bike shop switched cassettes on me

[bcipam]

Shimano's largest road cassette is 27, Campy is 29. But you can put a mtn bike cassette and derailleur on the back of the road bike to get lower gearing. I did - XTR and the cassette is 34 so I have a 12 - 34. I did it because of a cross country trip but like it so much have kept it on (plus I can't find the 27 - think I loaned it to someone and never got it back). Shifting is a tad clunkier but love the granny when needed!!!!

[Geonz]

Hmmm.... got me wondering - I've got about 20,000 on my Giant and the cassette's been replaced once (at about 16,000). The Trek 7500FX has 7 or 8 thou... same cassette. I'm thinking that "medium performance" demands mean using those puppies for longer, maybe?

[jobob]

I trust this bike shop 100% and was having some shifting problems, so I feel they were not "taking me for a ride".

Barb

AWM is dealing with a different issue here.

AWM's bike shop put on a cassette with a smaller number of teeth, which would make it more difficult for her climb hills. They changed the cassette to a different (smaller) size without telling her.

That was unacceptable behavior on the part of that bike shop.

- Jo.

[RoadRaven]

Its interesting to read these posts and see so many of you identify your front chain rings as either double or triple.

Remember that your front chain rings can be in different sizes too, and are just as important to your type of riding as the rear casstte.

My training bike has a 52/39 up front
... and a 27/13 (9 speed) on the back



I'm also with JoBob on this one

That bike shop displayed shabby and shameful practice in not replacing the cassette so it matched the original. It is extremely unprofessional to make such a fundemental error. And if it wasn't an error, why on earth didn't they mention the change when the bike was collected - or better still, ring up and ask if the a change in cassette would be ok BEFORE the change was made!!!

[madisongrrl]

No. You're over-generalizing.

Actually....that is my particular set up. I should have been more clear.

[Veronica]

I've got a paltry 50 or 51, and I spin out on long, flatter descents where I really want to grind. When we were in France one year for the Tour we saw into the iBanesto team bus and they had these rows of dinner plate sized rings.... drool!

The 29 is great. I'm actually looking to get a spare 11-27 to give me a little more oomph when I do flatter rides like the Tucson race.

Oh... you actually pedal when you're going downhill. I figure if I'm doing 25 mph, I don't need to go any faster and I spin out around 30 or so. Besides if I had a bigger front chain ring that would make my dates with Coach Troy SO much more painful.

Isn't there some limit to how big the jump between your rings can be? There's no way I'd give up the 24 in the front. My knees almost never hurt no matter how much climbing I do in that gear. Okay, so it is WICKED slow climbing...And cold does make them hurt.

V.

[maillotpois]

Oh... you actually pedal when you're going downhill. I figure if I'm doing 25 mph, I don't need to go any faster and I spin out around 30 or so. Besides if I had a bigger front chain ring that would make my dates with Coach Troy SO much more painful.

Isn't there some limit to how big the jump between your rings can be? There's no way I'd give up the 24 in the front. My knees almost never hurt no matter how much climbing I do in that gear. Okay, so it is WICKED slow climbing...And cold does make them hurt.

V.

I think there might be a limit in the "jump", but am not sure. I don't know what my smallest is in front, and I should. (Pausing to go look...) I have a 30/42/52 combo. I'm due for new rings in front soon, anyway. They look pretty bad. When I get my next chain that will be on the list. I'm going to research what my options are for front ratios right now.

The 30's small enough for me - but I have the 29 in back!

[maillotpois]

Fascinating (or not). The new combo for the Campy triple is 30/42/53 which is even better for me. But it is cheaper to order an entire new crankset than to replace individual rings. That seems silly to me. My cranks are fine.

[FelesRidet]

The bike shop made a mistake and should rectify it. Possibly the mechanic grabbed what he had and thought it was good enough.

Probably, though, he stayed out too late the night before, greatly imbibing nectar, in which case his brain synapes where not firing all that well when your bike came in. I mean, that's why he's working at a bike shop and not NASA.

[Triskeliongirl]

You should make the bike shop swap it out for the one that was on there. Next time, bring it in yourself, and TELL them EXACTLY what casette you want. FYI, on my racing bike I have 50/34 compact double in front with a 12-27 rear, and on my touring bike I have a 50/34 compact double in front with an 11-34 rear (all shimano casettes, all with 700c rear tires, the tire size also effects your gear ratios). I live in the texas hill country, and tour in the mountains, so I am geared for a lot of climbing. You can run your numbers through the calculator at sheldon browns site to choose your gearing. Pay attention when you ride to what gears you use, what gears you never use, and what gears you WISH you had, and plan accordingly. If you are careful to avoid cross-training, your chain and gears last longer, so the rate at whichh they wear is not just a mileage thing. You should learn to adjust your front and rear derailleurs. Sometimes they just need tuning. A bike is like a stringed instrument. You don't bring it to the music store everytime it goes out of tune, but yes, sometimes parts do wear out.

[Starfish]

Gears: 30-42-52 up front, and up until today, 11-26 in back. As of today, same triple up front, but 11-32 in back. Haven't ridden the new cassette yet, we'll see. It is pretty hilly & mountainous around here, and I like long rides (and, I am the weakest rider in my group...the others seem to make do with doubles!). I found with the 11-26 I could go long with grades up to 7% or so, but that if I had hills with gradients up in the teens (which we have a lot of if you want to get mileage in), my legs got toasted early in the rides and my recovery would be LONG. I'm hoping to spin up the harder hills more easily and preserve some zip to carry on with the longer rides, and recover from them a little sooner. We'll see. I expect friendly razzing from my friends.

LBS attitudes: I have had various experiences. I have been thrilled with some LBSs -- respect for me, my concerns, and the dollars I'm spending. At 2 others, I have literally walked out after feeling steamrolled and condescended to. I will definitely go out of my way to support local shops that demonstrate they understand excellent customer service, across the board.

[awm03]

OK, thanks a lot everybody. I did call the bike shop bike back: nice as pie. They're ordering a new cassette (11/27 -- I can use that 27 here in hilly Connecticut). It was good of you all to post both your front & back numbers. Very illuminating!