Hey, Vlad Garbaruk here. Great video, really glad to see someone understand the advantage of our 44T sprocket. When you decide to try the 38T chainring setup, feel free to email us, we'll be happy to send you our 38T ring 😀
Excellent video! The chart is very useful to show where the usage is. I have experimented with my front chainring to get the most range and practical usage out of my setup. Your video has confirmed to me that I am on the right track!. Thnx!!
Your video got me to ‘get ur done’. Ordered my Garbaruk 10-52, Ratio Technology’s 11 to 12 conversion kit. I still can use my Rival, just use RT’s cage and 12 pawl ratchet; plus a new chain. Bye bye Frankenstein 10-42 cassette that I built. 38t up front, down from 40t oem, for bikepacking loads.
Great video. I put an ethirteen 9-52 cassette, and a SRAM GX derailleur on my gravel bike three weeks ago. Amazing range and gaps. The 9 tooth is a surprisingly helpful gear to have on big descents. Thanks for the video.
Thanks for this one. I run 11-speed 10-46 Garbaruk's on both my gravel and "road/touring" bikes (without modifying gravel derailleurs that claim to not support such a range). I'd like to see that 44 (on the big 12 speed you show) be a 46. Regardless, I attest to Garbaruk's quality and longevity. Peace! -Greg
Garbaruk makes some really good stuff. I used their cage and pulleys along with a Goat Link, a Sunrace 11-51 cassette and a new XT derailleur to turn my Vintage Mountain Cycle San Andreas into a 1x11. And, it shifts really nice. When my Trek EXe needs a new cassette, it’ll be a Garbaruk.
Thanks for making this video. I’m about to use my gravel bike for some serious bike packing and have been considering switching to a 10-52 cassette. I’d never heard of Garbaruk before seeing your video,but I’ll be getting one now 😊
Hi gg, great video! The funny part is about 1 day before I saw it I ordered an Eagle GX detrailleur, 10-52 cassete and x01 chain form biketiresdirect. I did not like the ration jumping from 42 to 52 but figured I would make it work. After watching your video I ordered the Garbaruk 10-52 from Bikeinn. I will return the eagle cassette only bummer is the shipping is 9.99 but oh well. The great thing is I currently have the xplr 40t chainring 10-44 cassette, and knowing I will still have the 44 is amazing as like you I like to grind up hills and not overspin. I also own a 42t chainring and will probably experiment to see which one I prefer. Great info bro!
I got a Garbaruk 11-50 two years ago because it was the best option I could find for getting an HG freehub wheel to 50t. Super satisfied. Super bling straight out of the box and works well while weighing nothing (for a dinner plate). Beautiful machining (way better looking than those awful 'grease black' SRAM cassettes. At the time, I didn't know the SRAM cassettes had the big jump problem you talk about. Makes me even happier I went that way. Surprisingly good customer support and shipping too. (call me a fan boy. I even bought another 10-50 for a different wheel later).
@@oldguyandabike I have 2 wheelsets for the Cutthroat. An 11s 10-50 XD on one and an 11-50 HG on the other (RD isn't even rated for 50t so the 52t wasn't an option. I've got about 2200 miles on the combination (looking helped me realize they aren't being tracked correctly but I'd guess 60/40 split) and no meaningful wear to date except the anodizing on the big cogs shows some cosmetic wear. But no surprise with an aluminum cog.
I found the slx11-46 and 40chainring has similar gapping issue so I moved to E13 9-46 with eagle 46 chainring and while gapping is better, I thought shifting was not great when racing (shallow ramps). Moved sunrace 10-46 and it is perfect, smooth, no gap and shimano like shifting quality using Rival derailleur
Timely video deciding on 2x or 1x at the moment , currently running xplr 1x 40 44 but it ain't low enough for me, old man in south wales but love the look of 1x
Your video timing is perfect. I built up my gravel 1X with Shimano GXR but using a 44t to a 11-44 cassette. This combo is fine until I ride the steep trails. So now I’m going to try a different combo. A 40t to an 11-50. If that doesn’t work, I might drop to a 38t.
@@Macuhdohnadadoh thank you for sharing your experience. I have 2 gravel bikes and my more “All-Road” 80/20 road/gravel has a crazy 48/30 and 11-34 cassette (2x11). (All my wheel sets have HG free hubs). I was able to get that 48/30 from White Industrial and its very easy to get different combos with their modular system. My other gravel thats 1x11 has more tire clearance and a more aggressive geo to be able take up and down my steep terrain, its 90/10 trails/pavement. First building,I was concerned about not enough high end with a 40 so I went 44 but now regret. I really haven’t experienced a spin-out on descents because they’re so steep and I’m hardly ever pedaling. My goal is just to make it easier to climb with low end. I will try a 38 or 40t at first then see if that 11-50 cassette is needed.
@@Macuhdohnadadoh that 44/28 2x11 sounds like the perfect gearing for most of the San Gabriel’s. You can’t go wrong with Shimano cranks and the BB’s last forever. I have never cracked a rear hub axle but I also don’t run 12speed with a 10t cog, nor use any XDR or XD cassettes⚙️. I totally agree that a 2x10 would be about the best lasting group you could get for a go anywhere gravel bike. I still have an old 2x10 on my commuter bike. I never had any problems with that bike and the chains and cassettes last forever. I think the 1x gravel is for those that are more likely to drive to the trails just as you would do with a mountain bike and not really for the 50/50 rider.
Titanium and purple go well together. Heck, most colors do. I like purple, black as a combo with a titanium frame. That's what went on my 1x10 DBR Prevail TT.
