cassette or screw on?

[tintin40]

Is a cassette rear hub set up better than screw on rear hub?? Why did Shimano go over to cass? Me thinks cost? But are there any other reasons? Pros & cons to the two different types of rear hubs?

 

[Carsten]

http://sheldonbrown.com/k7.html

Due to the location of the bearings in a Shimano freehub, the axle is supported closer to the ends. As a result, bent axles are rarely a problem with these hubs. Not all freehub brands share this feature, which is covered by a Shimano patent.

Carsten

 

[DM]

^^ What Sheldon and Carsten said.
Bearing life and axle life.

Plus, with a cassette you can do neat things like change individual sprocket ratios (with the help of a drill); mess about with cog-spacing; tweak the chainline on home-made singlespeeds; weld it up solid to make a ghetto-fixie.