My Surly Cross Check is going to have Microshift Centos derailleurs and shifters, so I went with a Microshift cassette. I picked up the CS-G100 11-28 which is considered their Centos level cassette. It has chrome plated steel cogs with an aluminum spider. The spider is supposed to reduce wear on the cassette body. It is also supposed to be compatible with Shimano. I really like the Microshift Advent group on my mountain bike, so I think this is going to work well. Check it out:
Weight: 260 grams
Weight-wise it falls right under a Shimano 105 cassette, and quite a bit lighter than a Tiagra. It is priced around the same as Tiagra.
Made in Taiwan, I think this is still a little better than China.
I’ve now gotten quite a few miles on the bike with this cassette, and everything is shifting great! Worked great on the trainer and now it’s going well outdoors. I have it paired up with Microshift shifters and derailleur.
Get yours today on Amazon:
Microshift G10 Cassette – 10 Speed, 11-28t, Silver, Chrome Plated, with Spider – AMAZON
They also have a more frugal option that is a little heavier:
Microshift H10 Cassette – 10 Speed, 11-28t, Silver, Chrome Plated – AMAZON
Installation
Microshift has some pretty good instructions for the install. Here are just a few tips:
What you need
- Grease
- Torque wrench
- Cassette tool
Here is the Park Tool version:
Park Tool FR-5.2G Cassette Lockring Tool with Guide Pin 5 mm – AMAZON
Step 1
I add a little bit of grease to the cassette body.
Step 2
Put the cassette onto the cassette hub body. The order will be different based upon the hub body you have. For an 8-10 speed hub body you start with the thinner washer and then the spider with all the largest cogs. Next comes the 15T cog followed by the thicker washer. Now you add the 14T, 13T, 12T, and 11T cogs. The cogs should all appear to be the exact same distance apart if you put it all together correctly. Finally, you grease the threads on the lockring and thread it on.
Step 3
Use your cassette tool to snug up the lockring with a ratchet. Once it gets snug you will use your torque wrench and tighten it to 40 Nm. Now you are all done.
Here are the full instructions from Microshift:
