Ask the experts

[BFD]

I am looking at this right now. Just got the cassette replaced and went to 10-52. They replaced the chain ring also to a 30t. I had been running a 28t with a 50t rear prior. I looked at the gear ratio charts and there is a slight difference. Is 0.02 in gearing ratio even noticeable when riding? If I tried to go back to 28t chainring could I end up with problems. Old and fat and looking for any help.

[Benneke10]

It pains me to say this because I'm one of the bigger weight weenies here, but why not just get the all-steel Deore cassette?

[Boissal]

It pains me to say this because I'm one of the bigger weight weenies here, but why not just get the all-steel Deore cassette?

Vanity?
My bike is enough of a pig as is. I doubt the 120 g difference would be noticeable but I want to have all the nice things (and bitch about it). If it didn't take so long to get them I'd throw $275 at a Garbaruk cassette, it's lighter than XTR and only has 1 alu cog.
Realistically a $160 cassette lasting a 1000 miles isn't horrendous, a lot of the stuff I do costs me more than 16c per mile.

[grskier]

I was just looking at an oval chainring to help me get out of the granny gear... I mean, it's that or less IPAs and let's be realistic here... I like high calorie beers.

[homemadesalsa]

Blasphemy on the wheel size! I've only buzzed my taint on the minion a couple of times this year! I'll have to try mullet at some point though, I'm intrigued. Maybe mullet the big squish bike and stick to full 29er for the future short travel steed I am trying to convince myself I don't need.
Re: 28t, definitely a no-go but Ms Boissal's Occam is running a 30t oval and working fine. Might take it off her bike just to test it

I'm running a 28t on the Occam with no problems, SRAM XO1, with an Eagle cassette.

[Benneke10]

Vanity?
Realistically a $160 cassette lasting a 1000 miles isn't horrendous, a lot of the stuff I do costs me more than 16c per mile.

I'd say a cassette wearing out after 1000 miles would be pretty horrendous for most riders, but your miles are more.. involved.. than most. Given your taste for steeps a steel cassette would make your life easier.

I've put 7000 miles on a Tiagra cassette, and a lot of those miles were in the 28t big cog in bad weather.

[grskier]

I'd say a cassette wearing out after 1000 miles would be pretty horrendous for most riders, but your miles are more.. involved.. than most. Given your taste for steeps a steel cassette would make your life easier.

I've put 7000 miles on a Tiagra cassette, and a lot of those miles were in the 28t big cog in bad weather.

Comparing a mtb cassette wear to a road cassette wear is a bit non-analogous in most instances... no?

But yeah, somewhere in one of these threads there is a few pages of people talking about what they get out of a cassette... I apparently don't get the same out of mine...

[Beaver]

I'm running a 28t on the Occam with no problems, SRAM XO1, with an Eagle cassette.

What year Occam? I'm considering a 28toval on mine but heard 28t dragged the chain on the chainstay.

[Tailwind]

As far as cassette wear… it’s varies a lot by rider weight, chain replacement frequency, and terrain. 1000 miles of pedaling in a 51 tooth with a single chain would 10/10 destroy it. I’m 3000 miles into a SRAM 1295 cassette and it’s still working great but that’s going through 4-5 chains and keeping things meticulously clean when possible.

Think of it like suspension, it’s okay to bottom out a few times per ride… but doing it all the time means you should adjust some things. I like using the upper half of my cassette when climbing rarely truly hanging out in the 50 tooth except for super steep technical sections. Most riders in mountainous zones probably spend 90% of their pedaling time in one of their lowest three gears and primarily coast on descents. Dropping a few teeth off the front chainring makes a lot of sense.

[Benneke10]

Comparing a mtb cassette wear to a road cassette wear is a bit non-analogous in most instances... no?

I guess I used the Tiagra example because its the only time I can remember ever wearing out a cassette. Definitely gotten 3000 miles on X0/XT level cassettes but I would usually sell the bike or the wheelset before the cassette had gone bad. Right now I'm 2000 miles in on an 11s XT cassette with the one-up 47 sprocket with minimal wear. Back in the days of smaller wheels and 2x and 3x cranksets we probably used a wider on the cassette instead of grinding climbs in the 3 biggest cogs. If you ride a lot of steep terrain, makes sense to use steel there.

