How to choose a road bike cassette

How to choose a road bike cassette

Made up of all the sprockets, the cassette is a bit like your bike's gearbox. It's important to choose this component carefully, so that it's not only compatible with your rear wheel and the rest of your drivetrain, but also select the gear ratios that suit you and your riding. Here's what you need to know.

The standards

  • The number of speedstoday: 9, 10 or 11
  • The type of freewheel body Type of freewheel body: CAMPAGNOLO or SHIMANO / SRAM
  • The transmission brand CAMPAGNOLO or other
  • Visit teeth

Cassette types

First of all, it's useful to differentiate between cassette-type and freewheel-type assemblies. When the sprockets are bolted to the freewheel body, the whole assembly is called a "freewheel", a fairly old standard. a. When the sprockets are independent of the freewheel system (called a freewheel body), the sprocket assembly is then called a "cassette", the standard used today. b.

All transmission components are designed to operate under one gear standardso you can't combine a cassette route 9 speeds with a 10-speed transmission, for example. Today, most road bikes come with 10 or 11 speeds, but you can still find 9 speeds.

The freewheel body of a wheel is the part that supports the cassette. There are two standards the one imposed by Shimano (also used by Sram) a compatible with 9-, 10- or 11-speed cassettes and the one developed by Campagnolo, which is only compatible with this brand. b.

Cassette toothing is always designated by the extremes. For example, if "11/28" is indicated, the smallest sprocket will have 11 teeth and the largest 28. The more teeth a sprocket has, the less effort is required to turn the wheel: ideal for long passes.

Which cassette to choose?

The choice of cassette depends above all on the rest of your bike. road drivetrainYou'll need to choose a gear standard identical to what you already have. In the case of a Campagnolo drivetrain, make sure you choose a cassette of the same brand or one compatible with it.

Depending on the capacity of your derailleur, you'll be able to choose the gearing to suit your route and level of skill.

    Road - Cassettes

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