11 speed...

Angus Young

Of the 11 speed/single ring options which would you go for and why?

Are the cheaper options that have appeared lately near as good as the top ticket items, diminishing returns and all that, or are the expensive version offering something worth the extra. At the moment I've got the 10 speed cassette that my bike came with though I've gone single ring up front. Unfortunately I have the legs of a bedridden girl so I need a little extra.

rockmonkeysc

i would only consider XT. All other options are too expensive. XT 11 speed actually works out cheaper than 10 speed plus an expander ring and RAD cage. It's also compatible with a standard freehub body.

Angus Young

That's what I'm thinking. Having read the reviews I'm struggling to see what you're getting in return from the premium they're asking for the top gear. The only really tangible thing seems to be weight. A quick gander at the 11 speed cassettes on CRC shows a £67 item coming in at 411g down to a £203 item coming in at 260g. My current 10 speed cassette comes in at 388g.

BloggingFit

I had X1 down for a new build but changed to XT once I knew it was released and available. Will be interesting to see how close to my XTR it performs and I have been told by someone already running XT that it performs smoother than SRAM. The cassette weight would be my only gripe but given the cost difference over SRAM I can let that slide.

lawman

XT all the way. It's so, so much nicer in feel than SRAM kit, which can feel super plasticky and clunky. Sure it's lighter but that's because it ain't made as well IMO. The mechs can fall apart, shifters break and I've seen cassettes wear out very quickly. Plus the jumps between gears can be pretty harsh as well. Some people swear by the feel of it, and that's cool, it's just feels nowhere near as smooth and refined as XT does and it's cheaper to boot. I'm normally one for watching the scales but I couldn't care less if X1 or XX1 is lighter and has a slighter wider range. It's taken shimano a while but they've finally nailed it and I can't wait till we see an equivilant SLX 1x11 group and it'll trickle down even further.

supersonic

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19683239#p19683239]Angus Young[/url] wrote:

Of the 11 speed/single ring options which would you go for and why?

Are the cheaper options that have appeared lately near as good as the top ticket items, diminishing returns and all that, or are the expensive version offering something worth the extra. At the moment I've got the 10 speed cassette that my bike came with though I've gone single ring up front. Unfortunately I have the legs of a bedridden girl so I need a little extra.

What ten speed set up are you running? My old 2x9 xt/xtr set up is actually lighter than the new XT 11 speed, and wider ranging.

sheepsteeth

I have a GX mech, shifter and cassette.

I wanted to try 11 speed with my new build out of curiosity more than anything.

It feels exactly like any other sram set up, so if you like sram; you will like it.

Nice positive clicks on the shifter (as opposed to vague with shimano) and super slick shifting to each gear even under heavy load. i had read that the jumps feel big on the sram cassettes but so far i havent noticed that. i just pick a gear i want commensurate with how hard i feel like i am working. Also, look at the jumps on the shimano 42t cassette. there isnt that big a difference.

i fitted the cheapest 32t narrow wide front ring i could find on ebay and so far, it is running beautifully. i used my old slx cranks as in my opinion, shimano make the best cranks.

i havent tried the more expensive sram groupsets but all i can see is that gx is a bit heavier but considerably cheaper whilst using all of the exact same tech.

the only issue i can think of is that to use a sram cassette, you need a different freehub so factor that in to your decision making.

Angus Young

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19683904#p19683904]supersonic[/url] wrote:

What ten speed set up are you running? My old 2x9 xt/xtr set up is actually lighter than the new XT 11 speed, and wider ranging.

This one...

http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/shimano-cassette-cs-hg50-10-speed-11-36-145151

... the one that came with the bike.

The Rookie

Ugh.....no wonder it weighs so much!

Ferrals

I'm going xt 11 speed shortly, will probably order early next month. I've been running 10 speed with a one up expander and 16t for the last year. I found the jump from 36-42 is harsh, I've been told the jump from 37-42 is noticeably less extreme. The expander wore out so I took it and the 16t out and put the 15 and 17 back in. While I didn't notice the jumps when I installed it originally, the reduced ratio gaps feel so much nicer now. For these reasons I can do without the extra range and expense of sram for a few grams ( and I calculated it's about 30g different to 10sp plus 42t expander).

The bigger question for me is what cranks to match with, probably xt

njee20

I've got a SRAM cassette with Shimano mech and shifter. Best combo IMO. Weighs less, better range, but Shimano ergonomics and reliability. The shifting on the SRAM shifter was fine, but immensely sensitive to cable adjustment and wear.

Only real shitter is having to buy an XD body, but I built new wheels and there was no cost difference for M10 or XD.