Pretty sure it's _not_ the cassette & mech combo that makes the magic. They need to match up for cog-count and cog-capacity, of course, but it's the _chain & cassette_ that do the interfacing... the mech just pushes the chain around. Pushes precisely, but it's still just pushing.
Corroborating this is how great my ShRAMano mash-up of XT mech, X01 chain, and GX cassette shifts compared to the previous GX mech with GX cassette and KMC* chain
*(KMC chain replaced the GX chain that melted in like 300 miles, and though KMC used to be good stuff, it just doesn't keep up with modern high-end SRAM and Shimano anymore)
Feb. 24, 2023, 10:07 a.m. - Justin White
Pretty sure it's _not_ the cassette & mech combo that makes the magic. They need to match up for cog-count and cog-capacity, of course, but it's the _chain & cassette_ that do the interfacing... the mech just pushes the chain around. Pushes precisely, but it's still just pushing. Corroborating this is how great my ShRAMano mash-up of XT mech, X01 chain, and GX cassette shifts compared to the previous GX mech with GX cassette and KMC* chain *(KMC chain replaced the GX chain that melted in like 300 miles, and though KMC used to be good stuff, it just doesn't keep up with modern high-end SRAM and Shimano anymore)