On Tue, 12 Jun 2007 12:25:43 -0700, Dane Buson wrote:

Matt O'Toole wrote:

The shiny ones look nicer but that's about it. Supposedly the chrome
plated cassettes last longer, but that hasn't been my experience. I get
the same mileage from a $15 house brand cassette that I do from an XT.

My experience with the Nashbar cassettes was much worse. They turned to
cheese and started skipping after 1000 miles. This was with new
chainrings and chain. I tried again with another one and had the same
experience.

Shimano cassettes do shift smoother, but even this is an aesthetic
issue more than a functional one.

The shifting was maybe a touch worse. Really not bad. The wear life
sucked though.

I switched to the SRAM 11-26 cassettes and have been much happier. $30
from aebike.

I should clarify that the Nashbar cassettes I've used were 7sp, which have
thicker cogs. Also that was a few years ago.

Now I'm riding an 8sp mountain bike and a 9sp road bike, each with Shimano
cassettes purchased for less than half price on eBay, and Nashbar/KMC
chains.

If you're leery of generic cassettes, the cheaper Shimano ones are still a
lot less expensive than the Ultegra/XT, and just as good.

Matt O.