Why 10 speed cassettes

SunRace catalog. SunRace new Products. Shimano wants you to use one of its standard combinations, and offers a wide-enough choice to suit the needs of most cyclists, but you don't have to if you don't want to!

It is not difficult to customize Shimano cassettes. Since people managed without Hyperglide for several decades, this shouldn't scare you off. In particular, if you substitute the top or bottom sprocket, you will only have one shift that isn't HG; shifts to or from the extreme sprockets tend to be less troublesome than intermediate shifts anyway. Shimano cassettes that don't use spiders have most of the sprockets held together by 3 small bolts or rivets.

These are not essential. Their function is convenience, in allowing the cassette to be installed slightly more easily. To make a custom cassette, you will often need to remove the screws or rivets. Just discard them, they are unnecessary in practice. When you build your own cassette, generally, the smallest sprocket needs to be one with a built-in spacer, designed for the top-gear position.

While you can't insert or remove a sprocket within a spider module, you can add sprockets on either side of these modules. Reports of the demise of this Web site are greatly exaggerated! We at sheldonbrown. Harris Cyclery has closed, but we keep going. Keep visiting the site for new and updated articles, and news about possible new affilations. Please keep these pointers in mind: No matter how many sprockets your bicycle has, you can use only one at a time!

These's no need for that many sprockets at the rear wheel. A wide gear range, with a small steps between gear ratios, is easily achieved with a 7- or 8-sprocket cluster at the rear wheel and a wide-step double or triple-chainwheel crankset. The closely-spaced sprockets of a speed system make shifting more finicky. Minor misadjustments which would not be a problem with a 7- or 8-speed system result in malfunction. They wear out faster, are harder to service and more easily damaged.

The side plates of chain made for a sprocket cassette are barely thicker than the lid of a tin can. If one of these chains jams, it may easily bend or break. This is an especially serious issue for a bicycle tourist or randonneur.

Still, there are a couple of reasons it can make sense to have a or even speed system: You may find a bicycle particularly attractive, but it is available only with a speed system. That is the case with most high-end bicycles as of Fortunately, 8- and 9-speed cassettes fit most of the same cassette bodies, allowing replacement when the speed sprockets and chain wear out.

You may be on a racing team which needs to have all the bicycles equipped the same, for easy parts interchangeability and to match pedaling cadences. If you're a pro racer, your team will buy the bicycles and keep them in repair.

Cassettes listed below will fit most Shimano and Shimano-compatible Freehub bodies, with the following exceptions: Shimano FH and FH aluminum speed bodies with tall splines work only with speed sprockets. The Shimano cassettes listed here will fit, but don't try to use a cassette with fewer sprockets. Some other brands of 10 speed cassettes, in particular, SRAM, don't work with the taller splines.

A shorter 7-speed body would require you to modify the largest sprocket or install only 8 sprockets from a 9-speed cassette or 9 sprockets from a speed cassette. TheShimano Capreo body has four special sprockets, with 9, 10, 11 and 13 teeth. The other, larger sprockets are standard. Current parts lists as of These links are current on the Shimano site' as of April, Older parts lists, current as of The parts lists below are now found in the Internet Archive.

If so, all with the same tooth counts will work in either the innermost or middle positions Rows with gray background indicate cassettes no longer listed as of Miche speed Supertype cassettes These have mostly aluminum sprockets and should be used with a Shimano Dura-Ace cassette body.

Instructions for Supertype cassettes English on page 2 Table of Supertype sprockets. Note that an tooth outer sprocket may be used only in combination with a tooth second sprocket.

All other sizes up to 30 teeth are available. Miche speed Primato cassettes These have steel sprockets and will fit any Shimano-compatible cassette body other than Dura-Ace with tall splines.

Table of Primato sprockets. All other sizes up to 29 teeth are available. XG "XX" cassettes have 8 sprockets all but the innermost and outermost CNC machined from a single piece of steel.

XCG series cassettes use "PowerDome" construction, with several sprockets machined from a single piece of steel. These are gaps in the oferings listed on the SRAM site and so there may be other cassettes in this series. OG series cassettes use "PowerDome" construction, with several sprockets machined from a single piece of steel; also reported to use some titanium sprockets and a carbon-fiber spider.

These no longer appear in the catalog. At least some OpenGlide OG series cassettes skip teeth on some or all sprockets. The skip-tooth cassettes are reputed to shift more smoothly, but to be noisy, probably due to roughness of chain disengagement from sprockets under power when the chain is at an angle. XG "PinDome" cassettes have 8 sprockets all but the innermost and outermost riveted together near the outside , with numerous separate, short rivets between each two sprockets, for greater rigidity with lightened sprockets.

Unlike with traditional Shimano three-rivet assemblies, it is not practical to remove the rivets to use the sprockets separately. OG, PG and PG series cassettes use steel sprockets, and the three largest are on an aluminum spider. The finish differs among these lines of cassettes. It is probable that all of the 3-sprocket spider assemblies which start with tooth sprockets are interchangeable without compromising smoothness of shifting, as they all follow a 19T sprocket. Grayed-out rows in the table below indicate cassettes which were listed in the catalog but are no longer listed in the catalog.

Asterisked listings are for odd sequences which may reflect mistakes in the catalog. Some cassettes use screws with a 4 mm hex head. These can be removed with an adjustable wrench.

Some cassettes use screws with a 2 mm Allen head. Faster than replacing a flat tire! Save few bucks, do it yourself. My old Shimano cassette a little over 8, miles still working but thought with a great price at Bike Tires Direct why not replace the cassette.

Replaced a well worn Shimano cassette and chain at the same time. Both new components work well together. As long as your derailleur is correctly adjusted this will shift well. Sharp and clean shifts. I used it with Dura-ace derailleur. This was an upgrade to make the hills a little easier. Not surprisingly, it was an easy fit to replace the existing Shimano speed cassette.

The 30 tooth cog was one size larger than spec'ed by Shimano for my derailleur, but it shifts well and didn't require a modification of the chain. Easy and inexpensive upgrade. If I had paid more attention to my worn out chain, I wouldn't have had to change the cassette yet. It works, shifts good, no problems. Replaced worn out Shimano 10 speed cassette with a new Shimano 10 speed cassette, works great at a reasonable price, timely delivery, and I am a very happy customer with Bike tires direct.

Like all race ready Shimano components, they work well flawlessly. This cassette is no exception. I purchased it to replace the same one I've had for the last six years. I put the old one on my second wheel. I find Ultegra cassettes bullet proof and a good value for my training bike. They are relatively inexpensive and last a long time if you take care of them. Highly recommended. We are committed to delivering outstanding value and service to our customers, every day.

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WISH 0. Gift Certificates New Arrivals. Mountain Tires 29in Mountain Tires Click to Learn More. Reviews Mechanic's Corner. Description Shimano's speed Ultegra cassette provides many of the features of its speed Dura-Ace counterpart, offering improved shifting under load and a reduced-weight design.