Cassettes

Road Cassette Buying Guide

Your cassette determines your gear range and the gaps between shifts. Getting the right speed count, range, and freehub compatibility is essential.

Speed Count & Compatibility

8/9/10-speed cassettes fit standard Shimano/SRAM HG freehubs. 11-speed Shimano needs HG with a 1.85mm spacer (or an 11-speed road freehub). SRAM 12-speed XDR uses its own freehub standard. Campagnolo has always used its own freehub body. You can't mix — a SRAM cassette won't fit a Campagnolo freehub.

Gear Range

11-25T or 11-28T for flat racing and fast group rides. 11-30T or 11-32T for hilly sportives and mixed terrain. 11-34T for steep climbs or lower fitness. The wider the range, the bigger the jumps between gears — a trade-off between climbing ability and smooth cadence changes.

Materials & Weight

Steel cassettes (Shimano 105, SRAM Rival) weigh 250-300g and last 5,000+ miles. Titanium sprocket cassettes (Ultegra, SRAM Force) save 40-60g. Full titanium (Recon, KCNC) drops to 150g but wears faster and costs significantly more.

Wear & Replacement

A worn cassette skips under power, especially on the smaller sprockets you use most. Replace your cassette when you replace your chain — running a new chain on worn sprockets accelerates wear on both. A chain checker tool tells you when it's time: 0.75% stretch on 11/12-speed, 1.0% on 8/9/10-speed.