Super educational video! My most recent bike purchase is a Polygon Bend R9X graveler I bought online, and it's my first (non-MTB) 1X, and also my first experience with electronic shifting and Sram in general. I have to say that while I certainly don't NEED electronic shifting, I absolutely love it. Even after a few hundred k's of riding it, the shifting is super smooth and I'll now seek-out Sram on future bikes. I agree with you re: the ergonomics of Sram's shifters as well, as I can reach paddles and brake levers much easier in the drops than with a Shimano setup. Also love that if I forget to charge the derailleur battery, I can always grab the one from my dropper post as I hardly ever need to use it, and that'd get me home. I'm hearing you can't do that with Shimano's version. New to your channel as I mentioned in a previous comment. Man, you are absolutely killing it! Cheers from the Yank down undah!
Thanks, brother man! I use a spare battery that I got from Amazon for 20 bucks or so. For just a 'get me home' solution, that hurts less than the SRAM official one. gg
It's great to get the perspective, see the changes and decisions made and how they change the ride. Lets hope the changes in setup work better for all of your rides and not just this one specific route that has you tweaking your setup. Hopefully the changes made to make this ride better doesn't negatively impact other routes is what I'm saying. I still think most of us could do without a 10, 11, maybe close the gaps on the top end. I'm glad you found a product trying to fill a need and close the gaps so to speak. The tech is really cool to see. I'm sure they will soon pair that tech to suggested gearing too for routes or users who profiles show where they live on the cassette based on the rides they often do. I would like to see the numbers on what 1 or 2 tooth difference on the front correlates to on the rear cassette. I'm sure there is a chart I can find if you don't cover that in the next episode.
Stay tuned...38T front ring on order. As far as this representing my rides well, I think it does. We really do a lot of semi-MTB rides here on our gravel bikes. And, I'm not getting any younger. gg
Interesting video. I also have a SRAM mullet drive train on my gravel bike. The transition between the 42t cog and the 50t cog on my cassette doesn't really cause me much grief. When I need a bail out gear - the 50t cog - i need it to really bail me out. Climbs I ride where I need the 50t are between 7% and 10% average pitch with sections at 20%+. The 19% jump between the 50t cog and the 42t cog is ok for me. (44t front chain ring). OTOH, I wish my GX cassette had a 11 tooth top cog like the NX cassette. The jump between the 12t cog and the 10t cog is 20% decrease in leverage. Just way too much of a jump for me on the road when I transit on the road between gravel sections. I also have another gravel bike with a 2x 10 speed drive train - 11-42 Deore cassette and 34/50 chain rings. Interestingly it also is plagued with 2 tooth steps in the smaller cogs. No getting around that issue even with 2x. I looked at Garbaruk cassettes. Beautiful pieces. But they are $$$ and didn't really solve my problem.
@@etr9650 yeah. I think that we are seeing the result of these being MTB cassettes and in that world, the 10T is just for fast trail sections and getting to the trailhead. After that, you are up into the cassette. The XPLR stuff has an 11T but of course is not a deep enough big cog. Stuck in the middle, we are. gg
Spent a few days thinking about this and came up with the "perfect" 12 speed cassette. 10-11-12-14-16-19-22-26-31-37-44-52 10% jumps for granularity when wind resistance is a huge factor, then a 15% jump, followed by 18% jumps the rest of the way up to the 52 tooth. At least on paper it sounds about right but I'm probably missing something that anyone at Sram would notice right away. Still wanna try it! Now if I can just find a company who will makes custom cassettes...
the shimano xt has 45-51, that's have I have on my MTB which I've been happy with. But thanks for letting me know about the Garbaruk, I didn't even know about them, looks cool.
Yeah, that is a nice cassette spacing. Better than the Garb too, IMO. I know there is the SRA-Mano hack and a few folks have done that...combine the two groups....just need to figure out chains, rings, etc. It's a thought. gg
I couldn't tell exactly when but the GAP clothing vanished and was replaced with H&M in the cultural mind 😂 On both my mountain bikes I run a Shimano XT 10-45 cassette (also offered in SLX) with less step ups. I run either a 30 or 32 chainring and I live in the mountains, 30/45 is at limit of traction when climbing in loam but it's perfectly doable if you're a bit fit. I wouldn't go back to higher steps it's really annoying...
It’s essentially just a bail out gear…looking at your cassette it’s worn out in the middle where the chain line is at its best and it’s the main pedalling gears, that’s where the closest ratios need to be.
Don't know if you're sponsored by Gabaruk, been using their derailleur cages and jockey wheels for a while now. Some of the smoothest shift! However all this talk, eThirteen makes a 13-52 cassette. That gives you a 45T in there instead of 44T. 13-15-17-19-22-25-28-32-36-40-45-52. Been using eThirteen cassettes for a while two (currently have 2 on bikes), and aside from the funky install process, they are fantastic cassettes! The funky install has a purpose though. Unlike these where the biggest cog made out of alloy and the rest billet steel, on the eThirteen, the alloy cog is replaceable, and the rest is made out of the same billet steel. They also make a 9-52, 9-50, and 9-45 for gravel in 12sp. 9-46 in 11sp.
I love my KCNC 9-52 (9/10/12/15/18/22/26/30/34/40/46/52T) and $259! Yes mor aluminum but makes it a bit lighter and no issue with durability yet. Also the 9 tooth give a taller top end. Gear gaps are much better than the Sram. 13:24
I'm on a 38t oval with 10-50. I don't use the 50 a ton but have NEEDED it for some of my rides. If I went to a 40 or 42 in front I'd want to go to 52 in back I think. I probably use the 10 more than the 50 currently but am often in the 42.
