cassettes

[BobbyP]

My Fuji Pro, 10 speed cassette has a 11\23 gear ratio.  With the low 23 gear, as you can imagine, have a hard time with hills.  Could someone tell me what the lowest  gear cassette I could replace my existing with and not install a new derailleur.  I’m thinking bout a 10 speed cassette with a 11/28 ratio.

[DaveB]

Most road rear derailleurs are rated to handle at least a 27T rear cog and newer ones often 28 or even 32T.  Experience has shown that even those rated for a 27T maximum will work with a 28T and often a 30T.  Probably the most useful 10-speed cassette for you is the Tiagra 12x30 although the 11x28 will also work but for most riders an 11T small cog is a waste of time.

[csykes]

My son had a Fuji Pro that came with Dura-Ace 7800 equipment and a tight cassette.  When his racing days were over, he put a cassette with 28 teeth on and it shifted fine.  The crank-set had 53/39 rings.  If your chain-rings are that big, you may want to swap them for a compact. 

[DaveB]

My son had a Fuji Pro that came with Dura-Ace 7800 equipment and a tight cassette.  When his racing days were over, he put a cassette with 28 teeth on and it shifted fine.  The crank-set had 53/39 rings.  If your chain-rings are that big, you may want to swap them for a compact.

Remember, you can't just switch standard 53/39 chainrings for a compact set-up (typically 50/34) on the same crank since the bolt circles are not compatible.  You would need an entirely new crank.

[rickpaulos]

Changing the rear derailleur is easy and cheap.   Pretty all the Shimano stuff is compatible. ie, you can mix road & mtb parts.  Dura-ace, ultegra, 105, xtr, xt, deore, etc.  A mtb der (xt or xtr or deore or alivo, etc) will work with the road shifters you have.  You would need a longer chain but you can to to the max (32 or 34) if you want.  Since you have a 10 cog drive line, look for a 10 speed compatible der , cassette and chain.

Going with a 27/28 with the short cage der means you do need to get the chain length exactly correct.  You are really at the extreme limit of what the der can handle.  Any amount too short and you will have problems in the big cog - big ring gear.  Too short and the chain will flop down and drag on the stays and possibly get caught in the spokes in the small cog- small chain ring gear.

I tried smaller chain rings on my Litespeed. I could not lower the front derailleur enough on the braze-on mount to work well with the rings I wanted.
If that frame goes back for polishing & decals (and new cage mounts), I'll ask for that mount to be removed so I can use a clamp on der instead.

Rick

[DaveB]

Changing the rear derailleur is easy and cheap.   Pretty all the Shimano stuff is compatible. ie, you can mix road & mtb parts.  Dura-ace, ultegra, 105, xtr, xt, deore, etc.  A mtb der (xt or xtr or deore or alivo, etc) will work with the road shifters you have.

I tried smaller chain rings on my Litespeed. I could not lower the front derailleur enough on the braze-on mount to work well with the rings I wanted.
If that frame goes back for polishing & decals (and new cage mounts), I'll ask for that mount to be removed so I can use a clamp on der instead.

Rick

That's not quite correct.  Earlier 9-speed mtb rear deraillerrs are compatible with road shifters and 8, 9 or 10-speed cassettes.  Newer 10-speed mtb rear deraillers are not.

Also, what Litespeed do you have?  I have three Ti frame Litespeeds and none of them have a braze-on front derailleur tab.

[rickpaulos]

Ultimate (9 sp dura ace) and a Classic(8sp dura ace).  Both have "braze on" front der mounts.

Wife's new ride has Shimano long cage 105 doublex10 speed sti.

[DaveB]

Ultimate (9 sp dura ace) and a Classic(8sp dura ace).  Both have "braze on" front der mounts.

Not to belabor my question but are you sure the frames actually have a welded on front derailleur tab on the seat tube or are they clamp-on adapters that use a "braze-on" type front derailleur.  As I noted, none of my Litespeed frames (1996 Catalyst, 2005 Firenza and 2006 Tuscany) or my son-in-law's 2002 Classic have welded-on tabs but use clamp-on adapters  to mount braze-on type front derailleurs.

My reason for questioning this is that if the bike really has a clamp-on adapter, it can be adjusted as low as needed to match smaller chainrings while a true welded/brazed on mounting tab may limit the adjustability.

[rickpaulos]

they are welded on.

[BikeFreak]

My Fuji Pro, 10 speed cassette has a 11\23 gear ratio.  With the low 23 gear, as you can imagine, have a hard time with hills.  Could someone tell me what the lowest  gear cassette I could replace my existing with and not install a new derailleur.  I’m thinking bout a 10 speed cassette with a 11/28 ratio.

You never wrote your front chain rings. Anyhow, even if you choose a cassette with 28 as the largest, you will struggle badly in the Appalachians on the Transam :-).

Lucas

[F_Thomas]

You have quite a few good responses to your question.

However, you do not say what the current rear derailleur is and what year bike you have.

I have gone through the same process with a Jamis Aurora Elite and swapped out the crankset for a FSA Afterburner triple 48/36/26 and used the existing Shimano 105 front derailleur no problems - bar end friction.

The rear cassette that came stock was 11-30.  I am swapping out the cassette to a 11-34 using the existing Ultegra bar end, which is indexed, with new chain and a longer "B Screw"  (4x25mm). 

I needed the lower gearing for the hills around here and to be able to haul loaded panniers.  Don't know why Jamis set the Aurora Elite up like a road bike when the Aurora is geared for touring.

[paddleboy17]

Don't know why Jamis set the Aurora Elite up like a road bike when the Aurora is geared for touring.

Welcome to the sometimes absurd world of touring bikes.  The mainstay bike companies know that most touring bikes sold will never actually see panniers, and are being purchased for their relaxed fit.  So they routinely do stupid things.  Jamis is no exception.  The alloy chosen for the Aurora is not stiff enough to be a good touring bike.  And as you have noted, the better framed Aurora Elite is not geared low enough.