Bigger range 11 speed cassettes.....

I've just built up a new bike - went from 27 to 29er. I was immensely happy with the Sram X01 11 speed drivetrain I had on my old bike, and after hearing not-so-great things about 12 speed transmissions (from both of the big S's), I decided to save a bunch of bucks by building up a similar NOS drivetrain for the new 29er. I knew that I should be gearing down a bit going to 29er, but was a bit hamstrung by available stock. Not surprisingly, my 30t front paired with 10-42 out back is a bit beastly for steep climbing duties on a heavy brawler 29er. Also, I'm weak.

I'm wanting to stick with 11 speed, so I'm looking for options on the cassette. My bike currently has an XD driver, so that somewhat limits options (however, I'm not against switching to a different driver if it gives me a good solution that is still SRAM derailleur compatible). I would also like to avoid changing the front ring. I think my best bet might be the ethirteen TRS Plus 11 speed (9-46). I don't necessarily need the 9t top gear, but whatever.

I see that Garbaruk makes some options, but a bit spendy for me. I also noticed that SunRace makes several options - including an XD compatible 10-46, but it seems that cassette might be hard to find (maybe discontinued?).

Does anyone have any experience with any of these options? Or any other directions I might go - barring "Suck it up and just buy an Eagle drivetrain already"?

Hi,

I understand that you're not keen on changing to a 28t chainring. But this exact swap made me very happy on my LT heavy 29er.

I have the XX1 10-42cassette and a steel sram 28t ring and couldn't be happier. Enough range, very light weight, longest durability if you swap the chain semi-regularly and absolutely enough top-end speed for me and good range on steep climbs. (with a 11spd Shimano XT derailleur and shifter)

I also had good luck with the 11-50t shark tooth cage for 11spd Shimano derailleurs. But I don't know if it is still available. The smaller 28t ring and shorter chain, shorter derailleur cage are pretty great features though in my experience.

The E13 cassettes aren't bad, I do find that the additional range isn't needed, if you dial in exactly the right chain ring size for your fitness level and bike setup, though.

Cheers

Znarf

Im building a new 29er now and while I was planning on shimano 12 I recently had the same thought process as you. 

The Gabaruk look good and by all accounts are. They are spendy though and likely kill any savings your trying to make. 

No comments on the ethirteen. 

I put a 10 speed wide sun race on my bike last year and I’ve been underwhelmed after coming from XT. It works well enough but the shifting isn’t as crisp. Not sure what the 11 speed ones are like. 

If you are transferring over the drivetrain I would likely try out a gabaruk. If you are buying new then even at discounted online rates I question any savings that would be made once you factor in the premium cassette.

Posted by: Znarf

Hi,

I understand that you're not keen on changing to a 28t chainring. But this exact swap made me very happy on my LT heavy 29er.

I have the XX1 10-42cassette and a steel sram 28t ring and couldn't be happier. Enough range, very light weight, longest durability if you swap the chain semi-regularly and absolutely enough top-end speed for me and good range on steep climbs. (with a 11spd Shimano XT derailleur and shifter)

I also had good luck with the 11-50t shark tooth cage for 11spd Shimano derailleurs. But I don't know if it is still available. The smaller 28t ring and shorter chain, shorter derailleur cage are pretty great features though in my experience.

The E13 cassettes aren't bad, I do find that the additional range isn't needed, if you dial in exactly the right chain ring size for your fitness level and bike setup, though.

Cheers

Znarf

I have considered this route, it's not ideal for me as I'm running a 104 BCD spider which allows me to run the ring-mounted-bash guard setup that I'm quite attached to. 104BCD bottoms out at 30t unfortunately. There's also the fact that this new bike is basically designed around a 32t front ring - I suspect that going 28t might have noticeable effects on drivetrain-suspension interactions. Not a deal-breaker, just something in the back of my mind.

Just noticing that Wolf Tooth makes a 28t stainless ring for their CAMO system. I was initially against jumping onto a proprietary system like CAMO, but if Andrew Major likes it.....

I run an absolute black 28t oval. It mounts on the granny tabs, and the ring is also offset a few mm towards the middle of the spider but obviously not as far as the regular 104 bcd ring. I find this does provide a better real world chain line for our riding/climbing conditions. And this way you can keep the 104 tabs for your bashguard as well.

https://www.universalcycles.com/shopping/product_details.php?id=99272

Ive had nothing but good experiences with SunRace products. My wife currently runs the 11-46T with HG driver and it shifts perfectly.

Really good ideas and advice here! What bike are you building? If you can run a 32t only, you'll probably want a 50t cassette.

https://ritzelrechner.de

Try this. I know, it is german. But it's really good!

Click the button "VERGLEICH" on the lower right. It means "comparison" and you can compare different combinations and ratios. It is really handy =)

I agree that the 28tooth chainring works very well with a 10-42 cassette.

But if you stick with the bigger chainring here is a very inexpensive and pretty light option. The quality is anybody's guess?

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000906121094.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.51e56b3fa40v3x&algo_pvid=7af4d712-d7f6-4ff6-8507-b91526cc2401&algo_expid=7af4d712-d7f6-4ff6-8507-b91526cc2401-27&btsid=0b0a556516056653662041043e514f&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_,searchweb201603_

I've been on a 9-46 e13 TRS+ cassette for a few years on one bike and pair it with a 28T front ring to take the sting out of the local steep climbs! It's been awesome. I had an older version a few years back that creaked if it was't lubed correctly, but the new version has been trouble free for well over a year...Nice plus about the e13 is you can replace just the alu cogs when they wear out. Thought about doing a Sunrace cassette but didn't want the extra weight. That and I actually like using the 9T when I dip into the bike park for a day or two a season. The e13 TRS+ is 390g, and the new e13 Helix R 9-46 is like 330g or something...Damn light. Plus the Helix comes in pretty colours!

Posted by: shoreboy

https://www.universalcycles.com/shopping/product_details.php?id=99272

Ive had nothing but good experiences with SunRace products. My wife currently runs the 10-46T with HG driver and it shifts perfectly.

I’m running this on an NX 11 speed drivetrain and it’s flawless. Great option that’s more in line with XT price/quality than the spendy boutique stuff.

Lots of good tips, thanks! I can't run a 28t front with my current crank/spider setup (only has 104bcd holes, which only goes down to 30t). I think my ideal solution would be the 10-46 SunRace XD - but it seems this cassette isn't available anywhere (discontinued??). If I can't find one of those, I'll wait till spring to grab the ethirteen TRS Plus 11.

I've been on an e.13 9-46 TRS+ / 11s xtr combo for two years now, with no issues other than I just replaced the three al cogs. The x01 I had on my previous bike lasted 4+ years as my main ride. The e.13 is wearing quicker but I was able to keep it going.

Did the spider I sent you work out or did you find another solution?

Posted by: Pizza-Diavola

I've been on an e.13 9-46 TRS+ / 11s xtr combo for two years now, with no issues other than I just replaced the three al cogs. The x01 I had on my previous bike lasted 4+ years as my main ride. The e.13 is wearing quicker but I was able to keep it going.

Did the spider I sent you work out or did you find another solution?

Yes it did! Thanks again for sending it. I had to do a bit of custom machining on it to make it fit my bash ring, but it works well. I owe you a beer (or two or three!).