I've seen this on a few DH bikes... what are the advantages and disadvantages? Strength/durablity of each of them?
Thanks.
Thanks.
Road Cassettes for downhill?
- Thread starter DH biker
- Start date
I like a nice close-ration road cassette for racing. I've noticed a pretty big increase in shifting speed and precision. For everything else though, I'll usually run a mtb cassette.
you start in a harder gear but end in the same as a mtb cassete, so the ratios of each cog is closer to the other cogs.thus when you shift there is less of a jump like in mtb cassetes where there is a significant ratio change. they seem to shift smoother and your able to stay in any one gear a little longer as opposed to a standard mtb cassete.
super clean, crisp shift i run a road casette on my down hill bike and love i just b/c i dont use alot of the gears on a mtn. so a road works great for me
Pros for road
Shorter deraileur
shorter chain
lighter cassette
more accurate gear choices
slightly cleaner shifting.
Cons
Can't climb at all
You have to change more than one gear where you would only change one on a MTB cassette,this is more often the case on DH tracks as they're not the smooth road,with slight gradient changes.You go down a chute to flat ground you may have todump two MTB gears,that'd be about five on a road cassette.
Soloution
Lahar with Rohloff or just a Rohloff,or any other good G-Box bike.
Shorter deraileur
shorter chain
lighter cassette
more accurate gear choices
slightly cleaner shifting.
Cons
Can't climb at all
You have to change more than one gear where you would only change one on a MTB cassette,this is more often the case on DH tracks as they're not the smooth road,with slight gradient changes.You go down a chute to flat ground you may have todump two MTB gears,that'd be about five on a road cassette.
Soloution
Lahar with Rohloff or just a Rohloff,or any other good G-Box bike.
I made a 5sp setup out of a road cassette by taking out every other gear, then using my limit screws to set the distance. I can also add a 34 to it (kinda' like a "mega-range"). That more or less has all your pros and eliminates the only cons, multiple shifting and no climbing. Try it out.no skid marks said:
its all been pretty much covered.
its a HUGE weight difference
I switched from a sram 8 speed cassette to a nine speed road and it was huge
its a HUGE weight difference
I switched from a sram 8 speed cassette to a nine speed road and it was huge
CKxx said:
Got any picturees of it? Thanks!
Pretty sick.bcd said:or ger a Single speed hub with a large casette body and get 5 cogs
on and get the HUGE plus's of a dishless wheel!
I already have a rear wheel so if I were to run a five speed I would just get single speed spacers to space it out right... you can do that right?
might work ok on your smallest cog but there are ramps on cassette's to help in shifting up.
Whats the deal with your rotor, it looks like you have it on backwards
bcd said:or ger a Single speed hub with a large casette body and get 5 cogs
on and get the HUGE plus's of a dishless wheel!
I am just changing over my bike at the moment.
I was running a 40 tooth 11-32 cassette, and i am changing to a 34 tooth 12-27 cassette.
I loose the easiest and hardest gear ratios, i never use the hardest gear on 99% of the tracks i ride, and i will just have to slog it out a little harder on any climbs.
Benifits are cleaner shifts, more ground clearance (good for bikes with low bb's, my turner is at 14.2 inchs) it saves around 350-400grams as you can use a smaller ring, smaller bashy, less chain and the cluster weighs less as well.
I was running a 40 tooth 11-32 cassette, and i am changing to a 34 tooth 12-27 cassette.
I loose the easiest and hardest gear ratios, i never use the hardest gear on 99% of the tracks i ride, and i will just have to slog it out a little harder on any climbs.
Benifits are cleaner shifts, more ground clearance (good for bikes with low bb's, my turner is at 14.2 inchs) it saves around 350-400grams as you can use a smaller ring, smaller bashy, less chain and the cluster weighs less as well.
I just switched from a small chainring-road cassette set up with an XTR derailleur and XT shifter (all 9 speed) to a larger chainring and full-size mountain cassette. The cassette is a SRAM 990 I believe, whichever the one with the red anodized spider is. It is heavier than the road cassette, but the difference is small and I don't notice it. I can't compare shifting objectively because I am also running all SRAM X9 shifting gear and a different chain, but I prefer the MTB set-up. I can still go just as fast without spinning out, the shifting is about the same (except not having the Shimano trigger) and I can climb a lot more easily. The real questions to ask before switching are not just whether you need the ground clearance or want to shave the grams, but whether you are willing to give up the ability to sit and spin. If you are just racing or like to pretend you are only racing, go for it.
After riding road cassettes on my DH bikes for the last couple of years, when I switch back to a MTB one, I really notice how big the jumps are. True, I often need to change more than one gear, but with the MTB cassette, I very often would find my gearing too easy, shift once, then it would be too hard and vice versa. The smaller increments available in the road cassette allow you to attain your ideal cadence a lot more easily.
interesting, I'm thinking about trying out a custom casset like that 5 speed. Did you just use single speed spacers?
Thanks for all the help guys... but still one question:
will single speed spacers work if I do something like a 5-speed or something unique?
Thanks!
will single speed spacers work if I do something like a 5-speed or something unique?
Thanks!
Are you kidding or are you being serious?bcd said: