Sram product review (PG 990)
July232008
So, I tend to break things...a lot of things. I don't care to go through the pile of parts I've destroyed. It's a deep, dark, smelly hole I've thrown countless $$$ into. Today I review a part I've broken...a few times.
I've not often seen reviews of parts that folks have broken in which the overall tone of the review is positive...but hold on.
I love the Sram PG 990...despite having broken two of them in the last couple thousand miles of singletrack. I've had them on "lightweight" hardtails that see all day epic rides and long-travel full suspension rigs that get sent off ladders, drops jumps and shuttle fests and everything in-between.
Now, I know I said I've "broken" two of them, but truth be told...I've still got one on my main rig (RFX) and it first "broke" a few hundred miles ago. I guess I have to define "broken" in terms of the PG 990's failure points. I've folded (bent if you prefer a more delicate word) the bailout ring and second ring on one to the point several teeth were too far gone to bend back and shifting was pointless...or impossible more to the point. Understand, I am a bit of a whiz with a drift and hammer and one of the best things about the PG 990 is that they can take a beating and have the rings bent back, but at some point the teeth can take no more. It tends to be a delicate procedure, but it's very nice being able to bend cogs back into alignment after a rogue stick (or rider error induced mis-shift) tosses a wrench into a ride and bends a ring. As all mountain bikers know: there is often poop on a trail waiting to get run over and when you plow through the middle of a fresh steamer...it's nice when there is a creek around the next corner to clean things up in. Well, sometimes the poop is actually a stick (or brain cramp) and a ring bends. The quality materials, engineering and solid build of the PG 990 are the equivalent of that well placed stream in today's lovely analogy. There are other cassettes out there that use similar "spider" designs that just don't have the same resiliency as the Sram product....and they cost a few bucks more.
I've fixed my current PG 990 three times and it still rocks! They are built around a lightweight aluminum "spider" which holds the majority of cogs and the cogs are secured quite well to the spider. The spider is especially nice for folks (like me...) that have rear hubs with aluminum driveshells (why a 255 pound rider has an aluminum driveshell on his 35 pound long-travel bike is a question for another day) since lesser cassettes can chew up the soft metal when they slip or blow up. I have the 11-32 and it weighs 275 grams. The 11-34 is 305 grams.
They are not cheap at $99, but buying one over the time I would normally go through 2 or 3 $55 ones makes sense from a purely fiscal standpoint let alone a time and frustration view. As previously noted, they are a pretty good weight...a few ounces less than the $55 ones if such things as grams matter to you.
If you have a mountain bike with gears...ride hard...and appreciate true value...take a long hard look at the Sram PG 990...then look no further. On the wayward wrench scale I give them 4 out of 5 wrenches.
Brock...
I've not often seen reviews of parts that folks have broken in which the overall tone of the review is positive...but hold on.
I love the Sram PG 990...despite having broken two of them in the last couple thousand miles of singletrack. I've had them on "lightweight" hardtails that see all day epic rides and long-travel full suspension rigs that get sent off ladders, drops jumps and shuttle fests and everything in-between.
Now, I know I said I've "broken" two of them, but truth be told...I've still got one on my main rig (RFX) and it first "broke" a few hundred miles ago. I guess I have to define "broken" in terms of the PG 990's failure points. I've folded (bent if you prefer a more delicate word) the bailout ring and second ring on one to the point several teeth were too far gone to bend back and shifting was pointless...or impossible more to the point. Understand, I am a bit of a whiz with a drift and hammer and one of the best things about the PG 990 is that they can take a beating and have the rings bent back, but at some point the teeth can take no more. It tends to be a delicate procedure, but it's very nice being able to bend cogs back into alignment after a rogue stick (or rider error induced mis-shift) tosses a wrench into a ride and bends a ring. As all mountain bikers know: there is often poop on a trail waiting to get run over and when you plow through the middle of a fresh steamer...it's nice when there is a creek around the next corner to clean things up in. Well, sometimes the poop is actually a stick (or brain cramp) and a ring bends. The quality materials, engineering and solid build of the PG 990 are the equivalent of that well placed stream in today's lovely analogy. There are other cassettes out there that use similar "spider" designs that just don't have the same resiliency as the Sram product....and they cost a few bucks more.
I've fixed my current PG 990 three times and it still rocks! They are built around a lightweight aluminum "spider" which holds the majority of cogs and the cogs are secured quite well to the spider. The spider is especially nice for folks (like me...) that have rear hubs with aluminum driveshells (why a 255 pound rider has an aluminum driveshell on his 35 pound long-travel bike is a question for another day) since lesser cassettes can chew up the soft metal when they slip or blow up. I have the 11-32 and it weighs 275 grams. The 11-34 is 305 grams.
They are not cheap at $99, but buying one over the time I would normally go through 2 or 3 $55 ones makes sense from a purely fiscal standpoint let alone a time and frustration view. As previously noted, they are a pretty good weight...a few ounces less than the $55 ones if such things as grams matter to you.
If you have a mountain bike with gears...ride hard...and appreciate true value...take a long hard look at the Sram PG 990...then look no further. On the wayward wrench scale I give them 4 out of 5 wrenches.
Brock...
