To each his own, I like my 11-30 (9 speed) and I use the 11 pretty regularly, going downhill or in a tailwind. I wouldn't want to give it up, especially considering the big ring is only 46. Granted I wouldn't mind having the 11-34 for one particular hill on our local brevets, but generally speaking I solve the problem by just walking up the hill!
Zack says he's a big guy, I weigh 270 and only very occasionally have a ghost shift. Most of the time, it shifts perfect in the back so long as I keep things reasonably adjusted. (The front is another story, but one I've already had a thread about here and it seems to be specific to my crankset, based on the feedback I got from other users). If I was giving advice starting from scratch I wouldn't even recommend 8 speed. The 9 speed stuff doesn't cost any more than 8 speed, in my experience, and it uses the same hubs assuming you're running Shimano or Shimano-compatible gear. And you don't need the hub spacer with either that you would with 7 speed. On Tue, Apr 15, 2014 at 1:54 PM, Norman Bone <bone1...@yahoo.com> wrote: > Hey Jim- > > Seems that the 8spd cassettes have the somewhat useless 11t cog on the > cassettes that have the 30+ tooth big cog that I'm pretty sure that Zack > needs/wants. However, the 7spds have 13-30 or 34 and seem to have more > useful gears for PDX. > > -Norman Bone friction shifting 9spd 13-30 in Portland > > > ------------------------------ > *From:* Jim Bronson <jim.bron...@gmail.com> > *To:* "rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com" < > rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com> > *Sent:* Tuesday, April 15, 2014 11:37 AM > *Subject:* Re: [RBW] 7 speed cassette question > > Why not just go 8 speed if you are shifting friction anyway? 8 speed gear > is far more prevalent than 7 speed gear in this day and age, and you'll > probably pay less for it than you would some relatively rare 7 speed gear. > $0.02. > > > On Tue, Apr 15, 2014 at 12:46 PM, Zack <zack...@gmail.com> wrote: > > hey all - > > i think i'd like to convert my Rivs to 7 speed cassettes. my drivetrains > could probably both use an overhaul, so i figure this is a great chance to > make the switch. I have always had some problems with ghost shifting under > load (i have checked derailer hanger, it's straight, greased under bottom > bracket, made sure there are no kinks, replaced worn cassette, tightened my > silver shifters, done all the suggested things,), and want to see if this > switch will help/eliminate and get me to "heaven". > > My setup: > > Shimano X7 rear hub. > Shimano Deore RD. > Sugino Xd2 triple crank > Silver shifters > > I live in portland and am a big dude, and andy and chris always take me on > rides that involve "some climbing" so I'd like to have a good bailout gear. > > What do you guys recommend for a 7 speed cassette? I understand I'd need > a spacer and 7 speed chain to make it work, anything else? How hard would > it be to make the swap myself? (I have a chain whip and the park tools > cassette tool, I have swapped out my 8 speed cassettes before.) > > Side note: why doesn't Riv sell 7 speed cassettes? > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > > > > > -- > Keep the metal side up and the rubber side down! > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- Keep the metal side up and the rubber side down! -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