Good feedback. I bet I could live with a 38T and a 10-50 as well but that 38/44 combo will be sweet I bet. And a 38/52? Low, ba by, low. How do you like the oval ring? Which one are you running? gg
@@oldguyandabike I probably average a bit over 100ft/mile round trip on most of my rides that can have some 10-15%ers but usually not as much climbing a you. I have a knock off :/ Stone 38T 6mm offset as I use mountain cranks on my soma wolverine because my knees prefer the wider q factor. I think I'd go with a garbaruk 40t chainring next time as my chainline still seems wider than road cranks when I'm in the 50 cog and the garbaruk would give me another .6mm as it's 6.6mm. That may make me want the garbaruk 52t cassette though and my wife would not like that :) I do also use my bike for road and recently put 35s on it to do the iron horse. On the road i don't use the 50 at all. Maybe next year I'll try that garbaruk front and back setup. Appreciate your detailed video of the cassette!
I've got the SRAM Rival XPLR AXS ETAP 1-by setup so the rear is 10x44 - I had to go to a 36 tooth chainring to deal with steep climbs which gives me a 0.82 lowest gear, your 10x52 with 40 tooth is 0.77, I'd call that a half gear lower. My top end is closer to your 12 cog than your 10 cog but as you noted I spin out at around 28-29mph which is plenty fast. I wanted to convert to 10x52 with teh Garbaruk cassette and cage but unfortunately Garbaruk says their cage and rear 10x52 won't work with my XPLR derailleur. Swapping the derailleur for a new SRAM 10x52 compatible electronic is pretty darn expensive.
Yeah...that is what keeps me out of XPLR for the gravel bike. Not low enough. I heard the 13 speed version is a 46T top cog, but then you still have to replace all the shift control parts AND the der I assume. I think if I were building a more All-Road type bike, then XPLR would be quite good. gg
I have a Pinarello Grevil Rival AXS 1X gravel bike. Came with 42T 10-44. I just pulled the trigger and purchased a GX Eagle derailleur, Eagle x01 chain and now will be buying the Garbaruk 10-52 XD cassette after seeing this video! I actually ordered the Eagle 10-52 cassette but I am sending it back (arrives in 2 days). Atleast with the Garbaruk cassette i will have a 44 as I do now and not 42! Great Video and info!
The gap that bugs me the most is the 10 to 12 tooth jump. Only happens on the way to or from the trailhead but it's such a big jump in gear inches that I keep finding myself wanting something in between... I'd happily give up some fidelity in the middle of the cassette for some fine adjustment at the bottom.
@oldguyandabike Yeah, that does look awesome for gravel! TRP's EVO cassette has the same 10, 11, 13 combo with a couple big jumps on it's way to a 52t. I'm hoping it does well on my upcoming hardtail build
Thanks for the video. In process of deciding between a 10-52 set with the 44-52 jump or the new red xplr 13 speed but with 46 being lowest gear. Do you have thoughts on going mullet or the new Red Xplr? This is for my gravel bike that I use for several races a year on east coast with lots of climbing and chunky gravel but also using as my daily trainer which is mainly on hilly road courses with some gravel and singletrack portions on each ride. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Hmmm...well, it depends how badly you need that lower range of the 52 vs the somewhat tighter spacing of the new XPLR. 1x13. What I am not a fan of is the 38T 2nd cog down as that is a pretty poor low gear when paired with a 40T or bigger ring, at least for me. But there are options you are not considering...a 10-50 cassette so the 44 to 50 is tighter...or Garbaruk, IIRC, makes a 10-48 (all of this is eagle compatible). gg
I find this series of videos interesting. I'm curious though, what is the reason for your preference for Sram? I'm trying to figure out how I can share a wheelset btw two different bikes, while also having one of those bikes suited to 2 separate wheelsets - 1 27.5+ MTB, and 1 650b gravel/touring/road set. I might have to give up the top end on the road, but that's okay. Something to keep in mind about your next video: the smallest cogs wear faster for equal use to their bigger neighbors.
Good question. It is a few things. First, let me say that Shimano is the best shifting stuff out there. Period. Brakes too. But I have never cared for the way they shift as far as the actual controls, either manual or electronic. I find the way the brake levers swing and shift to be odd and the Di2 buttons, in my opinion, are a mess of which button does what, especially with thick gloves on. Also, I have seen Mrs. Grannygear wear out two sets of Shimano shifters on her road bikes where I have several thousand miles on a set of Rival 22 shifters and they are just fine. I prefer the paddles of SRAM, both manual and AXS. They just make sense to my brain. I prefer the individual battery approach of SRAM, where I can easily carry a spare. over the single, hidden, bigger, battery of the Di2. And I think, at least until recently, SRAM owns 1x. Period. And SRAM gives us way more choices in crank and cassette options for 2x as well. Gearing for the masses. As far as the smaller cogs wearing...yes, less chain wrap to take the load, but typically you are putting much less wattage into the system when you are in this smaller cogs. And when I ran a 2x 46/30 crank and an 11-36 cassette I was in the 30T front ring a lot and that wears pretty quickly too. As the King of Siam said..."It's a puzzlement!". gg
I really like my Garbaruk cassette, but I've found it's very sensitive to hanger alignment. This probably isn't an issue for anyone who doesn't drop their bikes as often as I do though.
