Cassettes Are Not Eco-Friendly

James

I like to bicycle commute. I do it for health and enjoyment first.
Positive "green" effects on the environment are side benefits but it's
not a primary motivation. I support the green concept, I'm just not
hard-core about it. I still own cars.

Cassettes really bug me. Invariably I wear out one, maybe two cogs,
which leads to cassette replacement. It bugs me to throw away a
cassette that still has 8 perfectly good cogs on it.

Instead of cassettes, why can't Shimano and Campy come out with 9- and
10-speed gearsets that have no cassette. Just a set of 10 cogs and
spacers. Just stack 'em up on the hub. That way, when your one or two
favorite cogs wear out, just replace the worn ones and keep the unworn
ones.

Cycling has a great image of being an eco-friendly sport. I think
coming out with fully replaceable cogsets would help improve the image
more.

Ben C

On 2008-06-22, James <wimpyVO2max@gmail.com> wrote:
> I like to bicycle commute. I do it for health and enjoyment first.
> Positive "green" effects on the environment are side benefits but it's
> not a primary motivation. I support the green concept, I'm just not
> hard-core about it. I still own cars.
>
> Cassettes really bug me. Invariably I wear out one, maybe two cogs,
> which leads to cassette replacement. It bugs me to throw away a
> cassette that still has 8 perfectly good cogs on it.

If you're using 9 speed cassettes and throwing them away with 8 good
cogs on them perhaps you should consider a single-speed next time

> Instead of cassettes, why can't Shimano and Campy come out with 9- and
> 10-speed gearsets that have no cassette. Just a set of 10 cogs and
> spacers. Just stack 'em up on the hub.

Campag cassettes are like that-- the only thing holding the sprockets
together when you buy a new one is a bit of plastic and a rubber band.

> That way, when your one or two
> favorite cogs wear out, just replace the worn ones and keep the unworn
> ones.

You probably can buy Campag sprockets separately.

> Cycling has a great image of being an eco-friendly sport. I think
> coming out with fully replaceable cogsets would help improve the image
> more.

I'm not sure if the popular image of cycling extends to understanding
the details of how cassettes are put together.

You could always recycle your old cassettes-- after all they're probably
made of steel, which can be melted down.

landotter

On Jun 22, 3:10*pm, James <wimpyVO2...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Cycling has a great image of being an eco-friendly sport. I think
> coming out with fully replaceable cogsets would help improve the image
> more.

No it wouldn't.

I just googled your "problem" and can't really find anyone else that
shares the same outrage. It's just a little steel--if it really bugs
you, just drop them off at the local recycling center. Geez.

jim beam

landotter wrote:
> On Jun 22, 3:10�pm, James <wimpyVO2...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Cycling has a great image of being an eco-friendly sport. I think
>> coming out with fully replaceable cogsets would help improve the image
>> more.
>
> No it wouldn't.
>
> I just googled your "problem" and can't really find anyone else that
> shares the same outrage. It's just a little steel--if it really bugs
> you, just drop them off at the local recycling center. Geez.
>

or change to hub gearing. that would facilitate a full chain guard
then, lower chain wear, and thus even greater eco-friendliness.
[provided you don't factor the engine's food energy into the equation.]

jim beam

Ben C wrote:
> On 2008-06-22, James <wimpyVO2max@gmail.com> wrote:
>> I like to bicycle commute. I do it for health and enjoyment first.
>> Positive "green" effects on the environment are side benefits but it's
>> not a primary motivation. I support the green concept, I'm just not
>> hard-core about it. I still own cars.
>>
>> Cassettes really bug me. Invariably I wear out one, maybe two cogs,
>> which leads to cassette replacement. It bugs me to throw away a
>> cassette that still has 8 perfectly good cogs on it.
>
> If you're using 9 speed cassettes and throwing them away with 8 good
> cogs on them perhaps you should consider a single-speed next time
>
>> Instead of cassettes, why can't Shimano and Campy come out with 9- and
>> 10-speed gearsets that have no cassette. Just a set of 10 cogs and
>> spacers. Just stack 'em up on the hub.
>
> Campag cassettes are like that-- the only thing holding the sprockets
> together when you buy a new one is a bit of plastic and a rubber band.
>
>> That way, when your one or two
>> favorite cogs wear out, just replace the worn ones and keep the unworn
>> ones.
>
> You probably can buy Campag sprockets separately.
>
>> Cycling has a great image of being an eco-friendly sport. I think
>> coming out with fully replaceable cogsets would help improve the image
>> more.
>
> I'm not sure if the popular image of cycling extends to understanding
> the details of how cassettes are put together.
>
> You could always recycle your old cassettes-- after all they're probably
> made of steel, which can be melted down.

