Interesting overview of the madness. Because we're both coming from builds that involved 10spd SLX derailleurs, my GF and I both run the 10spd shifter/derailleur with the WT GoatLink and the SunRace 11-46 10spd cassette on our suspension trail bikes. You gotta hand it to SunRace for absolutely nailing the ratios on that cassette.
I can't compare these setups to 12spd, because I don't own anything current enough, but I did build up my latest hard tail last fall with an 11spd SLX groupo (Swapped the cassette for SR 11-46 11spd). Performance is a mostly a wash for me, making me wish the 10spd stuff was continually available. I'm not sure about the 5spd business though, as those would be some tough ratios to swap between when I'm dying on my way up No Quarter. Probably not an issue for a single speeder, but I love my smooth transitions in moments when I'm trying to suck air through my eye sockets.
Oct. 23, 2019, 12:49 p.m. - Mammal
Interesting overview of the madness. Because we're both coming from builds that involved 10spd SLX derailleurs, my GF and I both run the 10spd shifter/derailleur with the WT GoatLink and the SunRace 11-46 10spd cassette on our suspension trail bikes. You gotta hand it to SunRace for absolutely nailing the ratios on that cassette. I can't compare these setups to 12spd, because I don't own anything current enough, but I did build up my latest hard tail last fall with an 11spd SLX groupo (Swapped the cassette for SR 11-46 11spd). Performance is a mostly a wash for me, making me wish the 10spd stuff was continually available. I'm not sure about the 5spd business though, as those would be some tough ratios to swap between when I'm dying on my way up No Quarter. Probably not an issue for a single speeder, but I love my smooth transitions in moments when I'm trying to suck air through my eye sockets.