XTR M9000 with KMC X11SL chain?

[cmh]

Hey all, quick question. Upgrading the wife's bike from 10 speed XT to 11 speed XTR, and discovered that the KMC X11SL chain seems too narrow for the top jockey pulley on the XTR M9000 derailleur. Anyone else try this combo? I know I can go to an XTR chain, but I've run the KMC X**SL chains for a while now with great results, and they're damn light. Might try the slightly wider 10spd chain and see how that goes.

[Carbon_Dude]

Sorry, I can't help you.  I had a KMC chain on my last 9-spd.  Seemed like a good chain for the money.

[cmh]

Sorry, I can't help you.  I had a KMC chain on my last 9-spd.  Seemed like a good chain for the money.

Thanks - measured things, and the pronounced teeth on the XTR pulley are 0.87-0.90 mm thick, with the inner plates of the X11SL chain measuring anywhere from 0.85 to 0.87mm wide. See the problem? I put a 10spd chain on her bike, and it's golden. I saw that the biggest cog is offset inboard to allow the wider range of gears, so that might be why a road 11 speed chain won't work. 10 speed chain was fine - she raced the bike in that setup today - and no problems.

Amusingly enough, the 11 speed chain fits the 1x10 drivetrain of my fat bike just fine, because the XT jockey pulleys have the more conventional low profile "teeth"... so I get a free weight-weenie upgrade on that bike!

[carbonazza]

Sorry for the hijack, but it is about XX1.

KMC mentions in their marketing, some racers using the X11 SL on XX1.
http://www.kmcchain.eu/cms/media/downloads/ChainGuide_GB.pdf

I tried but it didn't work well.
As soon as there was a climb, a "clic-clic-clic" noise was coming from the chainring(a SRAM 28T at that time),
The noise becoming stronger with the climb.

Anyone has tried it successfully on an XX1?

[cmh]

Sorry for the hijack, but it is about XX1.

KMC mentions in their marketing, some racers using the X11 SL on XX1.
http://www.kmcchain.eu/cms/media/downloads/ChainGuide_GB.pdf

I tried but it didn't work well.
As soon as there was a climb, a "clic-clic-clic" noise was coming from the chainring(a SRAM 28T at that time),
The noise becoming stronger with the climb.

Anyone has tried it successfully on an XX1?

Cool to see Sabine Spitz listed, KMC must be a sponsor. Sabine is my wife's favorite racer. Stirneman was crazy strong in the XC Eliminator, really sorry to hear that they cut those for this year. They were fun to watch.

Thought I mentioned but I guess not - heard that the spacing on the MTB 11 speed cassettes is the same as 10 speed, and a buddy who works in the industry said he knows that the SRAM 11 speed road and MTB are incompatible, so that might be why. Could be the X11SL only works well on the narrower road 11 speed stuff.

So the question now is what I'm gonna do with four extra X11SL chains - I tend to stock up on wear items.

[JohnnyNT]

Carbonazza, one of the guys at the polish light bike forum uses such combination without any issues (and he is racing often), his build log below:

