The Link Glide Thread

Posted by: PembyRocks

Posted by: TristanC

One of the attractions for me over the 12-speed stuff is not having to find special 12-speed chainrings, so I can put itty bitty rings on my fat bike for winter too.

Replacing the stock Shimano 12 speed quick link with a SRAM Eagle quick link seems to solve that problem for some reason. Currently running full Shimano 12 speed drivetrain on my daughters new bike with a regular OneUp chainring with no issues at all. It did skip/catch with the Shimano link

Really? Cool, I might give that a try. I have a fancy Garbaruk 26t ring, but it's aluminum and cost a pretty penny. I'd love to find a steel 26t Cinch ring.

That’s interesting that the Garbaruk rings are HG+ and SRAM 12 compatible. The other aftermarket brands seem to have justified separate product lines.

I’ve heard tell that a slightly worn SRAM ring will fit an HG+ chain and link but the wear on the system will be accelerated. This may be more or less applicable with a 26t ring as the torque will presumably be really, really low on a 51t cog.

^ In my fleet of bikes that I tend to work on I have found that the “eagle-link-on-an-HG+-chain-and-a-non-HG+-chainring” fix is chainline dependent. 

Wide chainline: no go, ends up a bit grumbly 

Narrow chainline: probably ok

More sensitive to grit for sure before it sounds problematic. But if you’re not that heavy, don’t have some goofball 55mm chainline on a boost hub, and your bikes tend to stay clean it’s for sure worth a shot.

Trial and error method with a pile of parts that almost are compatible… it’s frustrating to drop cash on a new chainring because the old one is the wrong 12 speed.

Posted by: mrbrett

^ In my fleet of bikes that I tend to work on I have found that the “eagle-link-on-an-HG+-chain-and-a-non-HG+-chainring” fix is chainline dependent. 

Wide chainline: no go, ends up a bit grumbly 

Narrow chainline: probably ok

More sensitive to grit for sure before it sounds problematic. But if you’re not that heavy, don’t have some goofball 55mm chainline on a boost hub, and your bikes tend to stay clean it’s for sure worth a shot.

Trial and error method with a pile of parts that almost are compatible… it’s frustrating to drop cash on a new chainring because the old one is the wrong 12 speed.

This is really useful advice for me as I have been using some goofball chainlines to run wider tires in the winter. One of the first “almost compatible” parts I ran into was the Race Face HG+ ring. They aren’t flippable like the normal ones.

Posted by: Blofeld

Posted by: mrbrett

^ In my fleet of bikes that I tend to work on I have found that the “eagle-link-on-an-HG+-chain-and-a-non-HG+-chainring” fix is chainline dependent. 

Wide chainline: no go, ends up a bit grumbly 

Narrow chainline: probably ok

More sensitive to grit for sure before it sounds problematic. But if you’re not that heavy, don’t have some goofball 55mm chainline on a boost hub, and your bikes tend to stay clean it’s for sure worth a shot.

Trial and error method with a pile of parts that almost are compatible… it’s frustrating to drop cash on a new chainring because the old one is the wrong 12 speed.

This is really useful advice for me as I have been using some goofball chainlines to run wider tires in the winter. One of the first “almost compatible” parts I ran into was the Race Face HG+ ring. They aren’t flippable like the normal ones.

You know, when you’re looking at that box of chainrings and have almost the right thing, it’s pretty maddening.

First-time poster here.

I’m excited for the Link Glide/Cues stuff coming out and appreciate the coverage here on the site—it’s why I ultimately signed up. 

I’m currently on a mix of SRAM GX/NX and it’s okay, not great. Shifting is not that smooth, but what I like least (about 12-speed in general) is how whack the chain line is. I especially don’t like it when the chain comes off the two biggest sprockets when I backpedal. If I went with an LG600 10-speed cassette, 5130 derailleur, and XT 8130 shifter, would the chain line improve, or would it be a lateral move? 

The elephant in the room seems to be LG cassette availability—it’s really hard to find the LG600 10 or 11-speed cassettes. Any word on when these will become more widely available?

Posted by: RaleighC

I’m currently on a mix of SRAM GX/NX and it’s okay, not great. Shifting is not that smooth, but what I like least (about 12-speed in general) is how whack the chain line is. I especially don’t like it when the chain comes off the two biggest sprockets when I backpedal. If I went with an LG600 10-speed cassette, 5130 derailleur, and XT 8130 shifter, would the chain line improve, or would it be a lateral move? 

I think there’s a couple of different issues at play here. I’ve found SRAM’s lower groups especially prone to dropping when backpedaling. I’m not sure if that’s intentional to sell more robot derailleurs, or just general sloppiness. Shimano and Microshift have worked better for me without any chainline changes.

I can’t find adequate photos online, but my impression is that the 10s Linkglide cassettes replaces the largest cog with a spacer, so your chainline “improvement” is going to be roughly the same as locking out the easiest gear on your current setup. If your frame clearance is adequate it might do you more good to switch bb spacers or chainrings.

Posted by: Blofeld

I think there’s a couple of different issues at play here. I’ve found SRAM’s lower groups especially prone to dropping when backpedaling. I’m not sure if that’s intentional to sell more robot derailleurs, or just general sloppiness. Shimano and Microshift have worked better for me without any chainline changes.

I can’t find adequate photos online, but my impression is that the 10s Linkglide cassettes replaces the largest cog with a spacer, so your chainline “improvement” is going to be roughly the same as locking out the easiest gear on your current setup. If your frame clearance is adequate it might do you more good to switch bb spacers or chainrings.

Thanks for the quick response and I appreciate the insights.

I have a ‘22 Trek Roscoe 8 and the chainline is supposed to be 52mm. When I get home and have the time, I’ll do some measurements and see how close it is to that. If I do switch to the LG setup I mentioned, I’ll drop the front chainring down to 28t from 30t resulting in a slightly harder granny gear than the current setup (gear ratio would go from 0.6 to 0.65), which I think I can live with for climbing.

Posted by: AndrewMajor

Aftermarket, I could see M8130 shifter/M5130 derailleur/LG400 11spd being a hit.

Would the M‘5130 derailleur be compatible? It says it’s limited to 43t and the lowest in the LG400 11s is 45t

Forgive my woeful ignorance—I’m not new to to the sport, but I’m new to the technical side of things.

Posted by: RaleighC

Posted by: AndrewMajor

Aftermarket, I could see M8130 shifter/M5130 derailleur/LG400 11spd being a hit.

Would the M‘5130 derailleur be compatible? It says it’s limited to 43t and the lowest in the LG400 11s is 45t

Forgive my woeful ignorance—I’m not new to to the sport, but I’m new to the technical side of things.

The old 10/11s gear could be pushed beyond its stated range, so there’s a chance this would work as well. I don’t know of anyone who has tried this combination, however. The derailleur is half the price of the XT M8130 so there’s definitely some appeal in making this work.

Posted by: Blofeld

The old 10/11s gear could be pushed beyond its stated range, so there’s a chance this would work as well. I don’t know of anyone who has tried this combination, however. The derailleur is half the price of the XT M8130 so there’s definitely some appeal in making this work.

Thanks again for the help. I guess time will tell as individuals are willing to experiment with it. 

In the meantime, I could go with a full Deore setup (including the windowed shifter—which would be a kick!) and just rock the 11-43 cassette for now with the 28t chainring up front. Everything is in stock right now at REI, but it’s the cheaper CUES cassette and not the nicer, MIJ, Deore one (that one is pre-order only right now.)

Decisions, decisions.