[Dantheman]

1000 miles of pedaling in a 51 tooth

That'll happen when most of your climbing is at 10% to >15% grades.

[homemadesalsa]

What year Occam? I'm considering a 28toval on mine but heard 28t dragged the chain on the chainstay.

2020 no chain drag with round 28 but the oval goes between 28 and 26. The 26 might drag.

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[tgapp]

just picked up a new (to her) bike for mrs tgapp to see if she takes to sprocket rockets and i could use some advice here.

bike is a 2016 transition patrol that i got for a song. everything is in good shape, but it's currently set up as 1x10 and i know that ain't gonna fly with mrs tgapp. i need all the climbing gears i can get.

i've already picked up a 12sp GX eagle group (also for cheap), and now i need to figure out how to marry the two of them together. i know i'm going to need an XD driver, and i figure i'll also need to pick up an XD compatible freehub body - at this point would it make more sense just to find a used set of wheels with both of those already installed?

[snowaddict91]

just picked up a new (to her) bike for mrs tgapp to see if she takes to sprocket rockets and i could use some advice here.

bike is a 2016 transition patrol that i got for a song. everything is in good shape, but it's currently set up as 1x10 and i know that ain't gonna fly with mrs tgapp. i need all the climbing gears i can get.

i've already picked up a 12sp GX eagle group (also for cheap), and now i need to figure out how to marry the two of them together. i know i'm going to need an XD driver, and i figure i'll also need to pick up an XD compatible freehub body - at this point would it make more sense just to find a used set of wheels with both of those already installed?

Just to add another option to the mix- Sunrace makes a 12sp cassette that fits on a conventional freehub. Might be your cheapest option considering the circumstances.

[tgapp]

Just to add another option to the mix- Sunrace makes a 12sp cassette that fits on a conventional freehub. Might be your cheapest option considering the circumstances.

Awesome, that's super helpful. I assume this is the right part?

https://www.thebikesmiths.com/produc...EaAnowEALw_wcB

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[XtrPickels]

Eyewear: Goggles vs. Glasses.

I'm reluctant to go with the Enduro-bro look, but I have a terrible time with glasses.

Any dirt, sweat, scratches etc. on the lenses really messes with my head and makes me a bit dizzy. Because of this, I can't climb with them on but never have a great place to put them. They're uncomfortable in all my helmets and I try to avoid the fanny-pack.
I often end up not wearing the glasses that I bring, but this is no fun because of how dusty it is here; makes it real hard to follow people.

My riding is either on the XC bike where I'll keep using glasses or on the bigger bike where we ride straight up, rest and chat, before heading back down.

I never seem to have this vision issue while skiing, so maybe the lens being further from the eye helps?

[Benneke10]

Awesome, that's super helpful. I assume this is the right part?

https://www.thebikesmiths.com/produc...EaAnowEALw_wcB

Wow, 700g. Boissal must be crying just thinking about it.

I have this XD driver, yours if you want it Tgapp. Not totally sure how simple the process of swapping a 10s freehub is with an XD but if you want to go that route you can have my XD

[snowaddict91]

Wow, 700g. Boissal must be crying just thinking about it.

I have this XD driver, yours if you want it Tgapp. Not totally sure how simple the process of swapping a 10s freehub is with an XD but if you want to go that route you can have my XD

I remembered that it was heavy, and almost added it to my last comment. Didn't think it was THAT heavy though.

[tgapp]

Wow, 700g. Boissal must be crying just thinking about it.

I have this XD driver, yours if you want it Tgapp. Not totally sure how simple the process of swapping a 10s freehub is with an XD but if you want to go that route you can have my XD

Yeah the problem is I can't find a freehub body for these hubs. They're just branded "Shimano Deore" hubs. Any idea where I could look?

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[Benneke10]

Might be easier to just get a new 12s wide range cassette that fits on the splined freehub. Looks like the NX Eagle is compatible with older 10s splined freehub, and its 100g lighter than the Sunrace at the same price https://www.rei.com/product/144312/s...eagle-cassette

[Benneke10]

Or keep the 10speed and just get a wide-range 10s cassette https://cambriabike.com/products/mic...saArWLEALw_wcB

Not sure if you're derailleur could handle it though, might need to upgrade that as well but microshift is cheap. Cassette is $45 and derailleur is $76 https://www.universalcycles.com/shop....php?id=102640

[Andeh]

Eyewear: Goggles vs. Glasses.

