Variable quality Shimano

Has anyone else noticed this?
I recently sent off for a HG70 cassette (quote, as used by 105) and
when I got it back it was cheaply finished, riveted together and
nowhere near as good as the one I got on my RX100 group when I bought
the bike. I'm sure it will work just as well but be aware that there
are inferior quality groupsets out there. It is a shame as most of the
stuff I get mail order off the web is top quailty and very reasonable.
caveat emptor

MartinM wrote:
Has anyone else noticed this?
I recently sent off for a HG70 cassette (quote, as used by 105) and
when I got it back it was cheaply finished, riveted together and
nowhere near as good as the one I got on my RX100 group when I bought
the bike. I'm sure it will work just as well but be aware that there
are inferior quality groupsets out there. It is a shame as most of the
stuff I get mail order off the web is top quailty and very reasonable.
caveat emptor

I have not noticed it but I haven't bought parts for a while, thats not
strictly true, I got a LX cassette recently but I didn't really know what to
exepct from this range.

What did you expect ? Loose sprockets ? It what way do you consider the
finish cheap ? I am interested as I will be buying some cassettes soon.


--
The Reply & From email addresses are checked rarely.
http://www.mseries.freeserve.co.uk

I don't wish to divulge the supplier as I have had good service from
them and am treating this as a one-off, it's just that I expected
screw together not riveted cassette, not that I'm going to take it
apart either. The point I was making is that there are obviously
budget components which are made up and probably fitted to mass market
complete bikes (how else can they do them at the price, and some of
these are finding their way into the components market. Next time I
will pay a bit more and buy one from a shop where I can see it before
I buy.

Might be worth contacting them - if they're any good they'll send you a screwed
together one out without any hassle.

In message , MartinM
writes

I don't wish to divulge the supplier as I have had good service from
them and am treating this as a one-off, it's just that I expected
screw together not riveted cassette, not that I'm going to take it
apart either. The point I was making is that there are obviously
budget components which are made up and probably fitted to mass market
complete bikes (how else can they do them at the price, and some of
these are finding their way into the components market. Next time I
will pay a bit more and buy one from a shop where I can see it before
I buy.

If it's the screw together part you're specifically after then AFAIK
you'll be disappointed with any Shimano. They all are riveted, the
higher end ones having the larger cogs attached to an aluminium carriage
to save weight. Shimano to my (admittedly rather shaky now) knowledge
don't make a screwed together cassette and have not done for some years.
(Or at least one that has to be filed a bit to dissemble) I think SRAM's
ones are riveted too. The only one I can think of that is (apart from
Campy, who I don't know either way and are probably the wrong spacing
for your Shimano kit anyway) is TA, which are just separate cogs and
spacers, and don't use either bolts or rivets. TA however are pricey,
wear fairly rapidly and not recommended for heavy riders, being ultra
light aluminium kit.

The HG70 is fitted to many bikes, and is the same retail as OEM. It's a
good piece of workhorse kit and I've fitted many to bikes, including my
own, with nary a complaint. It is however a mid range component and is
priced as such. If you want no-frills Shimano shifting and aren't
terribly bothered about weight then I'd personally recommend them!

I have to ask, why does it need to be screwed together, when Shimano
don't sell the cogs separately anymore?

--
Thomas Letherby

Thomas Letherby wrote in message
snip
I have to ask, why does it need to be screwed together, when Shimano
don't sell the cogs separately anymore?

It doesn't, maybe the others I have are older, so were screwed
together. They were also milled which the new one isn't, but if they
are all like that now that is ok. I have noticed that botom end
Shimano components have been getting more cheaply made over the years
, and I have been informed that it is due to the strong Yen (compare
Sora to RSX, much more plastic and steel on Sora and they are both
bottom end road groups I thought, same with Deore which used to be top
end).
Is Campag bottom end any better? (I remember the first Halfords all
Campag bike for the 94 Tour, that was pretty low end as I remember)
I will have to dig deep and go for 105 in future.

"Thomas Letherby" wrote in message
...


Who told you it was 105?

I'm ready to stand corrected

Not a definitive answer I know but I've just bought an HG70 chain which says
"105 7/8 speed" on the packaging. Maybe some older 105 bits are now marketed
as HG70?

tony R.

"MartinM" wrote in message
om...


I don't wish to divulge the supplier as I have had good service from
them and am treating this as a one-off, it's just that I expected
screw together not riveted cassette, not that I'm going to take it
apart either. The point I was making is that there are obviously
budget components which are made up and probably fitted to mass market
complete bikes (how else can they do them at the price, and some of
these are finding their way into the components market. Next time I
will pay a bit more and buy one from a shop where I can see it before
I buy.

I'd check that your supplier has sent the right cassette. I've just received
an HG70 7-speed cassette (from Edinburgh Bicycle Coop - excellent service, I
can recommend them) and it is definitely screwed together. It has three
bolts that a 4mm socket bit fits. Indeed the Shimano service instructions
enclosed with the cassette clearly shows this should be so whilst stating
that the HG50 cassette has the first 5 sprockets riveted together. Maybe
you've got an HG50?

hope this helps,

tony R.

MartinM wrote:
I have noticed that botom end
Shimano components have been getting more cheaply made over the years
, and I have been informed that it is due to the strong Yen (compare
Sora to RSX, much more plastic and steel on Sora and they are both
bottom end road groups I thought, same with Deore which used to be top
end).

There's long been Deore LX and Deore XT above plain Deore.

Is Campag bottom end any better?

It looks better made to me but Xenon seems to be competing with Sora with
its special shifters and and steel chainrings. It does contain a bit of
plastic but Campag's plastic is nice plastic! Xenon has the edge in that
it's 9-speed and the mechs are particularly good value. Mirage or Veloce
is a good place to start for the rest.

With a lot of low and mid range Campag, you actually get stuff which is
remarkably similar to the top groups for a fraction of the price (see the
designs and part numbers in Campag's online Spare Parts section). There's
more substantial difference between the Shimano groups.

~PB

"tony R" wrote in message ...
"Thomas Letherby" wrote in message
...


Who told you it was 105?

I'm ready to stand corrected

Not a definitive answer I know but I've just bought an HG70 chain which says
"105 7/8 speed" on the packaging. Maybe some older 105 bits are now marketed
as HG70?

tony R.

As long as rivets are the only difference I'll live with it as long as it works.

Thanks

"Pete Biggs" wrote in message ...
MartinM wrote:
I have noticed that botom end
Shimano components have been getting more cheaply made over the years
, and I have been informed that it is due to the strong Yen (compare
Sora to RSX, much more plastic and steel on Sora and they are both
bottom end road groups I thought, same with Deore which used to be top
end).

There's long been Deore LX and Deore XT above plain Deore.

Is Campag bottom end any better?

It looks better made to me but Xenon seems to be competing with Sora with
its special shifters and and steel chainrings. It does contain a bit of
plastic but Campag's plastic is nice plastic! Xenon has the edge in that
it's 9-speed and the mechs are particularly good value. Mirage or Veloce
is a good place to start for the rest.

I saw a Bianchi in Evans today with Xenon, not as nice as Sora IMHO,
but then I'm not a Campag user. I don't think they use plastic to save
money paticularly, just omit alloy to make the higher up groups look
better perhaps.
Is it my imagination or are there now more ranges per manufacturer?