Ok I am going to watch this but yu have me already scratching my head as to why anyone would want to put that cassette on a gravel bike...I can see it for a MTB as I already have that cassette on my FS Ti ride ...but never, never would I even consider putting it on my gravel bike. Yup my gravel ride is also Ti but I run a two ring crank with all wireless shifting. I always have the right gear for no matter what and the clutch keeps everything together quietly and nicely on all sigle track and over babyheads.
Fair question. Lower gears for one. In a Shimano world I could get a 30x40 11spd to work. That’s a nice gear. But in a SRAM world? What cassette do I use with AXS 12 speed to get lower than 36T and what derailleur? I was skeptical of the Mullet and it certainly is not ideal. But the strengths of always being in the right chainring, just minding one shift lever….with rides like the Rockcobbler (a local classic event) I must have found I was in the wrong front ring a dozen times when I really needed it. So I could be woo’ed back to 2x if the right combo came along. But I don’t see that happening. I’m holding out for the return of the Triple! gg
Hey gg, hope this question isnt too involved. Currently running 12s xplr 40t 10-44 cassette. With the Garbaruk 10-52, will the 40t 52 be to low of a gear for climbing? I know there are so many factors like gradient, length of ride etc. but I just mean in general. I do not want to overspin. I also own a 42t chainring I can put on, but I like the idea of still having the 40t with the 44 on the Garbaruk to keep my current climbing gear. Thank you gg!
Sooooo….XPLR and Eagle do not mix. You can’t add an Eagle cassette into XPLR chain and der and pulleys. As far as too low a gear? Well you can always shift into a higher gear but you can’t shift into a low gear you do not have. gg
@@oldguyandabike Hi, I already ordered the Eagle GX derailleur and xo1 Eagle chain. I had ordered an Eagle cassette but am returning as I now ordered the Garbaruk 10-52. Just not sure if 40t 52 will be to low for me, I like to grind but do need another gear....In that case I will use my 42t! Thanks
@@oldguyandabikeHey gg , just wanted to report to you I did my first big ride Saturday with the eagle derailleur, 42t chainring and the Garbaruk 10-52 cassette... 60 mi about 7K of climbing. New setup is amazing!
Yes. that is another way to get out of the top cog more. And I have a 38T on order. But I was wanting to see how the 40T treated me with that other cassette. And even with a smaller ring, the gap would remain. gg
The only reason they don't make double or triple chainrings are cost. Eliminate one derailleur, two chainrings one shifter, save production costs and charge more for a new inferior system. Sorry but the new 1×s are complete rubbish! Those gaps are ridiculous and range to restricted. Of course I'm old as dirt and still prefer only 2 tooth jumps on the rear, and sometimes that's even too much. Still enjoy my old 13-17 cluster..makes hills a challenge! Lol
I would reckon the cost to engineer is the real holdup. Those triples were very complicated to get to function correctly. Also why we aren’t seeing any revolutions on the road cranks either.
Shouldn't you have figured out your front chainring before seeing if you needed a new cassette? Your chart will look completely different now. The original chart didn't show how much time you'll spend in 10t, ..., 52t; it showed how much time you spent in 40-10t, ..., 40-52t. With 38t you'll be using the next chainring over in some cases, and you'd possibly find 38-42t more useful than 40-42t.
I wanted to see how the new spacing affected things first. The move to the 38T would have happened anyway and I know what it will do on the cassette, that is, making every cog a lower gear than the 40T gives me. So, yes, I expect the 42T in the old cassette would have been used more, but the gap would remain. Now the 38T ring on that Garb cassette...well, a 38x44 is a six tooth difference and that is a very, very useful gear based on my time running a 30/46 and 11-36 2x. And I bet I will use that 38x44 combo a LOT! And the 52T will see even less use. My concern was running out of top end, or even being in the 10T a lot. Neither are great things. So we shall see, but I think it will be a good direction to go. gg
Then, lets see: 11 14 18 22 27 34 43 54 79% 78% 82% 81% 79% 79% 80% ... 8 speed, 20% jumps, 500% range. This is what i want. I hate granularity that is so fine that I am always double shifting. Who can make this for me?
The fact that your gear use distribution is vastly different across ALL cogs makes comparing the two cassettes pretty meaningless. 2 teeth difference between a 42/44 cog is like 1/2 of 1%. Good luck really noticing that.
Hey,
Vlad Garbaruk here. Great video, really glad to see someone understand the advantage of our 44T sprocket.
When you decide to try the 38T chainring setup, feel free to email us, we'll be happy to send you our 38T ring 😀
Hey, what a treat! Thanks for reaching out.
gg
I run a Garbaruk 38t and 10-44 Rival cassette and it's a superb combo. Garbaruk gear is superb.
Excellent video! The chart is very useful to show where the usage is. I have experimented with my front chainring to get the most range and practical usage out of my setup. Your video has confirmed to me that I am on the right track!. Thnx!!
Your video got me to ‘get ur done’. Ordered my Garbaruk 10-52, Ratio Technology’s 11 to 12 conversion kit. I still can use my Rival, just use RT’s cage and 12 pawl ratchet; plus a new chain. Bye bye Frankenstein 10-42 cassette that I built. 38t up front, down from 40t oem, for bikepacking loads.
Great video. I put an ethirteen 9-52 cassette, and a SRAM GX derailleur on my gravel bike three weeks ago. Amazing range and gaps. The 9 tooth is a surprisingly helpful gear to have on big descents. Thanks for the video.
