Road bike has an 8sp cassette, with a very silly close set of ratios… (and huge chain ring)

… and it is quite hilly where I live

IIRC it was the 8sp to 9sp upgrade that required a new rear wheel with a wider freehub body???

So, presumably, my options are lump it, or maybe fit an old 8sp mtb cassette?

If it’s Shimano then 8 & 9 spd use the same freehub body.

a compact chainset will be a cheaper change than switching from 8 to 9 speed. And iirc you’d need a new chainset for 9 speed anyway.

Thinking about it, even without a new wheel, 8 to 9 would need too much new kit – cassette, chainset, sti levers etc

(excuse for new bike 😉 )

Might see if I have a spare 8sp mtb cassette and see if that fits.

The alternative – get used to honking the bike up the steep local climbs

Wouldn’t bother with 9 speed as it’s now just about obsolete, and it would be far more cost effective changing to 10 speed now than 9.

If you were looking at changing to 9 speed, you would need new shifters, cassette, crank, chain and mechs; even if just going for a compact crank which may or may not give you an easier ride will be around the third the cost of a 4600 Tiagra groupset

If you currently have 8 speed and want to stick with it, why not just get a wider ratio cassette + chain, if you have Shimano, there are lots of options from Shimano, SRAM, BBB ad others with ratios like 13-26 or 11-28 which give loads of range, if you have Campagnolo, the options are much more limited with only Campag and 13-26.

Just been in this situation myself. Bought a cheap 8 speed MTB cassette and chain off t’interweb. Worked OK except that even with B screw reversed the road mech wasn’t quite able to cope with 32T rear. So – birthday gift from deal old mum was a cheap 8/9 speed MTB rear mech to fix once and for all. Think it was 50 quid all in for chain, cassette and mech but all quite low grade stuff.

You may manage with your existing mech so could be cheaper…

Look at one of these SRAM 11-28 cassettes if you have a Shimano freehub.
Your road mech will run to 28T easily.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=6388
Get the cheapest 8 or 9 speed (yes, it works) chain you fancy and ride it.
Guessing you will need a new chain as it should be cut to fit the close-ratio cassette in place.

PaulD

If you have a road rear mech, just be aware that it might not have enough capacity to change a large ratio (mtb) cassette.

A compact chainset (50/34) would be the cheapest option but again you’ll probably have to change the bottom bracket.

As said, if you change everything, go 10 speed rather than 9, it’ll all still fit. Won’t need a rear mech, will need STI, cassette, chain.

This is worth a read:

http://sheldonbrown.com/deakins/lowgears.html

I think its 11-22 and 53-33 at the moment.

Chainset is a very nice Campag Athena which suits the look of the bike. Rear end and shifters etc are all Shimano 105

I changed our Saturday lad’s bike over from 8 to 9 speed with just a RH shifer, chain and cassette. It works perfectly, although it was a decent chainset in the first place.. [EDIT] – yours should be OK
Shimano 8spd road cassettes are available up to 26t without changing your rear mech though. Would that be enough?

11-22

gosh, that is high.

53-33 sounds a bit of an odd combo – it’s a hell of a jump.

Wouldn’t bother with 9 speed as it’s now just about obsolete, and it would be far more cost effective changing to 11[/i] speed now than 9.

FTFY

DA is 11 speed next model year
Ultegra is due a re-vamp next year
I reckon they’ll make ultegra 11 speed, and make the Di2 more on a par with the outgoing DA Di2, then take the ultegra Di2 bits (which were off the shelf motors/servos) and make a 105 Di2.

I’d just get a 12-27, or whatever the 8 speed equivalent is, cassette.

Yes, it is a big jump, but the rear ratios are quite close.

The bike was built 15+ years ago, when I was living in Exeter. Most of my rides were long flat sections in the Exe valley with shorter steeper links across into adjacent valleys (eg Exeter – Bickleigh – Crediton – Exeter) IIRC the thinking was to have high ratios for the valley sections and then quite a lot lower chainring for the steeper bits. It was an off the shelf chainset though…

Re the cassette, might have lost count on the big sprocket – might be a 24 😉

I think its 11-22 and 53-33 at the moment.

Both of those are pretty unusual, if it’s a Shimano block it’ll be a 21 or 23, cranks more likely to be 53/39 or something.

Cheap solution is 12-27 block as said, or 11-32 block with a new rear mech.

While you should be able to get a 9 speed cassette on the freehub body without issue, 9 speed STis are still relatively pricey…

TBH theres still plenty of choice about for 8 speed cassettes, an 11-28 MTB cassette might suit your needs a bit more top range and should be within the stretch of a short cage mech.

But stick to Shimano Cassettes as SRAM are toss (IMO of course)…

HG50/HG51 11-28, 8 spd should be about £20 or so…

Edit:

I use a 12-25 8 speed road cassette on my DH bike.

and a 12-25 (9 speed) with a 50/34 on my Road bike…

12-25 seems to be pretty standard these days…

and a 12-27 is available too

12-21 is a pretty narrow range for most people, especially with a non-compact chainset…

If it is Athena it will probably be 53/39, first you can’t fit a smaller inner ring than a 39 on the 135bcd, and secondly athena was never released as a compact until they reintroduced it as a 11spd groupo.

If it is Athena it will probably be 53/39, first you can’t fit a smaller inner ring than a 39 on the 135bcd, and secondly athena was never released as a compact until they reintroduced it as a 11spd groupo.

I stand corrected – it is Athena 53/39. The stamped “39” on the inner ring was a bit manky and I misread as 33 😳

If it is Athena it will probably be 53/39, first you can’t fit a smaller inner ring than a 39 on the 135bcd, and secondly athena was never released as a compact until they reintroduced it as a 11spd groupo.

I stand corrected – it is Athena 53/39. The stamped “39” on the inner ring was a bit manky and I misread as 33 😳

The rear block is different than I remembered as well. 13-23

So my lowest climbing ratio is even higher than I previously thought 😯

compact tiagra chainset about 53 quid @ merlin cycles, silly money (would need a HT2 BB though)

http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/road-parts/transmission/chainsets-road/shimano-tiagra-9-speed-compact-chainset.html?utm_source=Homepage&utm_medium=Banner&utm_campaign=HomepageBanners&utm_term=ShimanoSale

Looks like a Shimano HG50 12-25 or SRAM PG850 12-26.

Cheap as chips on CRC as well 😀

That was supposed to read 35 quid, not 53….

That is a steal, would give you a 34t inner ring. Superstar BB and you’re done for barely any more than a cassette. Flog your Athena stuff too to recoup some of the cost.

Gone for a 12-25 HG cassette. £17 on CRC. Should give me a bit more room at both nds of the range, of course, a the cos of slightly bigger gaps.

The Athena chain set is very much part of th look of the bike, so wouldn’t want to change…
The new cassette is cheap enough to give a try. Can alway swap back!

Thanks for all the suggestions

If you need ideas or help , try Spa Cycles Harrogate, dunno if you are near them or not. Web site shows all types of chainrings and oddball sprockets, pretty helpful guys too.