bucks and get dura ace. But for my riding Ultegra shifts just as well, seems more durable, and is cheaper. That said, the rest of the bike (Trek Domane 6.1) is Dura Ace. Great stuff. But for the freewheel...

I will also say that a brand new Ultegra R8000 groupset on my Lemond Zurich is a pretty slick setup. Would I have plunked down the extra for Dura Ace if I'd found a Maillot Jaune? Probably not, but again, the Ultegra is great.

The only real upside of Dura-Ace cassettes is the weight reduction from the largest 3 or 4 titanium cogs that are connected together with an alu spider.

The rest of the steel cogs are essential the same as the ones found on cheaper, such as Tiagra cassettes. If you are like me, and wear out the smaller cogs first, I would just replace these, and mate them up with the Dura-Ace spider and big cogs. At my local bike Co-op, we have 100 pounds or so of such stuff, at a cost of $5 per cassette. I found a decent SRAM Red Powerdome and a nice Campagnolo Record 11-speed cassette in the bin yesterday.

BTW: be careful about buying used cassettes online. I've seen cheap cassettes mated with Dura-Ace and Ultegra lockrings, and fobbed off as being the real thing.

There's a few on ebay right now. Break that wallet out.

Out of curiosity, what would those things be? Not weight since you ride a vintage bike that is not especially light. Plus, isn't current 8000 group lighter than 7800? Maybe function? Nooo, indistinguishable, 6700 or 7800. Must be looks. Put the 7800 lockring on the 6700 cassette and you'll be good to go.:beer:

That was the point of my posting above. A Dura Ace lockring will make most riders think the whole thing is Dura Ace.

All joking aside, these are mid range at best and are heavier than even 105 in 10 speed.

Then pay the money. There is no actual real alternative to the real thing, if the real thing is really what you want. It's like somebody saying there is no cost cap on the new bike I am buying, then asking for ways to lower the cost.

Recon makes a nice lightweight 10sp cassette.

By both. A cheaper for most of your riding and the DA for when it matters.

That won't shift nearly as well as a Shimano cassette. Anyone that insists on a D/A cassette instead of Ultegra or 105 is foolish.

That is what I have heard too. And Shimano holds the most patents on gear shifting.

An 11 speed 12-28 cassette is only available in Dura-Ace; I would have bought multiple if available in Ultegra or 105.

Which would be never.

except that the Dura Ace has two different metals:
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e6cfeea2de.jpg

I expect that it shifts exactly the same as Ultegra.

I do notice a better finish on my Ultegra cassette compared to 105. More for looks than shifting efficiency?

$300, what is that, paying something like $4 per gram for similar performance from Ultegra.

I can't tell the difference when going to 11-29 Campagnolo Chorus cassettee.

I am sure that a more exotic bicycle could have been found in 2004 but the “Tete de Course” was certainly top drawer at the time. I have grown to love it even though it lacks the (soul?) of my ’83 Gios Torino. It is certainly easier to ride. The bike came with Dura-Ace, and I want to keep it at that level. It weighs less than 17 pounds, even with bullet-proof wheels and is a source of joy for me.



I have done little riding in the last decade and, having been totally out of the bicycle world even longer, it occurred to me that there could have been products I was unaware of. After reading all your answers I am more confident in my direction, so I appreciate the time taken.