Road Bike Cassettes & Sprockets

Some riders who live in flatter areas, or race on flatter courses, might need a close ratio cassette such as 11-23. At the other extreme, riders who climb hills or mountains might require a wider ratio cassette such as 11 - 34. Many road riders fall between these two examples and ride with a 11-28 cassette which gives a good range of gears for road riders using compact or semi compact chainsets.

No.Cassette's vary in fitment type, the fit depends on the wheel hub's freehub - which the cassette mounts on to - Shimano, Campagnolo and Sram all have their own freehub connection types. The number of sprockets also vary from 8 - 13, so as well as sticking to the same fitment type, stick to the same number of sprockets to avoid compatibility issues.

Cassettes with larger sprockets may require a longer rear derailleur cage for shifting to the larger sprockets. Check on your rear derailleur what the maximum sprocket size compatibility. Extender links, such as Wolf Tooth Road Link  get around this problem without the need for a longer cage rear derailleur.

This depends on a lot of factors. If you ride only in dry weather, using a wide range of gears, your chain and cassette are kept clean & lubed (replace the chain when it gets worn), you could easily see over 10'000 miles on a road bike cassette. At the other extreme if you ride in wet, gloopy, muddy conditions, only use a few sprockets and never clean & lube, you could chew through a cassette in very little time at all. Most riders fall between these two extremes, keeping your bike's cassette and chain clean and lubricated is the best way to ensure a longer life, particularly if you ride a lot off road.

No. Chains vary depending on how many speeds (sprockets) the chain is manufactured to be used with. 8 speed chains, for example, are much wider than 11 speed chains, this is because the gaps between the sprockets on an 11 speed cassette are much smaller than those on an 8 speed cassette. Most manufactures recommend using their own cassettes and chains together, however specialist manufacturers such as KMC and Wippermann produce very high quality, long lasting chains.