Alternative cassette for 12s SRAM AXS flattop chain

[SZDW]

Any ideas/suggestions that there is something worth of buying in 1/2 or 1/4 price of the 12s SRAM AXS damn expensive cassette?
I've heard that tha cog spacing is a little bit different than regular and it is not working buttery smooth.

[Daviddavieboy]

Any ideas/suggestions that there is something worth of buying in 1/2 or 1/4 price of the 12s SRAM AXS damn expensive cassette?
I've heard that tha cog spacing is a little bit different than regular and it is not working buttery smooth.

I did a little experimenting with my 12 speed road SRAM setup.

 Shimano chain and everything else SRAM and found it noisy and shifting was OK at best.
 Shimano cassette with the rest SRAM is quite good but only if trimmed gearing near the middle of the cassette.
 Shimano chain+cassette shifting was better but still a bit noisy.
 Shimano chain/derailleur + changing out the derailleur pully wheels made the most difference. Shifting was great and noticeably quieter.

 

 I am using a Shimano cassette on my trainer but have gone back to full SRAM on the bike as I picked up a 10-36 SRAM cassette at a local shop for $150 and the Rival flat top chains are just as cheap locally as the KMC Shimano are on Aliexpress.

 I am swapping in a re waxed chain every 500-800 km to get the most life out of the parts.

 I have tried all the above scenarios for a couple weeks each except for the Shimano chain alone as I was not happy with it.

[jfcb]

search for XDR 12 speed cassette on aliexpress. I use the goldix 10-33t  and it shifts similar like a force cassette. It's also very durable. I had to use it with  a flattop chain though for optimal shifting conditions. 
Strange thing I notice, on my gravel bike I use the aliexpress 10-44T casettes and there it works perfect with a shimano chain.
i.e. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005981411703.html

[ejump0]

Shimano chain and everything else SRAM and found it noisy and shifting was OK at best.
 Shimano cassette with the rest SRAM is quite good but only if trimmed gearing near the middle of the cassette.
 Shimano chain+cassette shifting was better but still a bit noisy.
 Shimano chain/derailleur + changing out the derailleur pully wheels made the most difference. Shifting was great and noticeably quieter.

slight off topic.
im considering a mix setup for my tribike.
if im going Rival etap xplr 12sp(with blips) + x12 kmc chain + 11-36shimano cassette + PassQuest chainring bcd110(shimano), this will work, but works even better if i swap the jockeys to shimano profile?
sounds like a plan

[Daviddavieboy]

this will work, but works even better if i swap the jockeys to shimano profile?
sounds like a plan

 I have no experience with the older ETAP system as I am using the Force AXS derailleur. The newer AXS works with the 36t cassette and has the larger pully profile. Not sure if the older ETAP derailleurs are the same.

[stalkersk]

slight off topic.
im considering a mix setup for my tribike.
if im going Rival etap xplr 12sp(with blips) + x12 kmc chain + 11-36shimano cassette + PassQuest chainring bcd110(shimano), this will work, but works even better if i swap the jockeys to shimano profile?
sounds like a plan

I have used xplr with rotor 11-39 cassette and by my experience the KMC chain was bad, Sram perfomed much better so in your case, I would go for shimano chain. No need to change jockey wheels.

[SZDW]

I have found Goldix cassette and it is described as desire for Sram red AXS.
I’m looking for cassett that will be mounted for some weekend mountains rides. Is
Now i have 10-28 and thinking about buying 10-33 for
Those weekend rides. Is that going to work with the Flattop chain or I will need to hangę something more for the mountain rides?

SRAM XDR RED AXS XPLR
https://a.aliexpress.com/_EJTsyb2

[ejump0]

I have used xplr with rotor 11-39 cassette and by my experience the KMC chain was bad, Sram perfomed much better so in your case, I would go for shimano chain. No need to change jockey wheels.

hi there
kmc chain is bad, as in bad for noise, or crap shifting? 

i just did the conversion yesterday.
on bikestand im getting raspy noise.  im not sure if its the chain, or due to my passquest chainring is r7000 model. but on road it wasnt that noisy, but i think there is a 'feel' when the kmc masterlink got onto the chainring.
shifting wise it gets onto the cog just right
should i change the chainring (if it going to make any difference)? 
besides shimano chain, theres ybn. ybn any good?

- sram rival axs 12sp
- sram wireless blips
- shimano cs-hg710-12 11-36
- kmc x12

[Da11as]

hi there
kmc chain is bad, as in bad for noise, or crap shifting? 

i just did the conversion yesterday.
on bikestand im getting raspy noise.  im not sure if its the chain, or due to my passquest chainring is r7000 model. but on road it wasnt that noisy, but i think there is a 'feel' when the kmc masterlink got onto the chainring.
shifting wise it gets onto the cog just right
should i change the chainring (if it going to make any difference)? 
besides shimano chain, theres ybn. ybn any good?

- sram rival axs 12sp
- sram wireless blips
- shimano cs-hg710-12 11-36
- kmc x12

Swap KMC for YBN SLA and you'll be ok.

[fhold]

Are there any new insights on this topic?

I wanted to use the following setup but I'm unsure it will workout properly.

- SRAM APEX XPLR eTAP derailleur and corresponding STIs
- Spedado 12 - 11-50 MTB Cassette HG (https://de.aliexpress.com/item/1005007476891275.html?spm=a2g0o.cart.0.0.536f4ae4FjCXRq&mp=1&gatewayAdapt=glo2deu)
- Garbaruk cage SRAM AXS
- YBN SLA 12-Speed Chain

Or does it make more sense to go with the Shimano Garbaruk and a Shimano 12s chain?

Any feedback appreciated so I don't waste money buying a SRAM setup that won't work as expected.

[kenji]

I rode with a Goldix XDR 10-33 cassette for about 5000 km but I had issues with it : a very loud squeaking noise developed when using the small cogs, caused by the loose tube in the cassette body. This one can be turned by hand, whereas this is impossible with Sram cassettes. The Aliexpress seller will partially refund me. Am I just unlucky ? Or are there other decent alternative ? Ztto or Zrace, or the newer version of Goldix ?

[stalkersk]

hi there
kmc chain is bad, as in bad for noise, or crap shifting? 

i just did the conversion yesterday.
on bikestand im getting raspy noise.  im not sure if its the chain, or due to my passquest chainring is r7000 model. but on road it wasnt that noisy, but i think there is a 'feel' when the kmc masterlink got onto the chainring.
shifting wise it gets onto the cog just right
should i change the chainring (if it going to make any difference)? 
besides shimano chain, theres ybn. ybn any good?

- sram rival axs 12sp
- sram wireless blips
- shimano cs-hg710-12 11-36
- kmc x12

Shifting was bad, On the other side based on your setup why did you go with Shimano cassette, it's super heavy, has less range than AXS counterpart and your front ring will mostly work with flattop chain. That package in 1x is so much more durable, especially tha flattop chain. I bought my Force 10-36 cassette in 2021 and still works fine and you can expect 10k+ km from flattop chain on 1x. It may be a bit more expensive to start, but on the long run it will cost you less, same goes for my old eagle x01 cassette which also has more than 5 years and still works strong.