Thanks for this one. I run 11-speed 10-46 Garbaruk's on both my gravel and "road/touring" bikes (without modifying gravel derailleurs that claim to not support such a range). I'd like to see that 44 (on the big 12 speed you show) be a 46. Regardless, I attest to Garbaruk's quality and longevity. Peace! -Greg
Garbaruk 10-52 cassettes with 44 t second gear has been out for a few years now, great bit of kit! Tried and tested
Nice one Granny! you've got me thinking more now. Keep it up.
Well done! Love the carefull look over the numbers. This is the right approach to costly tech.
Garbaruk makes some really good stuff. I used their cage and pulleys along with a Goat Link, a Sunrace 11-51 cassette and a new XT derailleur to turn my Vintage Mountain Cycle San Andreas into a 1x11. And, it shifts really nice. When my Trek EXe needs a new cassette, it’ll be a Garbaruk.
Thanks for making this video. I’m about to use my gravel bike for some serious bike packing and have been considering switching to a 10-52 cassette. I’d never heard of Garbaruk before seeing your video,but I’ll be getting one now 😊
Good info, here from the UK 🇬🇧🖖
Hi gg, great video! The funny part is about 1 day before I saw it I ordered an Eagle GX detrailleur, 10-52 cassete and x01 chain form biketiresdirect. I did not like the ration jumping from 42 to 52 but figured I would make it work. After watching your video I ordered the Garbaruk 10-52 from Bikeinn. I will return the eagle cassette only bummer is the shipping is 9.99 but oh well.
The great thing is I currently have the xplr 40t chainring 10-44 cassette, and knowing I will still have the 44 is amazing as like you I like to grind up hills and not overspin. I also own a 42t chainring and will probably experiment to see which one I prefer. Great info bro!
@@Hokum48 excellent. Glad it helped.
gg
I got a Garbaruk 11-50 two years ago because it was the best option I could find for getting an HG freehub wheel to 50t. Super satisfied. Super bling straight out of the box and works well while weighing nothing (for a dinner plate). Beautiful machining (way better looking than those awful 'grease black' SRAM cassettes. At the time, I didn't know the SRAM cassettes had the big jump problem you talk about. Makes me even happier I went that way. Surprisingly good customer support and shipping too. (call me a fan boy. I even bought another 10-50 for a different wheel later).
Bling for sure. How has it been over miles of use, wear wise, etc?
gg
@@oldguyandabike I have 2 wheelsets for the Cutthroat. An 11s 10-50 XD on one and an 11-50 HG on the other (RD isn't even rated for 50t so the 52t wasn't an option. I've got about 2200 miles on the combination (looking helped me realize they aren't being tracked correctly but I'd guess 60/40 split) and no meaningful wear to date except the anodizing on the big cogs shows some cosmetic wear. But no surprise with an aluminum cog.
I found the slx11-46 and 40chainring has similar gapping issue so I moved to E13 9-46 with eagle 46 chainring and while gapping is better, I thought shifting was not great when racing (shallow ramps). Moved sunrace 10-46 and it is perfect, smooth, no gap and shimano like shifting quality using Rival derailleur
Timely video deciding on 2x or 1x at the moment , currently running xplr 1x 40 44 but it ain't low enough for me, old man in south wales but love the look of 1x
I got linkglide 11-48,and im happy❤
Your video timing is perfect. I built up my gravel 1X with Shimano GXR but using a 44t to a 11-44 cassette. This combo is fine until I ride the steep trails. So now I’m going to try a different combo. A 40t to an 11-50. If that doesn’t work, I might drop to a 38t.
Cool. Gearing is so individual that we really need to evaluate what makes sense for us.
gg
@@Macuhdohnadadoh thank you for sharing your experience. I have 2 gravel bikes and my more “All-Road” 80/20 road/gravel has a crazy 48/30 and 11-34 cassette (2x11). (All my wheel sets have HG free hubs).
I was able to get that 48/30 from White Industrial and its very easy to get different combos with their modular system.
My other gravel thats 1x11 has more tire clearance and a more aggressive geo to be able take up and down my steep terrain, its 90/10 trails/pavement. First building,I was concerned about not enough high end with a 40 so I went 44 but now regret. I really haven’t experienced a spin-out on descents because they’re so steep and I’m hardly ever pedaling.
My goal is just to make it easier to climb with low end.
I will try a 38 or 40t at first then see if that 11-50 cassette is needed.
@@Macuhdohnadadoh that 44/28 2x11 sounds like the perfect gearing for most of the San Gabriel’s. You can’t go wrong with Shimano cranks and the BB’s last forever. I have never cracked a rear hub axle but I also don’t run 12speed with a 10t cog, nor use any XDR or XD cassettes⚙️. I totally agree that a 2x10 would be about the best lasting group you could get for a go anywhere gravel bike. I still have an old 2x10 on my commuter bike. I never had any problems with that bike and the chains and cassettes last forever. I think the 1x gravel is for those that are more likely to drive to the trails just as you would do with a mountain bike and not really for the 50/50 rider.
Titanium and purple go well together. Heck, most colors do. I like purple, black as a combo with a titanium frame. That's what went on my 1x10 DBR Prevail TT.
Super educational video! My most recent bike purchase is a Polygon Bend R9X graveler I bought online, and it's my first (non-MTB) 1X, and also my first experience with electronic shifting and Sram in general. I have to say that while I certainly don't NEED electronic shifting, I absolutely love it. Even after a few hundred k's of riding it, the shifting is super smooth and I'll now seek-out Sram on future bikes. I agree with you re: the ergonomics of Sram's shifters as well, as I can reach paddles and brake levers much easier in the drops than with a Shimano setup. Also love that if I forget to charge the derailleur battery, I can always grab the one from my dropper post as I hardly ever need to use it, and that'd get me home. I'm hearing you can't do that with Shimano's version. New to your channel as I mentioned in a previous comment. Man, you are absolutely killing it! Cheers from the Yank down undah!
