Howdy y’all!
I’v been debating on removing my big ass cassette in the rear, it’s a 11-48 10-speed Microshift Advent. I’m finding myself only using 4 gears max, shed some weight and would like to just put 3 closely sized cogs with spacer back there.
I grew up on BMX bikes so derailleurs and dialing gears aren’t my specialty to will take this one in to the bike shop.
Anything I should be aware of doing this? I’m assuming the derailleur will have to be ‘limited’ in movement, besides that not sure 🤔
Thank you!
by Miserable_Advance_79
20 Comments
Sounds like more work than it’s worth.
Probably would be difficult to keep your chain on the cassette since you’ll have more speeds in your shifter than on the cassette. Your derailleur stops won’t extend far enough to limit the movement to the gears you do have.
The gains will be negligible, while the compromises will be significant. The weight savings will be in the order of the weight of those bungee cords on the front rack. Just stick to the 3 gears you need. If you are struggling with tuning, watches a few of Parktool’s YouTube videos will be easier than extensive modifications.
The weight saved would not be worth the hassle unless you were exclusively climbing and dropped all your smallest cogs for an Everesting attempt but you wouldn’t do that with this bike anyways.
Should be fine. Don’t think you can pull that cassette apart but you can find one that pulls apart and grab a couple of extra spacers. Your der limits may not limit it enough to work- you may need longer limit screws. I’d set it up so your shifter clicks the first 3 gears. Not worth paying a shop to do imo
It depends on what you are planning to achieve
If the main task is to mess around with parts and get a weird unique build just for the sake of it – sure, why not.
I’m running 3 sp build myself at the moment, but with reverse configuration (3×1).
But my rational part says you might just replace your cassette to a road one with close range, maybe with fewer gears like 8-9sp. Weight saving from the removal of half of cogs will not be noticeable in any way
If you do insist on having 3 cogs in the rear, then you’ll need a lot of spacers, which you can get from old cassettes or order from a shop online. As for the shifter, going with a friction one would be easier, IMO, but keeping the old one is still an option, just needs to be set in a way, where only gears work, while the rest is just releasing cable with no load.
To bad you don’t have horizontal dropouts, that would be a perfect use case for an internal gear hub.
You may be able to do it with a chain tensioner.
No weight savings, but it would reduce your maintenance since the bike functions more like a single speed.
Ah yeah sounds more like a hassle than anything, not a bad suggestion the 8spd cassette also.
I’d personally swap out your current cassette to a close ratio road cassette. Yes you’ll still have the same amount of gears you currently have but there’ll be less gap between the ratios, so you know how you wish you’d got that elusive gear in between third and fourth or whatever it is, well, hey presto it’s there now.
You could go with another 10 speed cassette with less range and use a smaller derailleur and a slightly shorter chain if you really don’t need the range and want less weight. A 10 speed 11-28 cassette might shave 100 grams. Then a short cage derailleur and less chain would shave a few more.
I would agree with the general sentiment here that the juice may not be worth the squeeze. Especially if you want to sell this at some point in the future as a practical build for the general public
You know you don’t have to shift into all the cogs, right? Leave it alone, the weight difference will not be noticeable.
Are you using your three highest gears? If so, just get a larger chainring.
How much does this thing weigh currently? I know those frame and wheelsets are not light…
You know what you’re asking for is a goofy thing when so many people hop on the thread to say: pourquoi mon frère?
What is the intended use of the bike? If just about town, slap an internally geared hub on there. It’s not a tremendous amount of work to limit a ten to a three, but it’s a strange request. It would make more sense to go friction if you want basically zero maintenance shifting. Can either do bar ends or gevenalle makes one that slaps a thumbie onto a road bike lever. Soooo many other options depending on what you’re preference is
This is just a new level of insanity. A decent amount of work, some $$ spent, for absolutely no advantage.
I was thinking that you guys were just indiscriminately dismantling old mountain bikes without giving it much thought. I’m genuinely relieved to discover that you actually maintain some standards and take personal preferences into account when it comes to bikes. It’s comforting to know that there’s a thoughtful process behind it all. Here I was almost making a huge mistake as to remove my dinner plate sized cassette. Thanks y’all!
Concert it to single speed.
Well, it depends on which 3 you use; if you use the dinner plate sized one, the one in the middle, and the tiny one, then I’d suggest against it- the other cogs make it possible to shift between those 3; that’s kinda what they’re for.
If you mean 3 cogs right next to each other, well then…. That’s an idea worth trying.
Oddly, Surly’s single speed cogs have a built in spacer which means you can stack them up to make a 3 or 4 speed- they’re spaced for 9 speed chain if I remember right. Could be worth trying with a friction shifter of some kind for giggles, though they’re kinda expensive.
A good ol case of over analyzing. I do it far too often too. You’re fine just ride it as is and enjoy.
Don’t do it.
What’s the pattern on your leather saddle? That’s way more of a story I must know
You are an Alfine person