indeed. steel has about the highest post-consumer recycling rate out there.

http://www.worldsteel.org/?action=newsdetail&id=231

David L. Johnson

Ben C wrote:

>> Cassettes really bug me. Invariably I wear out one, maybe two cogs,
>> which leads to cassette replacement. It bugs me to throw away a
>> cassette that still has 8 perfectly good cogs on it.
>
> If you're using 9 speed cassettes and throwing them away with 8 good
> cogs on them perhaps you should consider a single-speed next time

Reasonable-sounding point, but most riders do have their favorite
ratios, and will usually wear out one or two sprockets before the others
have appreciable wear.
>
>> Instead of cassettes, why can't Shimano and Campy come out with 9- and
>> 10-speed gearsets that have no cassette. Just a set of 10 cogs and
>> spacers. Just stack 'em up on the hub.
>
That's what they used to do, and some still do. Cheaper Campy cassettes
are available with loose sprockets, and I use them to mix-and-match the
gears I want. But I always wear out the 21 first.

> Campag cassettes are like that-- the only thing holding the sprockets
> together when you buy a new one is a bit of plastic and a rubber band.

Not all of them. Some higher-end Campy cassettes are riveted, with the
largest several sprockets together on a carrier to save weight.

> You probably can buy Campag sprockets separately.

At a cost. The cost is high enough that replacing a couple sprockets is
no cheaper than replacing the whole thing. And, do recycle.

--

David L. Johnson

As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not
certain, and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality.
-- Albert Einstein

Tom Kunich

"David L. Johnson" <david.johnson@lehigh.edu> wrote in message
news:HpednQ5vav8KW8PVnZ2dnUVZ_u-dnZ2d@ptd.net...
> Ben C wrote:
>> You probably can buy Campag sprockets separately.
>
> At a cost. The cost is high enough that replacing a couple sprockets is
> no cheaper than replacing the whole thing. And, do recycle.

That has been my experience.

John Henderson

James wrote:

> I like to bicycle commute. I do it for health and enjoyment
> first. Positive "green" effects on the environment are side
> benefits but it's not a primary motivation. I support the
> green concept, I'm just not hard-core about it. I still own
> cars.
>
> Cassettes really bug me. Invariably I wear out one, maybe two
> cogs, which leads to cassette replacement. It bugs me to throw
> away a cassette that still has 8 perfectly good cogs on it.
>
> Instead of cassettes, why can't Shimano and Campy come out
> with 9- and 10-speed gearsets that have no cassette. Just a
> set of 10 cogs and spacers. Just stack 'em up on the hub. That
> way, when your one or two favorite cogs wear out, just replace
> the worn ones and keep the unworn ones.
>
> Cycling has a great image of being an eco-friendly sport. I
> think coming out with fully replaceable cogsets would help
> improve the image more.