Bar Ends:   Duke Bar Ends   45,2   g   
Bottle Cage:   Cannondale Carbon-Ti Cage   30,5   g   
Bottom Bracket:   Rotor BB30 Pressfit 41mm   68,6   g   
Brake (Front): Formula R1 with Formula Kool Stop Pads, BK Carbon Clamp   167,9   g   
Brake Disc (Front):   Hope Floating Rotor Race Edition X2 160mm   83,2   g   
Brake (Rear): Formula R1 with Formula Kool Stop Pads, BK Carbon Clamp   190,1   g   
Brake Disc (Rear): Hope Floating Rotor Race Edition X2 160mm   79,6   g   
Brake Bolts:   4xM6x16 +2xM6x30 Ti, 6x M6 Alu Driled Washer + Carbon-Alu Adapter Black 160mm   26,9   g   
Brake Disc Bolts:   6xTi M5-T25x8   7,6   g   
Cables:   Niro Turbo Plus cables with Sealed Jagwire Red Cablestops + Carbon 6x5x350mm tube   28,7   g   
Cassette: Sram XX1 10-42   265   g   
Chain: KMC X11SL with missing link   230,1   g   
Crankset: 390,6   g   
-Crank Arms:   THM Carbones Clavicula DP 175mm Matte + Fiber Lyte Carbon Plate + FCT Alu Red Bolt + Rubber Arm Protection   349,2   g   
-Chainrigns:   Absolute Black 34T 104mm XX1 Style with FCT Red Bolts   41,4   g   
Derl (Rear):   SRAM XX1 with Alu Red Bolts   240,6   g   
Fork: Cannondale Lefty Speed Carbon 110 DLR SL OPI, Custom Shelf, Carbon Lockout + MCFK steertube   1193,6   g   
Fork ekspander:   Extralite UltraStar 2   6,9   g   
Frame:   Scott Scale 29 RC "L" 2013 with headset cups & protective foil   979,7   g   
Misc:   Scott Chain Protector + Chain Catcher + 10mm Soul Kozak Spacer   15,3   g   
Grips:   Bontrager Race X Light   18,3   g   
Handlebar: Schmolke Carbon SL 6° 31,8x600mm matte paint with Bontrager Bar Plugs   113,8   g   
Headset: Self-designed Tapered Headset - Double O-ring Sealed   62,2   g   
Pedals: Crank Brothers Egg Beater 2Ti tuned   149,3   g   
Seat: Smud-Carbon.eu UD matte with custom stickers   76,3   g   
Seatpost: Smud-Carbon.eu 34,9x400mm UD, POP Yokes Ti black bolts, custom stickers   136,4   g   
Seatpost clamp: Smud-Carbon.eu 38mm 15mm high   6,7   g   
Shifters: SRAM XX1 Trigger Shifter   104,8   g   
Skewers: FRM Task E-Thru 10mm   44,7   g   
Stem: Kalloy Uno -7* 120mm   124,5   g   
Tire (Front): Continental X-King 2,4 Race Sport 29"   619,4   g   
Tire (Rear):   Continental X-King 2,4 Protection 29"   744,5   g   
Tire stuff:   NoTubes Sealant & Air   206,7   g   
Top Cap: Soul Kozak Top Cap SE   4,2   g   
Wheelset:   240s Lefty&XX1 ThruBolt + FRM XMD333 + DT-Proloc Red + CN Spoke 424 Aero + NoTubes Tape and AMC Valves + Spokes Carbon Tied   1429,4   g   

Overall:   7891,3   g   

[carbonazza]

Absolute Black recommend the KMC X11 SL chain on their website.
KMC's message is somehow misleading by saying it works on XX1.

Thanks for the list, I now have a series of potential upgrades

[cmh]

Sorry for the hijack, but it is about XX1.

KMC mentions in their marketing, some racers using the X11 SL on XX1.
http://www.kmcchain.eu/cms/media/downloads/ChainGuide_GB.pdf

I tried but it didn't work well.
As soon as there was a climb, a "clic-clic-clic" noise was coming from the chainring(a SRAM 28T at that time),
The noise becoming stronger with the climb.

Anyone has tried it successfully on an XX1?

Can't speak to XX1... yet, but I've got X1 on my bike and could never get the stock chain to run completely silent. Chain just started to show some wear, so I swapped it out for the X11SL and am happier with that. Amusingly, looking at the specs on my bike, the stock chain is listed as a KMC X11L.  All along I thought it was a SRAM chain. Even funnier that swapping the X11L to an X11SL made things better. Must be the extra S that fixes all the things. 

[kingchickenstrip]

Strange, I didn't have any issues with my XTR M9000 with the KMC X11SL chain. I was also using the one up 45 t cog without issues.

[JohnnyNT]

I can confirm no problems as well, M9000 with X11SL going on together flawlessly.

[MTB2223]

I've ride about 75km with a KMC X110SL chain when it broke. It broke after a corner when started pedaling, flat surface. So, for me no SL chain anymore.

[carbonazza]

It broke after a corner when started pedaling, flat surface.

I broke one once, the only time I didn't lube before riding.
Not sure why but I prefer the shifting(crisper?) of the KMC 11 SL than the XX1 and X1 I tried.