Fitting road cassette on MTB

[SomethingLikeThat]

I have a Carrera MTB that I've had about two years and the chain is starting to skip and whatnot. Also needs some new tyres, so I was thinking of getting hybrid-type tyres and fitting a road cassette as I mostly ride on the road and often end up running out of gears. It currently has a SRAM 8-speed triple chainset. Is it possible to fit a road cassette or would I have to buy new chainrings as well? Thanks.

 

[mrandmrspoves]

Any compatible cassette will be fine just choose the gearing you require. I think the SRAM cassettes are interchangeable with Shimano ones.
You probably won't need new chain rings yet - but you definitely should change the chain along with the cassette.

When you say you run out of gears - what do you mean? Most mountain bikes have a pretty wide ratio of gears between high and low - so this puzzles me.

 

[GrasB]

You can fit a road cassette just fine. If you've got mountainbike chainrings then you may find that fitting a road cassette doesn't stop you from running out of gears, genrally the smallest sprocket on an MTB cassette will be the same as the smallest gear on the MTB, it's just there are smaller steps between the gears & bottom gear is higher.

 

[SomethingLikeThat]

When you say you run out of gears - what do you mean? Most mountain bikes have a pretty wide ratio of gears between high and low - so this puzzles me.

Thanks for the advice. I mean when I am going along a straight, down a hill or otherwise at any kind of speed even though I am in the highest gear I'm still not going as fast as other cyclists and they are still pedalling. Not really sure how to explain it.

 

[mrandmrspoves]

Do you have a triple on the front?

 

[SomethingLikeThat]

Do you have a triple on the front?

Yes.

 

[GrasB]

Are your feet spinning as fast as those who are still pedalling?

 

[mrandmrspoves]

You may be trying to push against too hard a gear. Experienced cyclists work on "spinning" which means pedaling at a cadence rate of somewhere between 80 - 120 revolutions a minute. The science behind this is that you use small fibres in your muscles called twitch fibres that work efficiently at this sort of rate. This means you go further, faster and reduce strain on your joints and on your bicycle. It is helped by wearing SPD's or toe clips and concentrating on ensuring your ankle moves in a circle as you pedal.

 

[SomethingLikeThat]

Interesting. Maybe that is the case. I still have flats but have got SPD shoes so I am hoping to get the proper pedals soon and get used to that. Thanks!

 

[mrandmrspoves]

Interesting. Maybe that is the case. I still have flats but have got SPD shoes so I am hoping to get the proper pedals soon and get used to that. Thanks!

You will see lots of advice and encouragement on here to swap to SPD's. A pair of Shimano M520's will cost you about £20 and will really make a difference to your cycling pleasure once you are used to them.Just make sure you buy a pair with the cleats included because some sellers sell the pedals cheap - but don't include the cleats - which you will then have to pay a further £10 for. Pushing in too hard a gear is a cardinal sin of cycling, along with riding on under inflated tyres and having a rusty chain!

 

[Cyclist33]

it sounds more like youre running out of gears on the front. if you have an mtb youve probably got 42 or 44 teeth on the big chainring, whereas hybrids tend to run 46 or 48, and road bikes 50 or 52. generally.

 

[lukesdad]

it sounds more like youre running out of gears on the front. if you have an mtb youve probably got 42 or 44 teeth on the big chainring, whereas hybrids tend to run 46 or 48, and road bikes 50 or 52. generally.

This.

Your smallest sprocket on your mtb cassette is likely to be the same as a road cassette 11 or 12.

 

[Kookas]

Mountain bikes are geared with a bias towards going up mountains, I think. So basically if you use a road cassette, you get much bigger gears. The front cassette of my bike is a road cassette, and its smallest gear is the same as my bike's old second gear - middle is very close to my old third, and then the outer is just brilliant going downhill. I don't miss my old smallest gear, never used it anyway. I recommend it.

 

[airbrake]

Most road cassettes seem to have a 12 tooth top gear, whereas most MTB cassettes have an 11 tooth top. In other words, your top speed will be lower with the road cassette.

Stick with the MTB cassette and you could fit the Shimano M590 chainset (with the 48 tooth outer ring option). This will raise your gearing substantially, but still give you a good range of gears for steep hills.

 

[Kookas]

Most road cassettes seem to have a 12 tooth top gear, whereas most MTB cassettes have an 11 tooth top. In other words, your top speed will be lower with the road cassette.

Stick with the MTB cassette and you could fit the Shimano M590 chainset (with the 48 tooth outer ring option). This will raise your gearing substantially, but still give you a good range of gears for steep hills.

Hmm, that's odd; the top gear on the front cassette I'm running is absolutely enormous compared to my older one.