brokewheelspoke

Currently have an 11-34T with a single speed 34T 110mm chainring up front, which is the smallest chainring I can get on the crank without changing the bottom bracket and going to a 74mm. Noticed Shimano makes an 11-40T 8 speed cassette: https://bike.shimano.com/en-US/produ...S-HG400-8.html but I'm not sure the cog choices are ideal: 11-13-15-18-22-27-33-40T. I'd prefer it if it started at something like 12-15 and just had lower gearing all around. But aside from that, I'd have to go to another brand. Anything else worth looking at? Also, need to consider how shifting will be affected. Currently using a Deore LX RD-M580 medium cage, and I know from experience that 36T is about as much as it'll handle. I do have one of these in a bin: https://www.wolftoothcomponents.com/products/roadlink which will let the derailleur take up larger cogs. But I think it may also make the shifting more sloppy.

So should I go to a larger cassette, and if so, what brand/model is best? Or if not, should I change out the BB and get a smaller 74mm single speed cog? Dimension makes a 30T. And I suppose the last option would just be a new crank altogether.

Kontact 

There is no "best". Do you need lower gears? You're already at 1:1 gearing ratio.

grumpus

I use Stronglight 86 mm BCD cranks with two rings, they go down to 28t which is as low as I've ever needed on the road when paired with 26t or 28t on the back - but the bike I'm currently building may get 32t or 34t on the back, it depends how old I feel. Dinner plate cassettes make some sense - you're stressing the chain and sprockets less, compared to the same ratios on smaller sprockets, and 11-52 12s is pretty Impressive as long as you can get it to shift, although still less than Rohloff's 526% 14s.

maddog34

the only person that can say what You will like is You.

buy the 11-40 and an 11-36 from the same Maker, and of the same model... then find a 12t cassette from the same maker...get out the calipers and play mix and match if none of the three make You happy......

SunRace are fairly low priced and seem consistent in design... knock the pins out and have at it!

brokewheelspoke

Well, was kinda hoping something existed that I didn't know about. A cassette where the smallest cog is a 15 or an 18 would be awesome, but doesn't seem anyone makes such a thing. They all start at 11. 11 can bite me.

Iride01 

You could go back to a freewheel. Most of them started at 14.

Is all you ever do ascending? The 11 cog should be useful coming back down the other side of that climb if nothing else.

Might help to know if you are climbing a paved road or a rocky crag somewhere uncivilized. And also why you need less high gearing. Are you needing a lower low, or just more choices before getting to the current 34/34 or 1:1 ratio.

brokewheelspoke

There's very little in the way of flat areas where I ride. And for downhill, I just coast...I have no need to go fast, so the high gears are fairly useless to me.

csport

You can also try a smaller chainring.
Or, as others said, a custom cassette.
But the smaller chainring appears to be a simpler solution.

Iride01 

Still are you needing a easier gear to push. Or just wanting more gears spaced closer together in that low range?

For riding on the road, that 34 cog even with a 39 ring would be obscenely low gearing. If you are riding off the road, then things change quite a bit with respect to getting up that hill. Also, knowing if you are riding a bike loaded to the max with gear for a several week tour would be useful to know and might keep many of us from wondering why that 34 cog can't get you up any paved road you wish to ride.

RCMoeur 

An 11-34 8 speed is going to have some jumps in it that you're likely to feel; e.g. changes in cadence bigger than 15 rpm. Heck, even 9 speed 11-34s can have big jumps (I know - I have one).

If you're not needing a high High gear, a 13-34 8 speed might be happier. That's what I run on my XC mountain bike.

RCMoeur 

That used to describe me (I used to race 10+% mountain stages with a 42-21 low), but not any more. Some people do better spinning a sub 1:1 gear on a steep climb (raises hand). I run a 1:1 36-36 low gear on my lightweight road bike, my cruisers run 24-28s, and my recumbent (nope, can't stand up) has a 24-32. Rather happy with all of them.

grumpus

Get a 9 speed cassette, throw away the top sprocket and use 8 speed spacers? You'd have to do something about the lack of serrations for the lock ring - Loctite red?

