Harris Custom Century Special 13-30 9-speed Cassette

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I am an avid hillclimb racer (road bike, up mountains). This gearing combination allows me to train on hills as steep as 24% grade and gradually build my strength throughout the spring. I used to swap out to a 30/39/52 triple before races such as Mt. Washington (NH) or Equinox (VT), but now find that a 39/52 with the "Century Special" is just the ticket for those 12% average grade races. After owning this for over a year, I still find no issues. Thanks for a great product!

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I am sixty years old and have been cycling for about fifty five years. My knees have been more sensitive to pushing too hard at too low a cadence. This cassette lets me choose a gear that allows me to keep my cadence in the low nineties at nearly any speed travelling around Southern Ontario. The consequences of age have forced me to look for this solution but I suspect cassettes that offer lower, closer spaced gearing would be better for most cyclists. I have never been able to shoulder into 52/11 high gearing. On a heavier, more comfortable hybrids lower gearing becomes even more useful. This cassette is a very big step in the right direction for older cyclists. I would like to try a cassette that has 15-16-17-19-21-23-26-30-33 sprockets. I will not be getting younger.

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I recently moved to an area with A LOT of hills. Even my short local commute was tough because of all the climbing I had to do on the way home. I considered a compact 10 speed crank and BB, but saw this and thought I would try it. I am very glad I did! On my very first ride, I could feel the difference. I have a full Ultegra 9 speed group, with a 53/39 chainring, and this was bolt-on. Very little derailer adjustment needed. I did NOT need to replace my B screw with a longer one either. The 30 tooth rear cog may be as big as my derailer can handle, but I could not be happier with the performance. I also bought the SRAM PC-951 chain recommended by Harris Cyclery, and both products work well together. Definitely worth the price, and a lot cheaper than changing to a compact 10 speed crank and BB. Now that I have my "Century Special", I a enjoy riding my bike again. Thank you, Sheldon Brown. Your work continues to help cyclists like me.

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I love to explore the less traveled side roads and around here that often means 10%-15% grades. This cassette allows me to keep a decent cadence on all but the steepest sections which is important for my 50 year old knees!

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Thanks, I do the ms150 city to shore from Cherry Hill NJ to Ocean City NJ, at the last leg their are 2 killer bridges with steep inclines. This new gearing helps this old man get to the finish.

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Being able to squeeze this 30-tooth cog on my bike with my standard Ultegra derailleur was enough to (barely) get me over Lincoln Gap (20% to 24% grades) in central VT. I don't have the option at the moment of switching from my standard 39x53 to a compact or triple, but this gave me enough gear inches to weave my way over that monster.

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This cluster saved me a ton of dough. I was having a heck of a time on all the hills in the area - couldn't keep up to all my frinds on their triples. "Keep riding, you'll get stronger" they kept telling me. (Sure, but not younger.) "Upgrade to a triple (ka-ching, we can help you with that)" the bike shops kept telling me. I knew Campy offered a hill cluster so I had hope - and found it! Thank you Sheldon Brown!

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I really love the gearing of this cassete. I find that i can spin up hills in a 42-30 and pass other riders on there uber light weight bikes. This cassette is not made with competition in mind, but it sure works in that arena as well. I find all the gears to be much more useful. I can't reccomend this product enouph..