Need some suggestions on buying a cassette.

[Hiebs915]

Hi,

I'm in the process of building a RIP9 but need a cassette. I don't have too much experience so I'm looking for some suggestions. I will be running this crank setup: SLX M665 175mm Crankset BG-36-22t. The cassette needs to be 9 speed. I would prefer slx or xt. Not really XTR

I'm trying to focus more on what gearing I should go for.

I could also use some suggestions for a 10 speed cassette. I might just go 10 speed because I just found out my rear shadow plus derailleur is a 10 speed.

On a side note, anyone looking for a brand new shimano xt 9 speed shifter? lol

[dubdryver]

For 9-speed, personally I would suggest the SRAM PG-990 11-34.
Shimano does make a 9-speed 12-36 I believe but it doesn't match the quality of the SRAM 990!

[Hiebs915]

For 9-speed, personally I would suggest the SRAM PG-990 11-34.
Shimano does make a 9-speed 12-36 I believe but it doesn't match the quality of the SRAM 990!

Can you mix and match sram and shimano?

[Mr.Magura]

I do just that on regular basis


Magura

[dubdryver]

Yes, you can use SRAM cassettes with Shimano drivetrain or vise versa.
There are only a few exceptions to that rule, but none are the ones I mentioned.

[Mr.Magura]

There are only a few exceptions to that rule, but none are the ones I mentioned.

Please spill the beans.

I know they claim that the Dyna-sys is not compatible, but that's not the case.

Have they made any that are in fact incompatible?


Magura

[pelts79]

I've been running the 12-16 shimano with no problems, 2500 miles on it so far so good.

[dubdryver]

I could be wrong, but isn't "Dyna-sys" reserved for the Shimano's 10 speed system??
I don't think they make or sell a Dyna-sys 9 speed cassette. Shimano Dyna-sys cassettes work with SRAM 10 speed system though.

Specialized did just that for nearly all their "comp" models. SRAM X7/X9 with a Shimano
Dyna-sys cassette (to cut costs).

The exceptions I am referring to are:
SRAM XX1 11-speed cassette being incompatible with Shimano
Some models of Shimano Dura-Ace require a Shimano Dura-Ace specific hub body
A couple of XTR models are specific to a specific XTR cassette matching the hub body (very similar to Dura-Ace)

These examples are obviously not relevant to the question at hand, but I was just making the statement to cover myself from ultimately being wrong due to a few extreme exceptions.

[Mr.Magura]

I could be wrong, but isn't "Dyna-sys" reserved for the Shimano's 10 speed system??
I don't think they make or sell a Dyna-sys 9 speed cassette. Shimano Dyna-sys cassettes work with SRAM 10 speed system though.

Specialized did just that for nearly all their "comp" models. SRAM X7/X9 with a Shimano
Dyna-sys cassette (to cut costs).

The exceptions I am referring to are:
SRAM XX1 11-speed cassette being incompatible with Shimano
Some models of Shimano Dura-Ace require a Shimano Dura-Ace specific hub body
A couple of XTR models are specific to a specific XTR cassette matching the hub body (very similar to Dura-Ace)

These examples are obviously not relevant to the question at hand, but I was just making the statement to cover myself from ultimately being wrong due to a few extreme exceptions.

Yes you're right, Dyna-sys is a 10 speed, no 9 that I know of.

The only system I know of today, counting out Cramp'n'nogo, would be the XX1, I didn't think of that when posting the above.

Thanks for the heads up on the XTR/Dura-Ace incompatibility. Is that of the recent years?


Magura

[dubdryver]

No I don't think its anything 2011 or new.
Its some crazy stuff they did for their XTR/Dura-Ace wheels I believe.
No clue why or their reasoning behind it other than to make you
buy the "best" for their "best".

Off-topic, are you actually Magura? I have a couple of questions..
Description says Denmark, Magura is German.
I dated a girl from Denmark while living in Belgium...good times, great country!

[Miker J]

For a 9sp... I just bought an XTR 12-34 (first XTR cassette ever, in like, 20 years) on sale from Jenson. Pretty good deal for an XTR.

For my RIP no less.

I've always found Shimano cassettes shift better than SRAM grade equivalents.

[247]

for 9-speed with SLX crank i would go with a Sram 980 (11-34).. I have this on my Superfly with an XT crank and it works fine. I have a 970 chain but my old 950 worked just fine.

[drz400sm]

Ive always thought the dynasys was shimanos 10 spd lineup....and the 9spd stuff was the "mega9" (or something like that).

I think you'll be happy with a XT cassette, or SRAMs equivalent. I just had an issue running a mid level cassette with the free hub that came with my wheelset. The cassette and freehub materials didn't mate well together..... So I'll be using at least XT quality from now on. Something to keep in mind.

[Hiebs915]

Ive always thought the dynasys was shimanos 10 spd lineup....and the 9spd stuff was the "mega9" (or something like that).

I think you'll be happy with a XT cassette, or SRAMs equivalent. I just had an issue running a mid level cassette with the free hub that came with my wheelset. The cassette and freehub materials didn't mate well together..... So I'll be using at least XT quality from now on. Something to keep in mind.

I have stans flow ex's. Not really sure what you mean regarding hub compatibility. I was looking at getting slx or xt.

[Mr.Magura]

Off-topic, are you actually Magura? I have a couple of questions..
Description says Denmark, Magura is German.
I dated a girl from Denmark while living in Belgium...good times, great country!

Yes, I am actually Magura, but not the Magura you think

I got nicknamed Magura like 20 years ago, and most people call me Magura IRL.

I however have no connection with the brake manufacturer Magura in Germany.