Thanks, brother man! I use a spare battery that I got from Amazon for 20 bucks or so. For just a 'get me home' solution, that hurts less than the SRAM official one.
gg
It's great to get the perspective, see the changes and decisions made and how they change the ride. Lets hope the changes in setup work better for all of your rides and not just this one specific route that has you tweaking your setup. Hopefully the changes made to make this ride better doesn't negatively impact other routes is what I'm saying. I still think most of us could do without a 10, 11, maybe close the gaps on the top end. I'm glad you found a product trying to fill a need and close the gaps so to speak. The tech is really cool to see. I'm sure they will soon pair that tech to suggested gearing too for routes or users who profiles show where they live on the cassette based on the rides they often do. I would like to see the numbers on what 1 or 2 tooth difference on the front correlates to on the rear cassette. I'm sure there is a chart I can find if you don't cover that in the next episode.
Stay tuned...38T front ring on order.
As far as this representing my rides well, I think it does. We really do a lot of semi-MTB rides here on our gravel bikes.
And, I'm not getting any younger.
gg
Interesting video. I also have a SRAM mullet drive train on my gravel bike. The transition between the 42t cog and the 50t cog on my cassette doesn't really cause me much grief. When I need a bail out gear - the 50t cog - i need it to really bail me out. Climbs I ride where I need the 50t are between 7% and 10% average pitch with sections at 20%+. The 19% jump between the 50t cog and the 42t cog is ok for me. (44t front chain ring). OTOH, I wish my GX cassette had a 11 tooth top cog like the NX cassette. The jump between the 12t cog and the 10t cog is 20% decrease in leverage. Just way too much of a jump for me on the road when I transit on the road between gravel sections. I also have another gravel bike with a 2x 10 speed drive train - 11-42 Deore cassette and 34/50 chain rings. Interestingly it also is plagued with 2 tooth steps in the smaller cogs. No getting around that issue even with 2x. I looked at Garbaruk cassettes. Beautiful pieces. But they are $$$ and didn't really solve my problem.
@@etr9650 yeah. I think that we are seeing the result of these being MTB cassettes and in that world, the 10T is just for fast trail sections and getting to the trailhead. After that, you are up into the cassette.
The XPLR stuff has an 11T but of course is not a deep enough big cog.
Stuck in the middle, we are.
gg
love the Garbaruk components solved a lot of gearing problems , I was having with the big 2.
Well I have some more parts on order from them, so we shall see how it all treats me.
gg
Spent a few days thinking about this and came up with the "perfect" 12 speed cassette.
10-11-12-14-16-19-22-26-31-37-44-52
10% jumps for granularity when wind resistance is a huge factor, then a 15% jump, followed by 18% jumps the rest of the way up to the 52 tooth.
At least on paper it sounds about right but I'm probably missing something that anyone at Sram would notice right away. Still wanna try it! Now if I can just find a company who will makes custom cassettes...
the shimano xt has 45-51, that's have I have on my MTB which I've been happy with. But thanks for letting me know about the Garbaruk, I didn't even know about them, looks cool.
Yeah, that is a nice cassette spacing. Better than the Garb too, IMO. I know there is the SRA-Mano hack and a few folks have done that...combine the two groups....just need to figure out chains, rings, etc. It's a thought.
gg
I couldn't tell exactly when but the GAP clothing vanished and was replaced with H&M in the cultural mind 😂
On both my mountain bikes I run a Shimano XT 10-45 cassette (also offered in SLX) with less step ups.
I run either a 30 or 32 chainring and I live in the mountains, 30/45 is at limit of traction when climbing in loam but it's perfectly doable if you're a bit fit.
I wouldn't go back to higher steps it's really annoying...
Brilliant info
It’s essentially just a bail out gear…looking at your cassette it’s worn out in the middle where the chain line is at its best and it’s the main pedalling gears, that’s where the closest ratios need to be.
Don't know if you're sponsored by Gabaruk, been using their derailleur cages and jockey wheels for a while now. Some of the smoothest shift!
However all this talk, eThirteen makes a 13-52 cassette. That gives you a 45T in there instead of 44T. 13-15-17-19-22-25-28-32-36-40-45-52.
Been using eThirteen cassettes for a while two (currently have 2 on bikes), and aside from the funky install process, they are fantastic cassettes!
The funky install has a purpose though. Unlike these where the biggest cog made out of alloy and the rest billet steel, on the eThirteen, the alloy cog is replaceable, and the rest is made out of the same billet steel.
They also make a 9-52, 9-50, and 9-45 for gravel in 12sp. 9-46 in 11sp.
No sponsorship. Just thought they were an interesting option. I’ll keep an eye on the e13 stuff.
gg
I love my KCNC 9-52 (9/10/12/15/18/22/26/30/34/40/46/52T) and $259! Yes mor aluminum but makes it a bit lighter and no issue with durability yet. Also the 9 tooth give a taller top end. Gear gaps are much better than the Sram. 13:24
Interesting! 😎💯👍
I'm on a 38t oval with 10-50. I don't use the 50 a ton but have NEEDED it for some of my rides. If I went to a 40 or 42 in front I'd want to go to 52 in back I think. I probably use the 10 more than the 50 currently but am often in the 42.
