SRAM Red cassette, alu or steel?

[earth]

Someone from the LBS raised my awareness of the SRAM red cassette when they told me it is made of steel.

I looked it up one the web and it weighs about the same as a Dura-Ace but without the titanium sprockets. I suspect steel sprockets will last longer than Ti and considering the price of the DA, I think it's important.

The problem is, I have read conflicting accounts of whether it's made of steel or aluminium.

Can anyone clarify if the sprockets are steel or not?

Thanks

 

[GrasB]

My OG1090 cassette looks & feels more like steel than alloy & in fact from the SRAM website:
Lightweight: Innovative CNC‘d chromoly steel construction.

 

[earth]

My OG1090 cassette looks & feels more like steel than alloy & in fact from the SRAM website:
Lightweight: Innovative CNC‘d chromoly steel construction.

That's what I read but then I saw this, and other, reviews on YouTube:

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1ApWTgrL9o



The guy says its aluminium.

 

[GrasB]

Holding a sprocket from an OG1090 simply doesn't feel like aluminium. The tactile feel is that of steel & is markedly different from a 7075-T6 chainring.

 

[Riding in Circles]

It is steel, we use them on higher spec Catrikes.

 

[TheDoctor]

Here's the answer, and it looks like it's steel and alu!!!
The coggy bit of the assembly is steel, and there's an alu insert with the splines on. Stick them together, et viola!!

 

[PpPete]

I'm sure my son's viola is made of wood....

 

[TheDoctor]

Taxi for porkypete!!

 

[earth]

Here's the answer, and it looks like it's steel and alu!!!
The coggy bit of the assembly is steel, and there's an alu insert with the splines on. Stick them together, et viola!!

Great!

The bit that looks worrying to me is that all the turning force is transmitted to the freehub through the faceplate. I know they say the area that meets the hub splines is twice as large as a sprockets contact area but it is always the same area that transmits force into the same area on the freehub. My freehub body is of course, made from some kind of cheese. The splines have already been eaten into by the sprockets.

Can anyone comment on freehub wear?

 

[baznav]

freehub wear is a pain and makes removing the cassette a real chore somtimes and is only a problem with hg {shimano} freehubs as campag have been making there freehubs from alloy for donkeys years but don't get the wear problem due to deeper splines.
i'm sure i was reading up on lightwight hubs somewhere and on company machined small strips of steel into there alloy hub bodys to prevent the cassette eating in , can't remember what company though however seemed like common sence to me.