Just ridden home with a brand new LinkGlide XT 11 speed drivetrain on my Levo commuter/MTB. I’ve been through so many chains and cassettes over the last four years - normal drivetrains can’t handle full power from a motor and someone who likes to pedal hard. Over half of that mileage has been done with less than ideal shifting due to the cassette wear being annoyingly fast.
On the plus side, I got so tired of bad shifting and replacing parts on the Levo that my new hardtail (and main MTB) ended up as a singlespeed!
I suspect the cassette weights will put a lot of riders off - but as rotating mass goes, it’s very close to the axle so angular inertia isn’t significant and as unsprung mass goes, yes it’s a few hundred grams more but it’s not a big percentage change when you add the whole wheel and tyre (over 3000g), under 10%.
Everything about LinkGlide looks reassuringly chunky, so I’m hopeful of a big increase in durability!
Feb. 23, 2023, 10:46 a.m. - a.funks
Just ridden home with a brand new LinkGlide XT 11 speed drivetrain on my Levo commuter/MTB. I’ve been through so many chains and cassettes over the last four years - normal drivetrains can’t handle full power from a motor and someone who likes to pedal hard. Over half of that mileage has been done with less than ideal shifting due to the cassette wear being annoyingly fast. On the plus side, I got so tired of bad shifting and replacing parts on the Levo that my new hardtail (and main MTB) ended up as a singlespeed! I suspect the cassette weights will put a lot of riders off - but as rotating mass goes, it’s very close to the axle so angular inertia isn’t significant and as unsprung mass goes, yes it’s a few hundred grams more but it’s not a big percentage change when you add the whole wheel and tyre (over 3000g), under 10%. Everything about LinkGlide looks reassuringly chunky, so I’m hopeful of a big increase in durability!