Published August 22, 2011 08:17PM
Colorado tech: SRAM’s new cassette
A look at the new lightweight SRAM cassette that Levi Leipheimer used in the USAPCC prologue
Like the XX mountain bike cassette, SRAM's road cassette uses a CNC-machined billet block for the largest cogs. Photo: Nick Legan © VeloNews (file)
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (VN) — Well, it’s getting close to that time of year. The industry shows, Eurobike and Interbike, are coming. But at the prologue of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge, we got a sneak at one new product from SRAM: a new top-of-the-line road cassette.
The Red PowerDome cassettes were a big hit when they came out, but the noise from the hollow structure wasn’t to the liking of many and the shifting ramps didn’t seem as effective as those on the PG-1070. Borrowing technology from the extremely popular and extremely light XX X-Dome cassette, SRAM’s new road cassette uses a CNC-machined block for the largest cogs. No word yet on weight or price, but it’s bound to be light and bound to be expensive.
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Levi Leipheimer used the new cassette on his Speed Concept, one of two used at the prologue. His seventh place finish in the day’s mostly downhill prologue was a good testing ground, especially for the 11-tooth cog.