RCMoeur 

That's a possible option, although Loctite Red would make it a permanent installation. The casette lock ring isn't a load-bearing thread (unlike the old freewheel thread), and it's been my experience most people grossly overtighten them. If any Loctite is needed, blue should be more than enough, and purple/green would probably be sufficient.

hopperja

I like to think about gearing in terms of gear inches, which take into account most of the variables (tire width, wheel size, cog size, chainring size, etc). I prefer to have a low of at least 25 gear inches, minimum, for riding the hills in my area on an unloaded bike. You're probably right around 26 gear inches. In my experience, a 10% change is noticeable.

For bike camping/touring, I prefer a low of 20 gear inches.

And for pulling heavy loads on my Bikes at Work trailer, I prefer even lower (17 is what I have on that bike), to get started.

You can also add an adapter to add a 3rd (small, inner) chainring to a double setup, by replacing the middle ring with what's called a "triple conversion chainring."

brokewheelspoke

I may just move it to 9 speed. Theres a 12-36t (12-14-16-18-21-24-28-32-36) cassette that's just slightly lowered geared on each cog than most, and with the largest at 36 would still let me run the same derailleur without an extender. Might be the best compromise.

choddo

The recommended 40Nm is pretty tight, no?

grumpus

That's nothing that a quick blast with a hot air gun wouldn't fix.
That does seem to be the case - I only go to "snug" rather than "tight" on the wristometer. I've never checked the actual torque - maybe I will the next time I do one.
I'm inclined to agree, but better safe than sorry. 😁

2old

The drivetrain on my 90's Diamondback Axis was worn and replaced with a Microshift rear derailleur, shift lever and 12-46 cassette ($80 or so @ Universal Cycles - already had a chain and chainring) This was easy to set up and works perfectly. There will be naysayers who might not like the weight penalty, but I'm very happy with this system.

grumpus

That's my approach to the gearing on anything but an actual race bike - if you're spinning out you're going fast enough already. So small doubles like 32-44, 28-42 work well with 12-26 or 13-30 cassettes, I have no use for an 11 tooth sprocket. I tend to use 10 speed on newer builds, for which a good selection of kit is available; good 7 speed parts for my older bikes are getting harder to find (I skipped 8 and 9 speed).

RCMoeur 

That might work well for you. The two and three tooth jumps across most of the cassette should be very reasonable; however, the 12-14 may on occasion have you wishing for a 13. Or maybe not...

Arrowana

Microshift makes an 8sp 12-42, your derailleur should likely handle it fine with the extender as long as you have decent quality shift cables and housing, and your derailleur hanger is straight.

brokewheelspoke

I was kind of hesitant to use a derailleur extender. It might work OK, I might try it one day.

I did my first ride this morning with the 12-36 9 speed cassette. Gearing feels a bit higher than I'd like overall, but I knew that going in as this was a compromise. The 34/36 hill climbing gear works for the most part, although on a very long hill I might find myself walking part of it. But it went fine this morning. The main thing I don't like is I pretty much never use the 2 or 3 smallest cogs, so it just feels like wasted gears. But unless I want to deal with the crank and put a smaller chainring up front, that's not gonna change.

What did suck is the 9 speed flat bar microshift shifter I got from REI. They had a sale that included both left and right shifters for a 3x9 drivetrain for $13.93. Figured that was a good deal for the right shifter by itself...how bad could it be? I'm generally fine with Alivio shifters, and figured this wouldn't likely be worse. It so was. My kitchen sponge isn't as spongy as this shifter.

I've got a Sora 9 speed on order which I'm sure will do much better. But if it weren't for the salted caramel chocolate bar I got at REI, I'd have considered that a wasted trip.