Wide ratio ebike cassette?

[Cyklefanatic]

I find that with an ebike I am constantly skipping over gears. The boost of the motor provides enough acceleration that even if your cadence is slightly off it only takes a second to get to cadence you can live with, at least for a road/commuter ebike.
Without a motor it’s critical to have lots of closely spaced ratios. However for an ebike I think one granny gear and then 5 tall gears evenly spaced over 500% would cover any riding situation.
So my long winded question is can you buy wide ratio cassettes with only 6 gears?
This would get rid of a lot of shifting, improve chain lines and allow for a wider stronger chain.

 

[PedalUma]

Hi,
Six is very rare these days. Riding a Nexus or Alfine hub will do what you want, but it means lacing the rear wheel with a new hub. You can skip as many gears as you want whilst coasting or at a stop. You will no longer have a derailleur to get bumped or dirty. The gears are internal. Using a nine-speed cassette will give you the greatest range with the strongest chain for derailleur bikes. Most modern MTB shifters will let you move three gears at a time on the down shift. Better cassettes have better ramps for shifting ease.

 

[Cyklefanatic]

Nexus and Alfine have a very narrow ratio spread. Plus they were never designed for the extra torque of a motor specially some of the the new 80-90 nm motors. A Rolhoff can work but again way more gears than necessary for the power of an ebike. And a high cost to match. A simple 6 speed cassette would be cheaper, stronger and last longer with less maintenance.
I am very big on the KISS principle ( keep it simple stupid) in a world heading for let’s make it as complicated as possible!

 

[Alaskan]

Box, a company that thinks outside the box, makes a 9 speed 11-50 tooth cassette on the theory that ebikes really don't need such small increments between gears. They also sell full groupsets with this cassette.

Box Two Prime 9 X-Wide Cassette

The Box Two cassette was where Prime 9 started. Originally conceived as an E-MTB product to deliver long service life and extra range over fewer gears, we quickly grew to enjoy its abilities on unpowered MTBs. All cogs are stamped from steel and subsequently, the larger ones are pinned to alloy...

boxcomponents.com

 

[alphacarina]

Finding a low enough granny gear for off-road trails, coupled with a tall enough top gear for road work is next to impossible to do - It seems like few cassettes are specifically geared for e-Bikes


don

 

[reed scott]

Finding a low enough granny gear for off-road trails, coupled with a tall enough top gear for road work is next to impossible to do - It seems like few cassettes are specifically geared for e-Bikes


don

I've been saying such since before I even owned an ebike. It's just so plainly logical. Bigger better faster fancier rules in the bike world however.

 

[PedalUma]

9 Speed Cassette (11-13-16-20-24-30-36-42-50T) $43 eBay. Is it perfect? Nope. Is it about as good as it gets? Likely. You will get a range of gears and retain a thicker more robust chain, unlike with an eleven-speed, or 12-speed cassette.

 

[Alaskan]

Finding a low enough granny gear for off-road trails, coupled with a tall enough top gear for road work is next to impossible to do - It seems like few cassettes are specifically geared for e-Bikes


don

Don, I guess you are not aware of the Shimano XTR microspline 1-51 tooth cassette that comes in four different quality levels based on weight and marterials. I have this on my Trek Allant+9.9S. It has nearly the same gear range as a Rohloff - 510% versus 525%. The 51 tooth is a total billy goat. I can easily climb up the 17% grade to our house in Spot assist, Turbo not needed. The 10 tooth cog allows me to ride a 26 mph at about 72 rpm, something I can sustain on flat ground for many miles. The prices range from around $100 for theone with 11 steel cogs with the largest being aluminum to $350 for the lightest weight version with 4 steel small cogs, 5 titanium mid range cogs and aluminum on the largest three

The XTR was developed for mountain biking and leapfroged over the Sram Eagle 12, 10-50 (Sram recently relased a 10-52). However I have it on my Allant which is a commuter with no suspension and it truly has both hard climbing and ripping along at high speed covered very nicely.

 

[PedalUma]

The XTR freehub body is quiet coasting. Very smooth. Hunting quiet, spooky quiet. Use the e-11 chain for a high class build. The 10-T cluster can be changed without a new cassette with each new maintenance chain on the XTR.

 

[Alaskan]

The XTR freehub body is quiet coasting. Very smooth. Hunting quiet, spooky quiet. Use the e-11 chain for a high class build. The 10-T cluster can be changed without a new cassette with each new maintenance chain on the XTR.
View attachment 81608

I have 2 sets of replacements for the four smallest cogs. I have also installed an Onyx instant engagement sprag clutch hub that goes silent while coasting. I also added the Sram wireless AXS 12 speed derailleur which is just as easy and cool as it seems.

 

[PedalUma]

The indexing can be so sweetly dialed in on the AXS. Personally I am more mechanically inclined for shifting. Are you shifting to smaller cogs three at a time with a longer pull?

 

[Alaskan]

The indexing can be so sweetly dialed in on the AXS. Personally I am more mechanically inclined for shifting. Are you shifting to smaller cogs three at a time with a longer pull?

I have the 9001 cassette with the five titanium middle cogs, three aluminum biggest ones and four steel little guys so I am not using the multi shift function as that tends to cause more chain and cog wear. The system shifts so quickly and smoothly, I can rapid shift just a bit slower than the three at once letting the chain move fully into the next gear one at a time. If I were off road climbing steep trails more I might want to enable that function and pay the price of greater wear in exchange for safety and performance.

I stick with the 7001 or 8001 chain though, as what you get with the pricier ones is lighter weight and shorter life. I have heard that Sram chains are more durable but also that it is best to stick with Shimano chains on the Shimano 12 speed cassettes as they are designed to provide maximum smoothness in shifting when used together.

 

[PedalUma]

Hey Alaskan. Thanks. You have got it right.
Off topic, checkout the cockpit on this one.

 

[reed scott]

 

[Alaskan]

Hey Alaskan. Thanks. You have got it right.
Off topic, checkout the cockpit on this one.

talk about a screen addict and data junky! Not yours, I hope.

 

[PedalUma]

My friend Fritz who is addicted to Sonders sends me all kinds of funny stuff. He sent that along with a guy enthusiastically talking about a bike where the rider pedals a generator. He knows I only go for minimalist clean builds.

 

[alphacarina]

Educate me please - I used the word 'cassette' incorrectly (for my bike) I think. There *are* lots of cassettes with ideal ratios to pick from, but I *think* my Lectric XP needs a freewheel and not a cassette, right? 11 teeth is about as low as is common for a granny gear and there are a couple of freewheels to pick from, but the jump from 11-13-15-18-21-24-28, to a new 'road gear' isn't ideally spaced. 11-13-15-18-21-24 and then it jumps straight to 34. What a difference between 6th and 7th gear. It looks like they just changed 7th, while leaving 1st thru 6th the same?? How practical would this be?

Appreciate anything to upgrade my understanding on this

Don

 

[PedalUma]

You have a freewheel and not a freehub. The big number say 34 is the granny gear. Most seven-speed freewheels come with a removable high gear dropping the fastest gear from 11-teeth to 13-T making it practical to use on a six-speed.

 

[alphacarina]

Well, I found the exact freewheel I want - It's an 11-30 with ratios of 11-13-15-18-21-24-30, to replace my 13-16-18-20-22-24-28, but it looks like it's only made by one company (DNP Epoch) and it's either out of stock or backordered everywhere

Don

 

[Muzz]

My Yukon 750 has a 7 Speed 13-34T cassette. What would I need to change to in order to not have to peddle so fast at high speed?