I can and do buy and replace individual sprockets (and spacers).
Suppliers include:

http://smartbikeparts.com/search.ph...+Cogs&man=Miche

http://www.xxcycle.com/pignon-sproc...osition,,en.php

http://clemenzo.com/index.php/conte.../24/44/lang,en/

Info on how to do it:

http://sheldonbrown.com/k7.html

John

Werehatrack

On Sun, 22 Jun 2008 13:10:26 -0700 (PDT), James
<wimpyVO2max@gmail.com> may have said:

>I like to bicycle commute. I do it for health and enjoyment first.
>Positive "green" effects on the environment are side benefits but it's
>not a primary motivation. I support the green concept, I'm just not
>hard-core about it. I still own cars.
>
>Cassettes really bug me. Invariably I wear out one, maybe two cogs,
>which leads to cassette replacement. It bugs me to throw away a
>cassette that still has 8 perfectly good cogs on it.
>
>Instead of cassettes, why can't Shimano and Campy come out with 9- and
>10-speed gearsets that have no cassette. Just a set of 10 cogs and
>spacers. Just stack 'em up on the hub. That way, when your one or two
>favorite cogs wear out, just replace the worn ones and keep the unworn
>ones.
>
>Cycling has a great image of being an eco-friendly sport. I think
>coming out with fully replaceable cogsets would help improve the image
>more.

They'll tell you that the designs of the individual sprockets in each
cassette are optimized for the cassette in which they are installed.
This is true, but the real reason that they don't sell loose sprockets
is profit; it takes precisely as much operational overhead to ship a
$9 single sprocket as a $40 cassette, and they make a *lot* more from
the cassette.

There have been sources from which individual sprockets could be
obtained at times, but the supply has always been spotty...and many of
the new cassettes can't be disassembled to replace a single sprocket
in any event.

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.
Typoes are not a bug, they're a feature.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

phs123@gmail.com

On 22 Jun., 22:10, James <wimpyVO2...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Cassettes really bug me. Invariably I wear out one, maybe two cogs,
> which leads to cassette replacement. It bugs me to throw away a
> cassette that still has 8 perfectly good cogs on it.

Well, both Shimano and Campagnolo actually sell individual sprockets
as spare parts.
Look at their technical documentation, note the spare part number,
order the spare part from any certified Campagnolo or Shimano dealer.
This is how it should work, at least in theory.
Few online dealers sells Shimano or Campagnolo spare parts, and fewer
seems to have individual sprockets. In the EU I only know of www.rose.de
who carries such spare parts.

--
Regards

Tom Kunich

<phs123@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:5d83c30f-cb79-4e65-a98d-2be181a117a5@p25g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
>
> Well, both Shimano and Campagnolo actually sell individual sprockets
> as spare parts.

Well, they list them. Usually you can get Campy. Usually you can't get
Shimano.

Carl Sundquist

<phs123@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:5d83c30f-cb79-4e65-a98d-2be181a117a5@p25g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
> On 22 Jun., 22:10, James <wimpyVO2...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Cassettes really bug me. Invariably I wear out one, maybe two cogs,
>> which leads to cassette replacement. It bugs me to throw away a
>> cassette that still has 8 perfectly good cogs on it.
>
> Well, both Shimano and Campagnolo actually sell individual sprockets
> as spare parts.
> Look at their technical documentation, note the spare part number,
> order the spare part from any certified Campagnolo or Shimano dealer.
> This is how it should work, at least in theory.
> Few online dealers sells Shimano or Campagnolo spare parts, and fewer
> seems to have individual sprockets. In the EU I only know of www.rose.de
> who carries such spare parts.
>
> --
> Regards

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RicodJour

On Jun 22, 11:10 pm, "Carl Sundquist" <carl...@cox.net> wrote:
>
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>
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>
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Morten Reippuert Knudsen

On 2008-06-22 22:10:26 +0200, James <wimpyVO2max@gmail.com> said:

> Instead of cassettes, why can't Shimano and Campy come out with 9- and
> 10-speed gearsets that have no cassette. Just a set of 10 cogs and
> spacers. Just stack 'em up on the hub. That way, when your one or two
> favorite cogs wear out, just replace the worn ones and keep the unworn
> ones.

weight. Mirage casettes are have individual cogs.

Otherwise there are http://www.marchisioengineering.eu/

--
mvh. Morten Reippuert Knudsen

"Besides, if you can't get a decent kernal panic
or two in a month, what's the point of living?"