Good feedback. I bet I could live with a 38T and a 10-50 as well but that 38/44 combo will be sweet I bet. And a 38/52? Low, ba by, low.
How do you like the oval ring? Which one are you running?
gg
@@oldguyandabike I probably average a bit over 100ft/mile round trip on most of my rides that can have some 10-15%ers but usually not as much climbing a you.
I have a knock off :/ Stone 38T 6mm offset as I use mountain cranks on my soma wolverine because my knees prefer the wider q factor. I think I'd go with a garbaruk 40t chainring next time as my chainline still seems wider than road cranks when I'm in the 50 cog and the garbaruk would give me another .6mm as it's 6.6mm. That may make me want the garbaruk 52t cassette though and my wife would not like that :)
I do also use my bike for road and recently put 35s on it to do the iron horse. On the road i don't use the 50 at all. Maybe next year I'll try that garbaruk front and back setup. Appreciate your detailed video of the cassette!
I run 40-30-22 and 11-50 from garbaruck and their pulleys and cage. Rest is xt. Runs great and climbs walls.
What crank and der is that? And shifter?
gg
I've got the SRAM Rival XPLR AXS ETAP 1-by setup so the rear is 10x44 - I had to go to a 36 tooth chainring to deal with steep climbs which gives me a 0.82 lowest gear, your 10x52 with 40 tooth is 0.77, I'd call that a half gear lower. My top end is closer to your 12 cog than your 10 cog but as you noted I spin out at around 28-29mph which is plenty fast. I wanted to convert to 10x52 with teh Garbaruk cassette and cage but unfortunately Garbaruk says their cage and rear 10x52 won't work with my XPLR derailleur. Swapping the derailleur for a new SRAM 10x52 compatible electronic is pretty darn expensive.
Yeah...that is what keeps me out of XPLR for the gravel bike. Not low enough. I heard the 13 speed version is a 46T top cog, but then you still have to replace all the shift control parts AND the der I assume.
I think if I were building a more All-Road type bike, then XPLR would be quite good.
gg
I have a Pinarello Grevil Rival AXS 1X gravel bike. Came with 42T 10-44. I just pulled the trigger and purchased a GX Eagle derailleur, Eagle x01 chain and now will be buying the Garbaruk 10-52 XD cassette after seeing this video! I actually ordered the Eagle 10-52 cassette but I am sending it back (arrives in 2 days). Atleast with the Garbaruk cassette i will have a 44 as I do now and not 42! Great Video and info!
The gap that bugs me the most is the 10 to 12 tooth jump. Only happens on the way to or from the trailhead but it's such a big jump in gear inches that I keep finding myself wanting something in between... I'd happily give up some fidelity in the middle of the cassette for some fine adjustment at the bottom.
Interesting. Yeah it’s a big one for sure. That is not there on the XPLR cassette.
gg
@oldguyandabike Yeah, that does look awesome for gravel! TRP's EVO cassette has the same 10, 11, 13 combo with a couple big jumps on it's way to a 52t. I'm hoping it does well on my upcoming hardtail build
Thanks for the video. In process of deciding between a 10-52 set with the 44-52 jump or the new red xplr 13 speed but with 46 being lowest gear. Do you have thoughts on going mullet or the new Red Xplr? This is for my gravel bike that I use for several races a year on east coast with lots of climbing and chunky gravel but also using as my daily trainer which is mainly on hilly road courses with some gravel and singletrack portions on each ride. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Hmmm...well, it depends how badly you need that lower range of the 52 vs the somewhat tighter spacing of the new XPLR. 1x13. What I am not a fan of is the 38T 2nd cog down as that is a pretty poor low gear when paired with a 40T or bigger ring, at least for me.
But there are options you are not considering...a 10-50 cassette so the 44 to 50 is tighter...or Garbaruk, IIRC, makes a 10-48 (all of this is eagle compatible).
gg
Thank you very much for taking the time to respond!
Good advice will look into the 10-50 some of the steeper climbs def are helpful with a 50 or 52
I find this series of videos interesting. I'm curious though, what is the reason for your preference for Sram?
I'm trying to figure out how I can share a wheelset btw two different bikes, while also having one of those bikes suited to 2 separate wheelsets - 1 27.5+ MTB, and 1 650b gravel/touring/road set. I might have to give up the top end on the road, but that's okay. Something to keep in mind about your next video: the smallest cogs wear faster for equal use to their bigger neighbors.
Good question. It is a few things. First, let me say that Shimano is the best shifting stuff out there. Period. Brakes too. But I have never cared for the way they shift as far as the actual controls, either manual or electronic. I find the way the brake levers swing and shift to be odd and the Di2 buttons, in my opinion, are a mess of which button does what, especially with thick gloves on.
Also, I have seen Mrs. Grannygear wear out two sets of Shimano shifters on her road bikes where I have several thousand miles on a set of Rival 22 shifters and they are just fine.
I prefer the paddles of SRAM, both manual and AXS. They just make sense to my brain.
I prefer the individual battery approach of SRAM, where I can easily carry a spare. over the single, hidden, bigger, battery of the Di2.
And I think, at least until recently, SRAM owns 1x. Period.
And SRAM gives us way more choices in crank and cassette options for 2x as well. Gearing for the masses.
As far as the smaller cogs wearing...yes, less chain wrap to take the load, but typically you are putting much less wattage into the system when you are in this smaller cogs. And when I ran a 2x 46/30 crank and an 11-36 cassette I was in the 30T front ring a lot and that wears pretty quickly too.
