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.

--
Dane Buson -
"The young always have the same problem how to rebel and
conform at the same time. They have now solved this by
defying their parents and copying one another." -Quentin Crisp