The cage of a rear derailleur is designed for a certain range of gears. For example, Shimano’s outgoing Dura-Ace R9100-SS rear derailleur is designed for use up to an 11-30 cassette. If you wanted to use an 11-34 cassette, as well as buying the relevant cassette, you would need to buy a compatible rear derailleur. In this example, it would be an Ultegra R8050-GS or 105 R7000-GS rear derailleur. The GS denotes that these are ‘medium cage’ derailleurs. The same rule applies to Shimano Di2 derailleurs. Grayed-out rows in the table below indicate cassettes not listed in the 2015 new-products listing or 2016-2017 catalog. SunRace appears at this time to be specializing in MTB cassettes, at least among the 10-speeds. Grayed-out rows in the table below indicate cassettes which were listed in the 2011 catalog but are no longer listed in the 2016 catalog.

However, as groupset manufacturers have jumped onto the gravel bandwagon, there are now gravel-specific gearing options available on the market. Unless you’re running a triple crankset, it’s unlikely you’ll want to use a road bike cassette on a mountain bike. Dave Caudery / Immediate Media You may be on a racing team which needs to have all the bicycles equipped the same, for easy parts interchangeability and to match pedaling cadences.

The AirBike UK 10 Speed Cassette 11-32T is an exceptional and economical alternative to mainstream brands, specifically designed to meet the needs of cyclists looking to repair or upgrade their bike. This high-quality cassette is compatible with both Shimano Cassette 10 Speed and 10 Speed Shimano Cassette systems, as well as Sram. If you are still using a triple crankset, you may have sufficient overall range with a road cassette, but this is a fairly specialist application these days.

You need to ensure you’re using a compatible rear derailleur if you’re using the 10-52 option, because the previous-generation Eagle mechanical rear derailleur’s cage is slightly too short. For mountain bikes, 12-speed cassettes are largely the default for higher-spec groupsets, paired with a single-ring chainset. Although it might seem straightforward, there’s a lot of engineering that goes into a bike cassette. Where an 11-28 cassette would have once been considered a large training cassette, it now sits at the lower end of the typical range for road. Simon Bromley / Immediate Media There are new rear derailleurs on the market that are identifiable as being compatible because they have a ‘520% range’ graphic printed on the derailleur cage. SRAM Eagle AXS rear derailleurs are compatible with the new 10-52 cassettes.Campagnolo 12-speed rear derailleurs can accept up to an 11-32. The only exception is Campagnolo Chorus, which can take up to an 11-34. Shimano wants you to use one of its standard combinations, and offers a wide-enough choice to suit the needs of most cyclists, but you don't have to if you don't want to! Well, the smallest cog is a 10-tooth, and the largest cog is 52-tooth, which is 520 per cent larger than the 10-tooth cog, thus giving a 520 per cent range. Proudly designed and hand-finished in the UK, the AirBike UK 10 Speed Cassette 11-32T boasts Hyperglide-style shift ramps for smooth and efficient gear changes. This versatile cassette is designed to replace Shimano and Sram HG splined hub cassettes, fitting MTB, Road, Hybrid and Mountain bikes with ease. Finance is subject to application, financial circumstances and borrowing history. Performance Cycling Limited FRN: 720557 trading as Tredz are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. We are a credit broker not a lender – credit is subject to status and affordability and is provided by Mitsubishi HC Capital UK PLC. Terms & Conditions Apply.

The most common system is the Shimano 11-speed HG-style freehub, which has 9 splines. Most Shimano groupsets up to the 11-speed era used this style of freehub. SRAM groupsets prior to the current generation of 12-speed groupsets also used the same freehub design, although there are a handful of exceptions with the larger cassette ratios on their 1×11 groupsets. As of this writing, Harris Cyclery does not sell IRD cassettes, but they are included here for the sake of completeness -- John Allen.SRAM’s eTap AXS XPLR groupsets are designed specifically for gravel riding. SRAM XPLR cassettes have a range of 10-44 and require their own compatible rear derailleur. It is also possible to mix and match drop bar shifters with mountain bike Eagle eTap AXS components if you want an especially wide-range 1x build. SRAM dubs this a ‘mullet’ setup. If you are specifically using a Shimano HG freehub, you need to consider how wide the cassette you are buying is. Road wheels have slightly wider freehubs than MTB ones – by 1.85mm – and 11-speed Shimano HG road cassettes are slightly wider than 8- or 9-speed ones, again by 1.85mm.

IRD has many combinations that are different from Shimano's. Some combinations are rather nice, and others have some uneven steps.SRAM uses some of the same series identifiers for both "road" and "MTB" cassettes. So, if you see a cassette in the list below but don't find it in SRAM's Road listing, look in the MTB listing.