22/32/44 Chainset - Thinking of going from 11-34 to 11-32 cassette - advice?

[oxford_guy]

Hi - I have a Hewtt Cheviot SE touring bike and as am having to rebuild the rear wheel anyway, as the hub needs repairing and the rims are worn out and the cassette is looking fairly worn after almost 5 years of (ab)use.

I currently have an 11-34 Shimano LX Cassette and am thinking of upgrading slightly to an XT cassette, but am not sure whether to go for 11-34 again, or to the more closely spaced 11-32. My chainset is 22/32/44, and with the 22 ring, I find I never really need to use the 34 rear sprocket and was thinking maybe it would be better to go for an 11-32 cassette for a smoother progression through the gears. My typical cycling, both commuting and touring, does usually involve reasonably steep hills, but I have no intention of touring in the Alps or similar!

Do you think with a medium-weight touring load (bar bag, lightweight Hilldeberg tent, 2 rear panniers, and me at 11 stone) the 11-32 cassette would be a better option this time around?

According to Sheldon Brown's Gear Range Calculator:
11-34 gives me a range of 17.5 inches to 108 inches
11-32 would give me a range of 18.6 inches to 108 inches

Would there be any other issues in changing the cassette range? I have a long Shimano XT rear derailleur, if it makes any difference.

I will be using 700c wheels with 32mm tyres and 170mm cranks.

Thanks

 

[oxford_guy]

Also is there any point in upgrading all the way to an XTR cassette or will XT be more durable (and much cheaper!)?

 

[oxford_guy]

Anyone? Am veering towards 11-32, unless there are issues with this...

 

[ColinJ]

Is it 10-speed?

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Looking at it I can't see that there would be any issues. Gearing will be raised by a couple of gear inches across the low to mid part of the cassette, which will probably give the bike a more lively feel when not loaded.

I see no reason not to go for it.

 

[oxford_guy]

Is it 10-speed?

9 speed Shimano XT (it's a mountain bike gearset on a touring frame with Campag shifters, "Shimergo" style...)

 

[lulubel]

Why are you even upgrading to an XT cassette? As far as I know, the only benefit of upgrading the cassette is weight reduction, and that isn't going to make any difference when touring. Personally, I try to keep the "consumables" as cheap as possible, and spend my money on things that will make a noticeable difference, like the rear derailleur and shifters.

As far as the range is concerned, I would never give up my low gears, but if you're not using it and don't think you ever will, I don't see a problem with it.

 

[frank9755]

11-32 or 11-34 will make bugger all difference to how the bike feels!

And there's certainly no need to get an expensive groupset unless you either plan on racing or the money is no object and owning it will give you pleasure!

 

[oxford_guy]

Why are you even upgrading to an XT cassette? As far as I know, the only benefit of upgrading the cassette is weight reduction, and that isn't going to make any difference when touring. Personally, I try to keep the "consumables" as cheap as possible, and spend my money on things that will make a noticeable difference, like the rear derailleur and shifters.

I've read elsewhere that the XT cassette is harder wearing and the price difference is not much, it's not like I'm going to XTR..

As far as the range is concerned, I would never give up my low gears, but if you're not using it and don't think you ever will, I don't see a problem with it.

When not touring with the 11-34 cassette I can only think of a couple of time I've even needed to use the small chain set ring on the front, and never with the largest sprocket on the back. Loaded touring I do use the small chain set ring a little, but even then I don't think I've barely ever needed to use it with the largest sprocket at the back, so it feels like I'm "wasting" the extra gear range at the expense of a less smooth gear progression

 

[ColinJ]

Why are you even upgrading to an XT cassette? As far as I know, the only benefit of upgrading the cassette is weight reduction, and that isn't going to make any difference when touring. Personally, I try to keep the "consumables" as cheap as possible, and spend my money on things that will make a noticeable difference, like the rear derailleur and shifters.

As far as the range is concerned, I would never give up my low gears, but if you're not using it and don't think you ever will, I don't see a problem with it.

I was going to say the same thing. I used to buy LX or Deore cassettes because I wasn't bothered about a few grams here or there when I was nearly 30 kg overweight!

I was looking to see if I could find a cassette with a 12 top gear rather than an 11 because I don't see the need for such a high gear on a touring bike. I would definitely try and find a cassette with a narrower range.

What is the lowest gear that you think you actually need, oxford_guy?

I'd be tempted to go for a much nicer 12-27.

 

[oxford_guy]

I was going to say the same thing. I used to buy LX or Deore cassettes because I wasn't bothered about a few grams here or there when I was nearly 30 kg overweight!

I was looking to see if I could find a cassette with a 12 top gear rather than an 11 because I don't see the need for such a high gear on a touring bike.

I use the biggest front chain ring (44)/smallest rear sprocket (11) combination all the time going to work down a long hill, have even felt could do with a higher top gear sometimes!

I would definitely try and find a cassette with a narrower range.

Well 11-32 is slightly narrower at least...

What is the lowest gear that you think you actually need, oxford_guy?

I'd be tempted to go for a much nicer 12-27.

Am not sure what the lowest gear I need is, but I still want to be able to get up hills fully-loaded when touring, so don't want to go too high

 

[oxford_guy]

BTW a Shimano 9-speed XT cassette is £41.49 on Wiggle currently, so it's not going to break the bank... Unlike the XTR, gulp!

 

[ColinJ]

I did two 140 mile rides each with 13,000 ft of climbing. I had a couple of small panniers on my bike. I weighed just over 14 stone at the time and had a bottom gear of 30/28 so I reckon you would be okay with a 22/27 bottom gear, given that you only weigh 11 stone and you are not intending to do huge mountains.

You could buy a 12-27 Tiagra cassette for only £15.99 from Chain Reaction Cycles and see how you got on with it. It would be much nicer for your day to day riding, and you could always swap to a lower-geared cassette for touring if you needed to.

 

[oxford_guy]

I think I'm likely to go for 11-32 and be done with it, although if I ever change the front chainset (e.g. to 48/36/26) I may change my mind...

BTW I found this page very useful about gearing for touring bikes

 

[oxford_guy]

BTW the gearing for the 11-32 vs. the 11-34 works out like this:

11-32 11-12-14-16-18-21-24-28-32
11-34 11-13-15-17-20-23-26-30-34

So some smaller jumps in a couple places 11-12 vs 11-13 and 16-18 vs 17-20, but still big jumps at the low end

BTW Bear in mind I have a pretty low geared "expedition triple" (22/32/44)