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

[RegG]

My daughter is looking for a new bike. 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.

She says a lot of the new bikes she is looking at have 11-28 cassettes and has asked what difference it would make to go with one of these.

I realise it is possible to put an 11-32 cassette on but this may also necessitate a medium cage rear derailleur and possibly a new chain.

That aside, can any of you give your thoughts on any noticeable difference between the two cassettes particularly when it comes to hills.

Thanks.

 

[T4tomo]

Quite a big difference, if she regularly uses the 32, then going back to a 28 will feel tough. I notice a big difference moving from 11-25 to 11-28.

 

[gavroche]

11-32 anytime, much easier on hills.

 

[steve50]

11-32 anytime, much easier on hills.

100% agree with this, I changed my cassette from 11-28 to 11-32 it has made a world of difference when hill climbing. It was also a straight swap over, no changing chain or rear mech. as long as she doesn't go big to big it will be fine.

 

[Sharky]

Just as important as considering the lowest gear is to work out which gear your daughter prefers for normal "flat" riding. An 11-32 cassette must have sacrificed one of the mid cogs, which might leave a wider gap at the point where most of the riding is done.

 

[Joffey]

I use a 11-32 and you can really tell when switching to a 28.

As long as she doesn't ride big ring when using the 32 cog there would be no need to change to med cage or lengthen chain, i have been running that set up for a year now with no problems.

I take it she's riding a 50-34 on the front?

 

[T4tomo]

A good point, which brings me on to the 11 tooth cog. Does she need it or use it? If not, it is just giving a gap somewhere else.

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.

 

[Dogtrousers]

As noted above its VERY noticeable. (by me anyway)

IMO a lot of new bikes are over-geared which is why we have so many threads discussing gear-lowering options, derailleur capacity and so on.

Only recently I installed a 32T cassette on a friend's bike for that very reason.

 

[doog]

OP an 11-30 might suffice without have to worry over the derailleur , chain length etc...B screw adjustment only.....I'm an old bugger and get up most things on an 11-30.

 

[Banjo]

I don't buy this "if she doesn't use big/big combination it will be fine".

Either you can use all the combinations or you need a new mech and chain.
Eventually she will accidently go big/big probably in the dark when tired ,the stress of too short a chain could even snap the frame.

PS you may not need a new mech .

 

[steve50]

I don't buy this "if she doesn't use big/big combination it will be fine".

Either you can use all the combinations or you need a new mech and chain.
Eventually she will accidently go big/big probably in the dark when tired ,the stress of too short a chain could even snap the frame.

PS you may not need a new mech .

You should never go big to big on multi geared bikes, its whats known as cross chaining and could pull the rear mech into the rear wheel hence the advice of not going big big.

 

[Dogtrousers]

You should never go big to big on multi geared bikes, its whats known as cross chaining and could pull the rear mech into the rear wheel hence the advice of not going big big.

Going OT I know, but that's just not true (unless you have your limit screws wrong). Modern road transmissions are designed and advertised as having all gears usable. (SRAM are, at least) It's not an ideal way to ride but it's not the ruinous practice that some people think. Worst that will happen is you get extra component wear if you do it a lot.

Anyway, I agree with @Banjo any set-up that you could accidentally break by going into big-big either because the chain is too short or the mech has insufficient capacity is just downright dangerous. Some competitive MTB-ers do ride with short chains where this would happen, but they know the risks.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

You should never go big to big on multi geared bikes, its whats known as cross chaining and could pull the rear mech into the rear wheel hence the advice of not going big big.

SRAM 22 groupsets are very much 22 usable ratios. If they say it's nonsense enough to release a groupset capable of it, I'm happy with that

 

[Banjo]

I wasnt having a dig at anyone over the big/big thing.

Some people may be alert enough to never end up cross chaining but I know I have done it occassionally usually in the dark when tired.

Hence my feeling that the chain and mech need to be able to take the odd cock up.

 

[Aravis]

The answer to the OP's question may be different depending to how many cogs she has in her cassette.

A typical 9-speed 11-32 cassette will probably have 11-13-15-17-19-21-24-28-32 cogs, giving sensible gaps throughout the range. If you lose the 32, you have little alternative other than to insert a 12, which is very unlikely to be worth doing at the expense of the 32.

An 8-speed cassette is likely to have 11-13-15-17-20-24-28-32, again giving sensible spacing throughout, but this time losing the 32 would allow you to have 11-13-15-17-19-21-24-28. This narrows the gaps in the midrange and delivers a significant benefit which may be of greater value than retaining the 32.

On the cross-chaining thing, I'm an arch-traditionalist. I have a triple on the front and 8-speed on the back; I tend to stick rigidly to the outer 4 cogs with the big ring, middle 4 with the middle ring and the inner 4 with the small ring. This gives me 12 usable gears which progress evenly throughout, and if I were to use any of the more eccentric options I would be duplicating. That doesn't mean I don't frequently get it wrong.