For the new Dura-Ace groupset from Shimano, there is now a proper mountain cassette with sprockets from 11 to 28 teeth. A rear derailleur with an extended cage is not necessary for this, the new rear derailleur of the top groupset can handle the package. With compact crank rings of 34 and 50 teeth, the mountain gear would correspond to a combination of 30/25 on a triple crank, while the speed gear would correspond to a combination of 53/12 on a standard derailleur with two chainrings. The 188 gram lifebuoy, whose four largest sprockets are made of titanium, completed the 650 kilometres and almost 13,000 metres in altitude of the TOUR-Trans-Austria 2008 with ease. Even under load, the gears always change smoothly, the speed gear with eleven teeth is sufficient on most descents. The jumps between the individual sprockets are inevitably relatively large, which can be annoying on flat sections.
Reference/Info: Paul Lange, telephone, 0711/2588-02, www.paul-lange.de
Price: 179,95 Euro
further gradations: 11-21 to 11-27; 12-23 to 11-27
PLUS: Wide gear range; good shifting characteristics
MINUS: Rough gradation; expensive
Photos: Matthias Borchers
