Tighter gear ratio for cassettes

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kovacsa

Active Member
Hi All, Does anyone know about tighter gear ratios for cassettes?

This is my current cassette. http://www.bikeman.com/FW8970.html

When I am peddling and want to switch to a slightly harder (or easier) gear, and one switch often feels like a big change. I'm looking for a cassette (or solution in general) that will give me finer adjustments when I change gears so that the change does not feel as large. I don't want to switch the front chain ring either just to get small adjustments. If the first two cogs are eliminated (11T and 13T) that is okay as I don't use those much anyway. Any ideas? Any help is much appreciated! Thanks!
 

DCLane

Found in the Yorkshire hills ...
You could use a youth cassette. 14/16 lowest and up to 25/30 are common there. Using 11-36 is a very wide range - is this for an MTB or road bike?

Lots of options via a Miche Primato cassette: https://www.probikeshop.com/en/gb/miche-cassette-10s-shimano/71241.html
 

Ajax Bay

Guru
Location
East Devon
Go for an 11-28 or an 11-25
OP has already said he's entirely content to forego the 11t and 13t sprockets and that he wishes to hold onto "the higher [means lower] gears for climbing". So how would your suggestion meet either of those criteria? @DCLane's suggestion takes advantage of losing the small sprockets (allowing the gaps to be less %age) - a youth cassette with a 14t smallest sprocket (as he said: Miche Primato cassette, but they are not cheap, see the list below). Only catch would be that the largest sprocket I can find on a youth cassette is 30t and that wouldn't meet the (probably more important) criterion of retaining the current lowest gear.
A rider often has to find a happy medium between their requirement for range (ie smallest to largest) and the closeness of the block/cassette (ie gearing %age change between adjacent sprockets). Manufacturers really don't help with this fetish for useless 11t smallest sprockets and apparent reluctance to produce/market a decent range with 13t smallest sprocket.
The OP has a triple already (possibly 48/38/28) and an RD that is coping with a capacity of 45t, so the amount of 'wrap' is not a limitation. My approach would be to go for the 14-30t cassette (NB screw in the B screw) and change the small chainring for a 24t (about £12 in UK), hoping the FD can manage that. The current lowest gear is 21" and the new one would be 22" - only a small increase in gearing. An alternative option would be leave the chainring as is; to take his current cassette and cut the 36t off; take the 14-30t cassette, drop out the 15t and (with the spacer from the 15t/16t gap) add the 36t to make it 14/36: 14-16-17-19-21-23-25-27-30-36. This would afford attractively close ratios in the middle of the cassette, where they can be appreciated, whilst retaining the 36t as a 'Hail Mary' steep hill saviour (YRMV).
Have a play with this gear calculator.

Miche Primato cassette

13/29 : 13-14-15-16-17-19-21-23-26-29
13/30 : 13-14-15-17-19-21-23-25-27-30
14/25 : 14-15-16-17-18-19-20-21-23-25
14/28 : 14-15-16-17-18-19-21-23-25-28
14/29 : 14-15-16-17-19-21-23-25-27-29
14/30 : 14-15-16-17-19-21-23-25-27-30
16/30 : 16-17-18-19-20-21-23-25-27-30
 
One thing to watch out for in fitting a much bigger smallest sprocket is that it hits the ends of the chainstay.
You need 2mm space per tooth bigger.
So a 4mm gap for a 13 sprocket to fit and an 6mm gap for a 14.

The simplest way is either ..........
If you've the room then make one cassette from two with the sprockets you want.
Get a 14-x and a x-36 and combine them for a 14-36 cassette, 92.5"-19.6.
or ...........
If you drop all the chainrings by 4 teeth and move the front derailleur down by 8mm.
This will then let you fit a 12-27 cassette.
Doing this will both close the ratios up while only losing 1 gear both ends, 118"-19.6" -> 100"-22".

Ps. Specs show a Shimano HG200 11-34T 9 speed cassette not a Shimano HG50 11-36T 10 speed cassette unless you've changed something.
 

PpPete

Legendary Member
Location
Chandler's Ford
When I came back to cycling and found it had all changed since my yoof when 6 speed 14-28 freewheels were the norm, I rode on a 12-30 cassette that I butchered together, as I found the gaps on 9 speed 11-32 were uncomfortably large. Only rarely used the big ring of the triple though.

20 000 miles later I'm a bit stronger and now use all of an 11-32 10 speed cassette but still with a smaller than standard rings on the front.

I'd suggest changing the front to 42-32-22, either changing the rings, or a new crankset; then you can use a more tighly spaced cassette (11-32 or even 11-28)
 
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