An 11/48 is one heck of a big gear, 118 gi. It's actually a touch bigger than a 52/12. Do you really need such a big gear. My 44/11 yields 108 gi, the same as a 52/13. I find gi much over 100 have limited use. At the other end a 24/28 yields a very very small gear of 23 gi. Using such a wide ratios of gears then requires an extra long cage which will always give less precise shifts with a greater chance at slipping. I run a double with 44/11 at the top and 30/28 at the bottom. This gives me a range of 108 to 29 With that I run the new short cage Shimano derailler which is designed specifically for an 11 tooth cog and that wide a range. The shifting is superb. On my touring bike I run a 48/34/26 along with a 12/27 which gives me a too high 108 and a 26 at the bottom and get very reliable shifting with an old Centaur medium cage. I'm sure I would be just as happy with a 46/36/28.
It is true that the good Shimano HG do not give any sound to announce a shift, but the shape is so successful that virtually every shift is dead on, even when I run across the entire cassette. Yesterday I rode a very hilly 35 miles which required a lot of shifting and a lot of double shifts. Not one of them missed its mark. As I said in my earlier post the only time I have had trouble was with the low end Sram cassette & chain that Riv sells. After about 300 miles I just tossed them out and returned to an HG cassette and Conex chain. Michael On Oct 3, 4:31 pm, Justin August <justinaug...@gmail.com> wrote: > So it's time to get a new cassette for the Bleriot and I'm in a bit of > a quandary. Last time I tried friction shifting something was just > off. It wouldn't hold a gear when I started cranking on the bike going > up hills or on the flats. Slipping gears drive me bonkers so I dropped > it and went indexed. > > However, I recently moved the 700c wheels from my SOMA Double Cross > (which the Bleriot replaced) to the Lady's bike. I grabbed an 8 speed > cassette from Firehouse bikes and she's been shifting with absolutely > 0 problems with her Suntour power ratchet thumbies. > > Since it's time to get a new cassette and I wouldn't mind spending the > scrilla on some Silvers - should I be worried about friction shifting > across an 8 speed cassette still? I I would probably roll with an > 11-28 or 11-30 cassette with 48x36x24 in the front. Last time I was > using a 9 speed cassette with a single ring up front and I think that > could have been the problem. > > Am I being ridiculous and just order up? > > -Justin -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