As the King of Siam said..."It's a puzzlement!".
gg
I have the Eagle setup on my BMC gravel bike and the 52 is rarely used only in extreme conditions or if I get much older
I really like my Garbaruk cassette, but I've found it's very sensitive to hanger alignment. This probably isn't an issue for anyone who doesn't drop their bikes as often as I do though.
Hah! Having a SRAM UDH hangar helps there. I think any 12 speed system is very, very picky on alignment.
gg
Ok I am going to watch this but yu have me already scratching my head as to why anyone would want to put that cassette on a gravel bike...I can see it for a MTB as I already have that cassette on my FS Ti ride ...but never, never would I even consider putting it on my gravel bike. Yup my gravel ride is also Ti but I run a two ring crank with all wireless shifting. I always have the right gear for no matter what and the clutch keeps everything together quietly and nicely on all sigle track and over babyheads.
Fair question. Lower gears for one. In a Shimano world I could get a 30x40 11spd to work. That’s a nice gear. But in a SRAM world? What cassette do I use with AXS 12 speed to get lower than 36T and what derailleur?
I was skeptical of the Mullet and it certainly is not ideal. But the strengths of always being in the right chainring, just minding one shift lever….with rides like the Rockcobbler (a local classic event) I must have found I was in the wrong front ring a dozen times when I really needed it.
So I could be woo’ed back to 2x if the right combo came along. But I don’t see that happening.
I’m holding out for the return of the Triple!
gg
Bro not everyone has or wants a double on their gravel bike including me. I really like the 1X!
Hey gg, hope this question isnt too involved. Currently running 12s xplr 40t 10-44 cassette. With the Garbaruk 10-52, will the 40t 52 be to low of a gear for climbing? I know there are so many factors like gradient, length of ride etc. but I just mean in general. I do not want to overspin.
I also own a 42t chainring I can put on, but I like the idea of still having the 40t with the 44 on the Garbaruk to keep my current climbing gear. Thank you gg!
Sooooo….XPLR and Eagle do not mix. You can’t add an Eagle cassette into XPLR chain and der and pulleys.
As far as too low a gear? Well you can always shift into a higher gear but you can’t shift into a low gear you do not have.
gg
@@oldguyandabike Hi, I already ordered the Eagle GX derailleur and xo1 Eagle chain. I had ordered an Eagle cassette but am returning as I now ordered the Garbaruk 10-52. Just not sure if 40t 52 will be to low for me, I like to grind but do need another gear....In that case I will use my 42t! Thanks
@@Hokum48ooohhhh. Sorry. Lost track.
@@oldguyandabikeHey gg , just wanted to report to you I did my first big ride Saturday with the eagle derailleur, 42t chainring and the Garbaruk 10-52 cassette... 60 mi about 7K of climbing. New setup is amazing!
@@Hokum48 Oooo...big day. Sounds like my neck of the woods. So glad it worked out!
gg
Decrease the size of your front chain ring?
Yes. that is another way to get out of the top cog more. And I have a 38T on order. But I was wanting to see how the 40T treated me with that other cassette. And even with a smaller ring, the gap would remain.
gg
The only reason they don't make double or triple chainrings are cost. Eliminate one derailleur, two chainrings one shifter, save production costs and charge more for a new inferior system. Sorry but the new 1×s are complete rubbish! Those gaps are ridiculous and range to restricted. Of course I'm old as dirt and still prefer only 2 tooth jumps on the rear, and sometimes that's even too much. Still enjoy my old 13-17 cluster..makes hills a challenge! Lol
I would reckon the cost to engineer is the real holdup. Those triples were very complicated to get to function correctly. Also why we aren’t seeing any revolutions on the road cranks either.
Totally disagree 😊
Shouldn't you have figured out your front chainring before seeing if you needed a new cassette? Your chart will look completely different now. The original chart didn't show how much time you'll spend in 10t, ..., 52t; it showed how much time you spent in 40-10t, ..., 40-52t. With 38t you'll be using the next chainring over in some cases, and you'd possibly find 38-42t more useful than 40-42t.
I wanted to see how the new spacing affected things first. The move to the 38T would have happened anyway and I know what it will do on the cassette, that is, making every cog a lower gear than the 40T gives me. So, yes, I expect the 42T in the old cassette would have been used more, but the gap would remain.
Now the 38T ring on that Garb cassette...well, a 38x44 is a six tooth difference and that is a very, very useful gear based on my time running a 30/46 and 11-36 2x. And I bet I will use that 38x44 combo a LOT! And the 52T will see even less use.
My concern was running out of top end, or even being in the 10T a lot. Neither are great things.
So we shall see, but I think it will be a good direction to go.
gg
Did the derailleur b gap play nice with the 44 tooth when it may have been expecting to be sitting under a 42?
Yeah...never even noticed.
gg
Then, lets see:
11 14 18 22 27 34 43 54
79%
78%
82%
81%
79%
79%
80%
... 8 speed, 20% jumps, 500% range. This is what i want. I hate granularity that is so fine that I am always double shifting. Who can make this for me?
I appreciate this content but the first nine minutes of this video, easily could have been three.
You getting anything from Apple?
Yes. Keeps the doctor away.
gg
The fact that your gear use distribution is vastly different across ALL cogs makes comparing the two cassettes pretty meaningless. 2 teeth difference between a 42/44 cog is like 1/2 of 1%. Good luck really noticing that.
I run a sunrace 10-46 MX9 xd 11 speed cassette on my gravel bike , works great