11-32 or 11-28 cassette - what noticeable difference is there?

[Dogtrousers]

Maybe she should just look at different bikes. When I was in the market for a new bike, my starting point was my gear-inch spreadsheet. I did some experimenting with ratios on hills and had a think beforehand so I knew what I wanted. Anything that didn't deliver my required bottom gear as standard didn't get looked at any further. I certainly didn't want to buy a new bike only to have to take it to bits and start tinkering with it immediately.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

AFAIK Giant & Specialised stores will sort things like cassettes out within the usual price.

Giant I base on experience and Specialised I think I read in the fine detail of their website blurb a while back.

 

[betty swollocks]

gear inch table

 

[Ajax Bay]

[She[ currently has an 11-32 cassette mated to a 34-50 chainring which she gets on well with in the area she lives in Yorkshire, with a fair few hills around. . . .a lot of the new bikes she is looking at have 11-28 cassettes and has asked what difference it would make

Disadvantage is that when climbing the steepest hills she will have a gear which is 12.5% harder.
Advantage is that the sprockets are closer together with less gaps for cycling on the flat.
Most unlikely the 11t sprocket is useful so 12-28 is better.
Have a play with this gear calculator.

 

[Kajjal]

Just be realistic about the range of gears she uses. 11-32, 11speed works well for me. The 32 means on a bad day on steep hills i am fine. The 11 means plenty of speed if needed.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I find I use the whole range of my block 11-32. If its there I use it. I could live without the 11 but it's good for blasting along dual carriageways, hoping not to die. Lose the 32? Never. Big hills, medium hills, good days, bad days, low speed manoeuvres. I wouldn't consider a bike without it.

But I'm not the OP's daughter!

 

[si_c]

Lose the 32? Never. Big hills, medium hills, good days, bad days, low speed manoeuvres. I wouldn't consider a bike without it.

I'm largely in agreement, until relatively recently I was using a 52/42 with a 30t large on the back, having swapped first the cranks for 50/34 and now a 32t largest on the back, I've found myself eyeing up 36t MTB cassettes to put on. I can always pedal faster, but I don't think I can go too low.

Edit: I've been putting together a touring bike lately, it's an old 1972 pug, one of my criteria has been a triple on the front with a small sprocket around 24t -28t, and a 28t/32t large on the 6 speed freewheel at the back. 20 gear inches sounds about right to me.

 

[kiriyama]

Also take into consideration her fitness and riding style... If she does a lot of hills and likes to spin with her current 11-32 an 11-28 might feel a lot tougher.... unless like me she prefers grinding out of the saddle in which case an 11-28 will be fine if she's a strong rider!

 

[gavroche]

The granny gears on my bikes are as follows:
Giant Defy 4: 34/32
Specialized Allez: 30/30
Cube Peloton: 30/32.
So you can guess that the Cube is my favourite bike when tackling hills.
Those two extra teeth really make a difference.

 

[bondirob]

The best climber I know rides a 50/34 with a 11/32 on the back.
I'm nowhere near his standard hence why I'm looking at a 36 or more on the back

 

[RegG]

Many, many thanks for all the replies and advice..... It was as I suspected overall in that the 11-32 is the set-up to go for and is what she currently uses albeit on an 18 speed Sora.

 

[Vantage]

I went for a megarange cassette with 11-34T from the fitted 11-32T because of overgearing. There's a mahoosive jump from the 28 to the 34 but that final gear has saved me crawling up some hills.
As for big ring and big ring, I've done it myself and been in that ratio for several miles without noticing due to being knackered because of those hills. Can't say I've ever heard of it snapping a frame, but it doesn't half mangle the teeth and chain.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

Agree but whilst easy to get a 12-25, the wide range stuff always seems to start at 11. I'd prefer a 12-28 to 11-28 but getting on in stock at decent price is often hens teeth territory.
Caveat in 11 SPD guise, 10 SPD an less a bit easier.

Easy answer (depending on cassette) I know 105 10sp have the three low gears on a spider but the rest are individual cogs so make up your own ratios starting with a 12th, 9sp and lower are held together with either rivets (Shimano) or bolts (Sram) these can be removed and the cogs used in whatever ratio you want.

 

[Vantage]

Just be sure to replace the rivet/bolt when done. They help to spread the load from an individual cog among the other cogs. A single cog being so thin and having enough force on it can chew up the freehub body.

 

[Ajax Bay]

single cog being so thin and having enough force on it can chew up the freehub body.

Is this true? @User how many steel freehubs are around nowadays? What about the smallest 3 or 4 sprockets which are often separate? What about Campagnolo cassette sprockets? I thought the pins were merely there to keep the sprockets together for ease of fitting and to allow some weight saving in the larger ones.