SROAD lightweight cassettes

[Sebastian]

Are these SRoad cassettes worth it? I've read issues with the alloy spider by the rivets being a weak point. The Lexon store on AliEx, has them on discount, but for not much more I can just pick up an Ultegra / 105 11 speed cassette with proven durability.

As I wrote earlier, you might or might not get a unit with issues. I got an 11sp one that works flawlessly. And I'd certainly buy one again, especially for the discounted price. The 12sp one I got did creak where the aluminium spider meets the steel part of the cassette. After applying some adhesive it's been quiet for more than 2000km now. Shifting is no different from any other cassette. Wear is minimal for me. So the steel seems to be of decent enough quality. Based on my experience, I'd probably buy one again.

[jonathanf2]

I received my SROAD rainbow 11-32 cassette from the Lexon store yesterday and I installed it this morning. The one piece design was a pain to install on my freehub even with grease. I had to bust out the rubber mallet to get it into place. If I ever take it off, it's going to be a hassle. Shifting seems to be fine, not much different than the Shimano cassette I had on previously. The most noticeable part is the noise it makes. It sounds like a rickety tin can as opposed to a precision mechanical instrument. The next cassette I get will probably be Ultegra. Even if it weighs more, there aren't any weird fitment or noise issues. S**t just works!

Honestly I'm starting to lean towards just using Shimano/SRAM groupsets, Chinese carbon frames/wheels/components and swapping out to shiny titanium screws for that extra bit of weight cutting. I'm thinking that's where the best bang-for-buck performance is when it comes to building your own bikes.

[coffeebreak]

I had to bust out the rubber mallet to get it into place. If I ever take it off, it's going to be a hassle.

Dude why?! It IS going to be a hassle. Hope you don't love that wheelset much lol.

[jonathanf2]

Dude why?! It IS going to be a hassle. Hope you don't love that wheelset much lol.

I wasn't pounding it, more like gentle taps! Once on the free hub I was able to slide it up and down, it's just really snug. I'm going to test it out in a bit and see how it rides.

Update: I took SRoad cassette for a 25 mile break-in ride. On the road, noise wasn't as noticeable and shifting was the about the same as my Shimano cassettes. Honestly I don't know if the reduced weight makes a big difference, but pedaling seemed responsive.

[Pedaldancer]

I received my SROAD rainbow 11-32 cassette from the Lexon store yesterday and I installed it this morning. The one piece design was a pain to install on my freehub even with grease. I had to bust out the rubber mallet to get it into place. If I ever take it off, it's going to be a hassle. Shifting seems to be fine, not much different than the Shimano cassette I had on previously. The most noticeable part is the noise it makes. It sounds like a rickety tin can as opposed to a precision mechanical instrument. The next cassette I get will probably be Ultegra. Even if it weighs more, there aren't any weird fitment or noise issues. S**t just works!

Honestly I'm starting to lean towards just using Shimano/SRAM groupsets, Chinese carbon frames/wheels/components and swapping out to shiny titanium screws for that extra bit of weight cutting. I'm thinking that's where the best bang-for-buck performance is when it comes to building your own bikes.

What kind of noise do you mean?
I heard that the lock ring can be the reason for squealing. That's why I just took my ultegra lock ring without even trying with the sroad lockring. And i had indeed noises after 100km, i disassembled the cassette then, put a lot more grease on the free hub body and since then it's absolute silent.

I have 2 sroad cassettes now, both silent with the described mounting. Maybe it can help you.

By the way.. the sroad cassettes changed their name to spedao.
Everything else looks the same. Did someone notice that? I wonder if it's really the same and only name has changed. I could need a new cassette for my daily bike and i am a bit uncertain now. Because also the price has dropped.

[jonathanf2]

What kind of noise do you mean?
I heard that the lock ring can be the reason for squealing. That's why I just took my ultegra lock ring without even trying with the sroad lockring. And i had indeed noises after 100km, i disassembled the cassette then, put a lot more grease on the free hub body and since then it's absolute silent.

I have 2 sroad cassettes now, both silent with the described mounting. Maybe it can help you.

By the way.. the sroad cassettes changed their name to spedao.
Everything else looks the same. Did someone notice that? I wonder if it's really the same and only name has changed. I could need a new cassette for my daily bike and i am a bit uncertain now. Because also the price has dropped.

After riding it, the sound isn't as noticeable. I'll probably go back and add a lot more grease to the freehub. I guess it is called Spedao now. Oh well, SRoad sounds better! I'll probably order another one, once the "Back to School" sale starts in the next few hours.

[Sebastian]

I wasn't pounding it, more like gentle taps! Once on the free hub I was able to slide it up and down, it's just really snug. I'm going to test it out in a bit and see how it rides.