I just enjoy making stuff, and love to push the boundaries a bit if possible.
I by now have also gotten used to just making my own stuff, so I generally do so if I see any benefit in doing it.
I don't make any bike parts for sale, though it happens I give some of my parts away.
So if you see somebody who says they have some of my parts, it just might be right, but it has started out as a present from me to somebody, and all that is given away, is followed by an explanation that the parts must continue their path in the same spirit, thus they are not allowed to sell them if they don't want to keep them, but solely are to keep on being presents.

So there is no commercial side of me, regarding bike parts.
I make my living in the medical industry.
Bikes are a hobby, and it's gonna stay that way.


Magura

EDIT:

I believe you met a nice Danish girl in Belgium. It's the usual stuff, the good ones get away from here

[drz400sm]

I have stans flow ex's. Not really sure what you mean regarding hub compatibility. I was looking at getting slx or xt.

The issue I had was the hg61 cassette with the Stan's 3.30 rear hub on the arch ex wheels. I guess the material on the cassette is harder then the free hubs alum. Pretty much was wearing down the splines extremely fast...25-30 miles was very noticeable. No issues with my XT cassette tho. I posted a pic in another thread. If you wanna see the pic let me know and I'll post it here.

[Hiebs915]

The issue I had was the hg61 cassette with the Stan's 3.30 rear hub on the arch ex wheels. I guess the material on the cassette is harder then the free hubs alum. Pretty much was wearing down the splines extremely fast...25-30 miles was very noticeable. No issues with my XT cassette tho. I posted a pic in another thread. If you wanna see the pic let me know and I'll post it here.

Sure, go ahead and post the pic. I bought the wheels used and the hub does have some grooves from the cassette digging into it. Weird...

[drz400sm]

Sure, go ahead and post the pic. I bought the wheels used and the hub does have some grooves from the cassette digging into it. Weird...

I'm sure we are talking about the exact same thing. Here's the pic. Normally i dont remove the cassette from the freehub unless im doing a complete clean and tune up, and the only reason I noticed it was because the drivetrain started feeling weird. Almost like the chain was skipping teeth. After removing the cassette I came across this. I posted a thread about it and came to the conclusion that the cassettes material is harder then the hub which was causing premature wear. I've never had this issue before and a few guys told me to never use a low end cassette on a lightweight alum free hub. It doesn't look like it was actually skipping splines, but I'm sure over a long period of time it could have...but just speculating. I replaced it with a 11-36 XT cassette and the issues went away. From now on I'll just spend the extra couple bucks on better quality cassettes.

[Hiebs915]

That's what my hub look like, just not so bad. What if the hub gets completely worn out? Can people buy replacement hubs? I'll keep this in mind when buying a cassette. I was looking at an slx or xt one.

[customfab]

Some models of Shimano Dura-Ace require a Shimano Dura-Ace specific hub body
A couple of XTR models are specific to a specific XTR cassette matching the hub body (very similar to Dura-Ace)

That's not correct. Early in the 10spd road days Shimano did a 10spd specific free hub body that limited compatibility but it was not limited to a Dura Ace specific setup. You could put a 10spd cassette on an older free hub but couldn't put a 7/8/9 speed cassette on a 10/spd specific free hub. The reason they did the stepped spline was to give the last cog more purchase on the spline to keep it from spinning. It also allowed them to make the free hub body out of aluminum without all the gouging, like is pictured below. XTR has never had any proprietary free hub either.

Dyna-Sys is Shimano's trademark for 10spd mountain components. Nothing other than 10spd parts will be branded Dyna-Sys. And they are not compatible with anything pre-dating 10spd. Their seemed to be a lot of wishy washy responses to this so I thought a definitive answer was needed.

Campagnolo has done some Record specific cassette splines. I'm not 100% sure as to what the situation was but I want to say they were from the 8spd days so early 90's.

[AlexRandall]

That's what my hub look like, just not so bad. What if the hub gets completely worn out? Can people buy replacement hubs? I'll keep this in mind when buying a cassette. I was looking at an slx or xt one.

Slx has the issue of individual cogs mating to the freehub body.....which causes the gouging.
To save weight the XT cogs are mounted to a carrier that has more depth to the splines that meet the freehub body (in SRAM the PG980 and 990 have this).
This is one of the reasons to upgrade to an XT cassette if you have alloy as your freehub body

[Hiebs915]

Slx has the issue of individual cogs mating to the freehub body.....which causes the gouging.
To save weight the XT cogs are mounted to a carrier that has more depth to the splines that meet the freehub body (in SRAM the PG980 and 990 have this).
This is one of the reasons to upgrade to an XT cassette if you have alloy as your freehub body

Ok, thanks! I'll check into the srams or xt cassettes.

[eurospek]

This is one of the reasons to upgrade to an XT cassette if you have alloy as your freehub body

My XT 770 11-34 still dug into my aluminum freehub body. Wasn't impressed at all.

Purchased a steel freehub body for my wheelset, went back to a Shimano HG61 12-36 cassette and I couldn't be happier with the results. Finally got the gearing I want, makes absolutely zero noise on the climbs and my freehub looks brand spankin' new.

As for the weigh difference, it's marginal at best. So unless you're a total weight freak, I couldn't care less about it.

[thomllama]

with an aluminum hub like that just get a Sram 990 cassette,.. has the 1 piece carrier and costs WAY less than the shimano equivalents. You can find them on sale for like 1/3 the cost of Shimmy.. Buy 2 on sale and when it wears out, replace it.. still saved $$$ and can afford a new chain which will make more of a diff a yr from now

[sanjabiker]

Took out the rear wheel of my spech Epic comp 2011 and the cassette is Shimano SLX , 11-36, HG-81 Dynasys , 10 speed with Sram group set. Currently with 2200 miles and the cassette is in very nice condition, ready for more miles to come.