What Size Cassette 11-32 or 11-34? Whats the difference?

Hi guys I need to buy a new cassette and was wondering what to go for and also the difference between 11-32 or 11-34.

All help appreciated thanks.

2.
hth

This is a trick question – right?

Just in case the 11-34 will have a slightly lower lowest gear, and some slightly bigger gaps between some of the gears. Top gear will be the same

what have you got already?

depends on your front rings and if you like to climb etc.

assuming you are running a standard triple the 11-34 will give you lower gears (easier to pedal) but you may run out of spin, the 11-32 wont climb quite as well but you will be less likely to run out of gears going down hill.

Nice one sailor just what I needed to hear other than the obvious.

actually the 'runnign out of gears' will happen at the same time with both as they both have 11 teeth at the bottom.

what you'll get is a bigger jump between gears in the middle of the cassette so you may find yourself 'between gears' for your preferred cadence.

Definitely think tims answer is the best so far. The only real difference is that the easiest gear is slightly easier on the 34 and there may be 1 or 2 gears that are slightly further apart ratio-wise. Won't make any damn difference to spinning out downhill as unless you're a complete boob you won't be in any of the other gears if youre spinning out…

I run an 11-34 as it lets me stay in the middle ring longer and has saved me from a few poor gear choices eg trying to get it on the small ring whilst already going up a steep hill 🙂

IME a 34 is a slight liability in the middle ring due to the bigger gaps / steps. Where it wins for me is that I hate (and I mean HATE) having to push steep hills so in the granny ring it keeps me pedalling when others are pushing.

If its too steep for a 34 tooth I'm at risk of toppling over backwards 🙂

That may not be your thing tho???

couldashouldawoulda – Member
IME a 34 is a slight liability in the middle ring due to the bigger gaps / steps

I run my MTB and tourer with an 11-34 and often use the 34 whilst in the middle ring.

Is this not a good thing to do? 🙁

Weight. The Sram PG990 11-32 is 30grams lighter than the 11-34
275g/305g if your into that sort of thing.

going from 11-28 to 11-34 meant that I no longer needed to use my granny ring.

I run my MTB and tourer with an 11-34 and often use the 34 whilst in the middle ring.

Is this not a good thing to do?

My point is that to me the only real benefit is the lowest gear in the granny. The rest of the time I live with the bigger gaps ("liability" may be too strong a term).

ballsofcottonwool – Member
going from 11-28 to 11-34 meant that I no longer needed to use my granny ring.

Agree entirely.

I've still got my granny ring, but rarely use it with the 11-34 cassette.

34-22 enables more effective grovelling up hills. Don't use that option very often myself but it's occasionally nice to have. I prefer the wider range it gives the middle ring.

I used to use a 24 granny ring with a 34 bottom cog all the time in Calderdale, and they got me up climbs I wouldn't have got up in a bigger gear. That said, I tried a Zaskar X back in 2000 round there and there was stuff I could climb on that that I couldn't on any other bike – still not figured out why.

On Sunday, I needed my current 20/32 bottom gear at Afan otherwise I would have been walking. That's a lower gear than 24/34, but had I have had 20/34 I would have been using it. So long as you can maintain traction, there's no such thing as too low a gear IMHO, you'll always find a use for it, especially if you're carrying luggage.

On the road a 34/30 bottom gear suits me fine unless I do have luggage.

Now, where did my 17-tooth Mountain Tamer get to…?

I think typically they are:

11-12-14-16-18-21-24-28-32
11-13-15-17-20-23-26-30-34

Some people find when in (22T) granny ring the 34T sprocket can be just too low*, whereas a 32T is about right as the lowest gear, though it depends on your typical pedal spinning speeds a little
On the really steep stuff a 34T can be the difference between carrying on pedalling and off and walking

*the slower you go, the harder it is not to fall over

My personal preference is a 34T, just in case, though as its sometimes too low and can spit traction as I'll probably be pedalling too fast, end up using the 30T can be a touch too high. All depends on the exact situation as to whether a 11-32 has the 'perfect' gear or 11-34

11-34 will be heavier as 8 of 9 will be bigger than on an 11-32 though

On longer, more constant pedally bits (like the road) the jumps between gears can be more noticable on an 11-34 than an 11-32. Though I think 11-32 can be too overly spread

Isn't there a risk if you swap in a 11-34 to a bike bought with a small cassette that the rear mech may not manage the new range?

Mechs used to come in different sizes – I've not bought one for a few years since I swapped shimano for relatively tough SRAM.

11-34 means I dont need the granny ring for 99% of riding. I dont notice these bigger steps between gears.

Also you can run a short cage mech with a 32.

" I dont notice these bigger steps between gears"
I don't really when properly offroad, probably as you end up changing your pedalling speed/effort over changable up and down terrain. Just more on more constant (fire)road sections

Just fitted a 11-34 (used to have a 11-32) and the first time out in the peaks it got me up two wet/muddy/rocky climbs i have never got up before even when its bone dry

Cant see me going back to a 32 again.

I don't like the gap between the 17T and 20T ratios that the 11-34 cassettes have (it's right in the middle of my usual cadence/speed combination) so find the 11-32 a much nicer option.

On Sunday, I needed my current 20/32 bottom gear at Afan otherwise I would have been walking

Where!? There's nothing particularly steep there!

By the time you're in a 22/34 or similar you have so little momentum that hitting anything will likely cause you to stall, you'll be quicker to get off a walk, and I'll bet you'd find that if you didn't have such a low gear you'd just try a bit harder and still get up everything.

I switched both my cassette and chain rings to take me from a 22/32 + 11-28 setup to 22/36 and 11-30 setup, it’s a good compromise; while you gain some taller gears you still keep a moderately spinney gear at the top in the middle ring and gain a silly spinney one in the granny, I think if I’g gone for a 32 or 34 top end cassette then I’d maybe consider ditching the granny and having a single 32/34T chain ring, but then you’ll possibly lack really spinney climbing gears if and when you need them…

It comes down to knowing what sort of gearing range you are likely to require….

Back to the OP, 2 extra teeth at the top end when used with a standard triple? Almost bugger all net benefit with a 22-34 ratio your legs will be going like a sewing machine to propel you at about half the pace of a gentle stroll, might as well get off and walk, if your going for a single front ring or a higher tooth count double (26/38 or 28/40 for instance) then there are benefits I reckon, that’s the basic theory behind XX…