http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... nerID=6600

£18 for either 11-32 or 11-34

Buy one and stick it in the drawer, come Summer you'll be glad you did!

I saw that as well Dave and then read reports of SRAM cassettes = 'cheese' and people moaning that teeth bent on first rides even. So I started reading about SLX and XT cassettes and came to the conclusion that having a triple I might be better served going for an SLX 11-28 next time around. I will see how I get on with the 11-32 fitted on the Whyte a month ago, I certainnly never found a use for the 34 that came as standard.

Saw this this morning and will look at my bill from Cycleworks with interest as a new cassette is on the list of things they're replacing. . .

Can't say I agree with the fromage comment. I've used SRAM cassettes exclusively for years (and chains).

32 has a decent weight saving as well but when you're on a 1x9 29er the extra 2 teeth on a 34 even it out to a 32 on a 26" wheel.

Same here, used 11-32 SRAM cassettes on the Orange for years without issue - thousands of miles on them. My old Marin has a Shimano cassette though but is rarely used. I'm not convinced it's an area of the bike that makes much difference really.

I wouldn't bother with 11-28 if you're off-roading, might be fine if you're a towpath adventurer

Seriously, one for touring I think.

I agree 28 is for riding on the road. Otherwise you will spend all your time jumping from ring to ring as the terrain and gradient changes - and changing rings when climbing is going to destroy rings, lose you momentum and cause you to fall off or stop and not be able to restart. Personally I like to run 1x9 with a 34 tooth large cassette sprocket. On some bikes I keep the granny ring for serious energy bonk emergencies.

Although cheap, these sprockets are not so good for middle ring grinders running aluminium freehub bodies, as the additional torque tends to cut great grooves in the aluminium, making it hard to change cassettes.

Some form of solid alu body on which several sprockets are mounted (as in XT and SRAM990), helps spread the load and reduce freehub body damage.

A new freehub body for Hope Pro2 is 50 quid or so, meaning that for the middle ring grinders out there, cheap cassettes can be a false economy.

Aluminium? Are you sure?

Ahh...hold on.....my rear hubs are XC and not Pro2 and they are steel, hence never had a problem. There do appear to be a lot of contact points though unlike the XX which is even worse given it only contacts on 2 cogs.

Thinking about it I've not put aluminium near my drive trains since the great middle ring debacle of '03.

Having said that i do have a gold aluminium 32t ring waiting to go on the SS although given that it has a Surly ring on it don;t hold your breathe.

Hmmm...sufficiently off topic for PIJ to chip in!

Yes, my Pro2s are aluminium in the freehub department (as is my Hope XC hub I think). Both have suffered minimal wear from the many miles I've done, using SRAM 990 cassettes, which means either the theory works or I don't grind the middle ring