What size cassette do pro cyclists use?
William Rodriguez
Published Jan 16, 2026
Pros often use a 55×11-tooth high gear for time trials. On flat or rolling stages they might have 53/39T chainrings with an 11-21T cassette. In moderate mountains they switch to a large cog of 23T or 25T.
What rear cassette do pro cyclists use?
The biggest it offers as standard is a 50/37t chainset and 10-28t cassette, as seen on Alex Dowsett's bike above from the 2019 Tour.
What is the best size cassette for road bike?
The vast majority of road bikes come with a 12-25 cassette, which is suitable for most cycling terrain when paired with a compact or standard chainset. If you ride a lot of hills or struggle with hill climbing, a cassette with a lower ratio largest sprocket (27 or more teeth) may be beneficial.
What gearing does Chris Froome use?
Gearing consisted of 52/38 chainrings, and an 11-28 cassette, which he turned at an average cadence of 97rpm. Using this information, and some complicated maths, we can estimate that Froome spent most of his time using a 38x21 gear ratio.
What is the difference between 11-28 and 11 34 cassette?
As shown, the maximum speed is the same with the 11 tooth cog and the 11-28 and 11-30 cassettes share the same gearing combinations until the largest three cogs. However, the 11-34 cassette has easier gearing in every combination except while in the 11 tooth cog.
44 related questions foundIs 11/32 cassette Good for hills?
Most riders can get away with a compact chainset 50 / 34 and an 11 – 32 cassette for their steepest hills. Many touring bikes and tandems still use triple chainsets, but they often have heavier loads to haul.
What does an 11 32 cassette mean on a bike?
The notation you've noticed simply means that for one of these cassettes, the smallest sprocket has 11 teeth, the largest has 32 teeth. And the second cassette has smallest sprocket 12 teeth, largest sprocket 25 teeth. So these numbers are basically the "range" of gears covered by a cassette.
What gears do professional cyclists use?
Pros often use a 55×11-tooth high gear for time trials. On flat or rolling stages they might have 53/39T chainrings with an 11-21T cassette. In moderate mountains they switch to a large cog of 23T or 25T. These days, they've joined the big-gear revolution like many recreational riders.
What is the best cassette ratio for hills?
All other things being equal, the 34T sprocket on the 11-34T cassette is going to give you the easiest gear. If your bike is currently fitted with an 11-28T cassette, switching to an 11-34T cassette will make climbing less of a struggle.
What bike gear is best for hills?
Low Gear = Easy = Good for Climbing: The “low” gear on your bike is the smallest chain ring in the front and the largest cog on your cassette (rear gears). In this position, the pedaling will be the easiest and you'll be able to pedal uphill with the smallest amount of resistance.
Can I put a bigger cassette on my bike?
Yes, almost any bike is compatible with bigger cassettes, bike drivetrain is groupset of components that works in perfect harmony, any miss reconfiguring can break the perfect functionality of the system, parts that need to be changed and reconfigured when putting bigger cassette which is long-chain, wide cage ...
How do I know what size cassette to get?
Sprockets vary in size according to the number of teeth they have. A cassette may therefore be sized as 11-32t. The first number refers to the number of teeth on the smallest sprocket (the highest gear, for fast pedalling at speed) and the second number to the biggest sprocket (the lowest gear, for climbing hills).
Do Tour de France riders use electronic shifting?
The team uses Dura Ace Di2 shifters, derailleurs, and brakes mixed in with parts from its official sponsors (some bikes also have aftermarket derailleur pulleys).
How many speeds should a bike have?
Bikes generally have 1, 3, 18, 21, 24, or 27 speeds. (10- and 15-speeds are obsolete and you don't see them on new bikes anymore.) Lower numbers are the low gears, and higher numbers are the high gears.
Is a 12/25 cassette good for climbing?
IMHO the 12-25 is not a great gearset. The 25 is not good for really steap hills and does not have the 18T cog that a 12-23 has. Since you already have the 11-28 to use on hilly stuff, get a 12-23 for flat/rolling routes and you will be good to go.
Can you put a SRAM cassette on a Shimano hub?
Buyers are free to use a SRAM chain and cassette with their Shimano groupset, and vice versa, just as a SRAM chain can be paired with a Shimano cassette, and vice versa. SRAM's cassettes and chains are compatible with all of Shimano's groupsets, and vice versa.
What gear should I bike in on flat road?
For riding on flat roads, it is recommended to use the middle gear. It is a common choice among bikers as it helps you reduce pressure from your feet onto the pedals.
What gear ratio is best for climbing?
Based on your anticipated speed and minimum tolerable cadence, are the gear ratios on your bike sufficient? A common setup on a road bike adapted for climbing is a compact road crankset with 50-34 chainrings and an 11-32 cassette, which gives a lowest gear of 34:32 or a ratio of 1.06:1.
What gear should I use on a flat road?
High Gear. This one is great for descending, accelerating, or for use when you want to go nice and fast on a flat road. In a high gear, you travel a long way for each turn of the pedal.
What is the difference between a 10 speed and 11 speed cassette?
Tighter spacing on cassettes AND wider range from top to bottom of cassette are possible in the same cassette with 11 vs 10. This can make a pretty big difference when climbing. 4. The 11 speed stuff just shifts better than the comparable line of 10 speed components, it's actually quite noticeable.
What is a spider cassette?
Some of the high-end cassettes use a "spider", an intermediate metal casting, to hold 2 or more of the largest sprockets. This saves weight, but sprockets that come mounted on a spider cannot be interchanged except as a complete unit.
How do I tell what cassette I have on my bike?
You can know what cassette to get for your bike by determining the teeth count on the largest sprocket and the smaller sprocket of your current cassette. For example, a size 12-25t cassette, which is standard to road bikes, has 12 teeth on the smallest cog and 25 teeth on the largest cog.