Axs compatibility and Chinese components

[Walter-sobchak]

I have tried to find good information on this subject all over and I am looking for real world experience here, or informed takes. The context of my inquiry is trying to minimally add axs to an existing 1x cross bike and keep, most importantly, my crank based PM (5 bolt 110 bcd spider) as well as other components.  The axs road components changed chain roller diameter size and it recommend everything be axs, but you know, this forum.

Some comments on the XDR ztto and goldix cassettes suggest they work best with standard 12 speed chains (eagle, kmc, ybn 12s) and do not work well with sram flattop.

What is performance like with sram axs road cassette and non flat top chain? 

KMC claims their new 12s chain is compatible across sram road axs and shimano.  How is that possible given the sram roller size change?

Is it best to keep flattop chain with sram axs cassette and just run an old 1x chainring and deal with whatever accelerated wear there may be on the chainring? I have had good experience with cheap 1x rings and don't mind changing them out more frequently to keep my crankset and pm

With regards to chainrings, what is performance like with a standard 1x narrow wide ring with non flattop chain? again I want to keep 5 bolt spider PM. 

Thanks for any input

[ejump0]

theres this thread here already discussing a mix-and-match SRAM AXS deraileurs with non SRAM parts
https://chinertown.com/index.php/topic,5135.0.html

For your case, if after you use a non-sram cassette + non-flattop chain and you find the chainring seemed dont play nice, you can always look for Stone/PassQuest chainring to 5bolt

[toxin]

Also you can seach through wrightweenies. Theres been people who've mixed parts arpund and posted their experiences there

[Walter-sobchak]

I'll update my own thread with my experience to help others.

I decided to try the 12-speed XDR cassette available under several brands on AliExpress. I paired it with a KMC 12-speed chain and a standard 5-bolt 11-speed chainring, which I have a large selection of. My thought was that it would be beneficial in the long run to stick with the Shimano-standard chain and chainring while using the AliExpress cassette.

Initially, I was optimistic. Shifting was decent—it did hang slightly on one gear but would eventually shift, just slowly.

However, after riding for several days, the performance declined. Most notably, the aluminum cog on the cassette is made from a lower-quality alloy compared to other cassettes; it developed chips and wear that became sharp, affecting performance to the point that the chain couldn’t stay in that gear consistently.

As for the Stone chainrings, I believe the 5-bolt 110 BCD Stone ring still follows Shimano standards, while some of their newer models use the SRAM tooth profile.

In the end, I returned to a SRAM cassette with a Flattop chain, pairing it with the Wolf Tooth 5-bolt 110 BCD Stop Drop B (which is SRAM-compatible), and everything is now working smoothly. I'm still reliant on SRAM cassettes, but I’ve been able to find them at better prices on eBay.

Hope this helps others considering a similar setup