I'm reluctant to go with the Enduro-bro look, but I have a terrible time with glasses.

Any dirt, sweat, scratches etc. on the lenses really messes with my head and makes me a bit dizzy. Because of this, I can't climb with them on but never have a great place to put them. They're uncomfortable in all my helmets and I try to avoid the fanny-pack.
I often end up not wearing the glasses that I bring, but this is no fun because of how dusty it is here; makes it real hard to follow people.

My riding is either on the XC bike where I'll keep using glasses or on the bigger bike where we ride straight up, rest and chat, before heading back down.

I never seem to have this vision issue while skiing, so maybe the lens being further from the eye helps?

I've got a pair of Oakley Flight Jackets, which have a little lever you can flip on the nose bridge, which pushes them further away from the face to allow better airflow. I live on a section of NorCal coast that is almost always over 80% humidity, and these things only ever fog if I stop and leave them on. Moving at any pace keeps them clear. The Prizm lenses are really nice for increasing contrast. I'm also easily annoyed by grime / scratches, and they seem to be holding up pretty well.

[Boissal]

Wow, 700g. Boissal must be crying just thinking about it.

Dude. Do not get into this weight thing with me. I made it clear I am the anti weight weenie and my component choice was about vanity. I ride a big bike and I ski big skis with big boots. I don't give much of a fuck how much things weigh, I have the legs to get them to the top and I'm in it for the fun on the down.

[Boissal]

As far as cassette wear… it’s varies a lot by rider weight, chain replacement frequency, and terrain. 1000 miles of pedaling in a 51 tooth with a single chain would 10/10 destroy it. I’m 3000 miles into a SRAM 1295 cassette and it’s still working great but that’s going through 4-5 chains and keeping things meticulously clean when possible.

Think of it like suspension, it’s okay to bottom out a few times per ride… but doing it all the time means you should adjust some things. I like using the upper half of my cassette when climbing rarely truly hanging out in the 50 tooth except for super steep technical sections. Most riders in mountainous zones probably spend 90% of their pedaling time in one of their lowest three gears and primarily coast on descents. Dropping a few teeth off the front chainring makes a lot of sense.

I'm pretty sure I could ride 1000 miles on the big cog and a single chain without doing any damage if I didn't shift. I think the wear come from constant shifting under load on soft aluminum cogs. And I shift a lot.
I think the solution is swapping rings, 32t in the spring for less demanding miles and 30t mid summer for the alpine. And going to the steel cassette because the difference in wear between the alu and steel cogs is very noticeable. BUT, I have 2 XT cassettes sitting around that I will use first so optimizing the chain line for easier gears is still worth investigating.

As far as comparing an all-steel road cassette with a mixed alu-steel MTB one, I don't see the point. Apples and monkeys flinging oranges at each other type of comparison. Same thing for 11 speed which doesn't have the same alignment issues.
I've been riding on the same single speed drivetrain since 2004 when I moved to the US and it performs flawlessly. I've put more than 10k miles on that bike and will easily get another 10k out of it without even having to change the chain. I'm not asking my 12s drivetrain to match that level of durability. For what it's worth I have a couple buddies who live in BC and ride shitloads of hard miles in nasty conditions. They didn't raise an eyebrow at the thought of tossing away an XO1 12s cassette after 1000 miles.

[toast2266]

Yeah the problem is I can't find a freehub body for these hubs. They're just branded "Shimano Deore" hubs. Any idea where I could look?

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You're probably not gonna find an xd driver that'll fit on that hub. Xd is a sram thing. So unsurprisingly, shimano doesn't make their hubs work with the competition's cassette standard. (This is also why shimano's drivetrains faded into irrelevance from about 2015-2019)

So I think your options are:
1) get a 12 speed cassette that fits on a shimano freehub, like the sunrace mentioned above.
2) get a new wheelset.
3) maybe some aftermarket company makes an XD driver for shimano hubs, but I don't recall ever seeing that.