10-speed, not 8-track...The Cassette

In terms of the drive train, the cassette is every bit as important as the chain.  Without it, we would need no derailleur, for the bike be a single-speed.  Oh, for the days of the seventies, when New Zealand was populated by Lolines, Cruisers, the ubiquitous Raleigh Twenty, and (drum roll) the Chopper. 


 Stick shift, three-speed Sturmey-Archer internal hub gears.  Alas, the reign of the S-A hub gear was already under the shadow of the ten-speed, the race-style bike with FIVE gears on the rear, that any kid with a paper-run could afford. 

 I can say that with confidence, because I still have my ten-speed hanging in the garage.  All original (except for the bar tape).  made of gate iron, with Japanese Suntour components, which seem to have been made in a Soviet tractor factory, as they still work as they did when I first rode it new, back in 1981. 
The Raleigh Arena pictured is almost identical to the one in my garage, which I couldn't be bothered photographing.  This will do.  The main difference is that mine does not have the cool friction shifters on the down tube.  Instead, it has thumb shifters mounted on the bar stem, together with extensions on the brake levers, so you can control everything from the bar tops.  It was never meant for racing, and climbs like a wet toad up a greasy pole.


Times have changed, and although Campagnolo are again leading the style challenge with their new 11-speed cassette, I'm sticking with 10.  And again the choice came down to SRAM or Ultegra.  The temptation had always been there with the SRAM Force cassette ranging up a monster 32-tooth sprocket, reason had the day.  This is how it works.


Even with a 39 small chainring on the standard, a 32t would still be spinning, a low gear that would ease the load of long climbs.  For a derailleur to cope with the wide diameter of a 32t, it requires a long pulley cage, and an appropriately longer chain.  Getting the match between front and rear gears and decent chain tension becomes more of an issue, so if you want an SRAM 32t cassette you are pretty much committing to an SRAM derailleur, and because of the different ratchet pull distances, SRAM shifters.  And the whole lot of SRAM Force components each cost significantly more than the equivalent Ultegra 6700 components.  Which are also lighter.

The SRAM PG1070 11-23 cassette weighs in at 210 grams, while the Ultegra 6700 11-23 is 208 grams.  Okay, so 2 grams.  Keep in mind that running a standard chainset I selected a 11-28 cassette, giving me the same bottom end, and a higher top end than the regular compact 12-25 combination.  This gets me up hills the same as a compact, and a steep top end for the extra push through the group when the beer tent comes into sight.


The deal that I found was marginally better than others, as there is not a lot of variation pricewise once you start looking outside of New Zealand. From the eBay dealer Koo-us (http://stores.ebay.com/koous), the NIB cassette was listed at US$76.99 with free shipping.  With exchange rate, the cost to me was NZ$103.01.  This is a distinct improvement over the local NZ online cost of $117.50.


And now to look for a rear derailleur - that won't take too long.

Working on the Chain Gang...

1885 Rover Safety Bike

Cranks are meaningless with some means to connect them to the wheel. Bikes have not always been this way - it took until 1879 before the rear chain drive was invented, and that was in response to the direct-drive ordinary bikes, the penny farthing.  Once the chain drive was mastered, the new "safety bikes" opened up what was formerly a Victorian extreme sport to everyone as a safe means of cheap transport.


So, with over 130 years of development, what is best for the project?


I had already decided to make the overall theme one of Ultegra, yet the only Ultegra part so far is the bottom bracket.  Which brings us to the Ultegra chains.  The current models are the 6700 and the 6701.  The 6700 is bidirectional, but the 6701 is a directional chain, meaning the whole set up is made for the chain links to mesh against the crank teeth perfectly when running in one direction only, making the transmission smoother with fast, quiet changes.


That is not a priority, also considering the user feedback on assorted forums that discuss and review the many pieces of a bike.  With a high level of precision engineering comes the risk of lower chain life and frequent replacement. So, what are the alternatives?


SRAM came to mind, as their chains and gears are compatible with Shimano. But just as there are many component manufacturers out there, so too are there specialist chain makers.  A few reviews rated KMC chains favourably, and a quick visit to the KMC website pointed me in the right direction.


The KMC site (image linked) conveniently contains not only all tech specs, but has a Java applet to help you find the right chain for you and your ride.  And this pointed me towards the X10 range (for 10-speed set-ups).  Off to search through the global sellers once more, ignoring those who do not ship to New Zealand, and in search of the best deal.


Which was to be found with an eBay seller:
http://stores.ebay.com/cycleproshop?_fcid=149&_localstpos=&_sid=527860617&_stpos=&gbr=1

KMC X10SL, in all its glory.  Cost saving in packaging! Q-Link is front centre.

which had a marvellous deal for a x10SL (super light) chain, at the price of NZ$51.05 (US$37.95), with free international shipping.  The chain is 112 links long, and includes the KMC Q-link.  Having had a look at this joining system, it looks to be a quick and strong means to manually break a chain without needing a chain tool or worn links going up a hill.


Note the cut-outs in each link, supposedly to keep down both weight and mud.


The next mission is to find the cassette for the chain to connect to.