Update: I took SRoad cassette for a 25 mile break-in ride. On the road, noise wasn't as noticeable and shifting was the about the same as my Shimano cassettes. Honestly I don't know if the reduced weight makes a big difference, but pedaling seemed responsive.

The snug fit is part of why I like this cassette better than cassettes made of single cogs. The whole cassette creates one interface area with the freehub rather than each cog on its own, therefore completely eliminating cassette bite. That being said, I can take it off my freehub by hand - no problem. No need to hit it with a hammer. My lightweight Novatec alloy freehub still looks like new while a Shimano cassette would already have created bite marks no matter how hard I tighten it down.

I'm using the original lockring. No issues. It just works.
As for noise. I don't get any unusual shifting noise. The clunk when the chain jumps onto the next cog is definitely louder because the cassette - being one piece of steel - inevitably acts as a resonance body much more than individual cogs. Particularly when paired with deep section wheels. So yes, it does create more noise. But I don't mind. As long as it's not some kind of rattling or bad indexing noise.

I do now have 3000k on my 12sp cassette with minimal wear marks. I like it a lot, so far. If only they had an 11-34 for 12sp. I'd buy one in a heartbeat.

[coffeebreak]

Is Sroad = Spedao (stupid name)? Was looking at ultralight road cassettes and seems like Zrace, ZTTO, Wuzei, Sunshine, Litepro, Goldix all have same cassettes with their lock rings except Spedao which is double the cost and is also lighter than the rest by 25-30 grams. They also seem like the only ones with different colors for road cassettes, others have colors but only in MTB cassettes.

[jonathanf2]

Is Sroad = Spedao (stupid name)? Was looking at ultralight road cassettes and seems like Zrace, ZTTO, Wuzei, Sunshine, Litepro, Goldix all have same cassettes with their lock rings except Spedao which is double the cost and is also lighter than the rest by 25-30 grams. They also seem like the only ones with different colors for road cassettes, others have colors but only in MTB cassettes.

The SRoad/Spedao cogs are all-steel cassettes. The other lightweight cassettes uses steel small cogs and alloy big cogs, but they wear fast. I'd only get one of those if I lived in a primarily flat area or I was crit racing with minimal climbing.

[zxcvbnmjm]

Has anyone seen any reviews on incolor zoney cassettes?

Im wandering how they perform compared to SROAD

Theyre available on pandapodium but not aliexpress i think?

[jonathanf2]

Yesterday when I was riding, I noticed the 2nd small cog skipping on the chain. I inspected the cog and couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. I tried the cassette on another bike and same issue. I tried a Shimano cassette and there wasn't any skipping on either bike. I'm wondering if there might be some spacing issues between the 11t and 12t cog causing the chain skip? All the cogs work fine and I even checked my derailleur alignment with the alignment tool to make sure it wasn't bent. Maybe I should try a different 11t cog and see if that fixes the problem?

Thankfully I can still return the cassette under Free Returns through AliEx if I can't solve the problem.

[jcr]

Yesterday when I was riding, I noticed the 2nd small cog skipping on the chain. I inspected the cog and couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. I tried the cassette on another bike and same issue. I tried a Shimano cassette and there wasn't any skipping on either bike. I'm wondering if there might be some spacing issues between the 11t and 12t cog causing the chain skip? Maybe I should try a different 11t cog and see if that fixes the problem?

Thankfully I can still return the cassette under Free Returns through AliEx if I can't solve the problem.

I think I had similar issue hence I am running my Shimano cassette right now.

[TidyDinosaur]

Yesterday when I was riding, I noticed the 2nd small cog skipping on the chain. I inspected the cog and couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. I tried the cassette on another bike and same issue. I tried a Shimano cassette and there wasn't any skipping on either bike. I'm wondering if there might be some spacing issues between the 11t and 12t cog causing the chain skip? All the cogs work fine and I even checked my derailleur alignment with the alignment tool to make sure it wasn't bent. Maybe I should try a different 11t cog and see if that fixes the problem?

Thankfully I can still return the cassette under Free Returns through AliEx if I can't solve the problem.

Is this a riveted cassette by any chance? I had this happen on one of my cheap XD cassettes. One of the rivets had come loose and stuck out between 2 sprockets. The chains skipped on the rivet.

[jonathanf2]

Is this a riveted cassette by any chance? I had this happen on one of my cheap XD cassettes. One of the rivets had come loose and stuck out between 2 sprockets. The chains skipped on the rivet.

It's riveted in the rear, but chain skipping is only happening between the 1st and 2nd cog. I'm going to try another 11t cog on the cassette before writing it off as a dud. I'm inspecting the SRoad 11t cog and a regular 11t and I notice there might be a small enough difference in size that might be causing chain rub.

[jonathanf2]

I tried a different 11t small cog and it's definitely the 12t cog causing the problem. It's too much hassle to try another chain especially when it works just fine on my Shimano cassettes. I ended returning it for a refund.