e-MTB parts YOU want to forget

goroncy

goroncy

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This is a thread about parts we all want to forget and we want to warn others not to buy and/or use. I think it's fine if we will write about parts that are not necessarily specific to e-MTBs. But of course these should be things that exist in e-MTB word.

I want to start with an abomination which is SRAM's 12 speed GX 1275 cassette.

139494_15069282242159.jpg


Since last 12 months I had a doubtful pleasure of trying out exactly 5 of these. The problem with those cassettes is the wobble that is particularly pronounced on 11th and 12th cog (two biggest cogs). It is humanly impossible to set the drivetrain to do it's job with this cassette installed. The wobble makes it impossible. There will always be a gear that is making clicking noise or drop to other gear. All cassettes I tested were installed properly without cross threading.

There is some speculation why is it like that. That XD driver was supposed to be used only in mono-block cassettes. I have no idea if it is true or not, but the fact is that this part is absolutely horrible. Waste of money, nerves and time. It gets my full score of 5 points of horribleness.

The wobble I'm talking about looks more or less like this:


I don't want to throw whole SRAM's drivetrain under the train. Their shifters and derailleurs are fine. Their 400 something EUR top shelve cassettes are also fine. NX cassette that is made for regular HG driver is OK (just prohibitively heavy). But GX 1275 is simply a no go. DO NOT CONSIDER BUYING THIS PART.
 
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That wobble is absolutely nasty. I'm surprised they even pass QC like that!
 
Planemo said:
That wobble is absolutely nasty. I'm surprised they even pass QC like that!
Click to expand...

This wobble is bigger or smaller depending on your luck. But it always makes the drivetrain to work like $hi+. I installed XT cassette on micro spline driver just recently. Works like a freaking charm. WITH SRAM's derailleur and shifter and SRAM's chain.
 
How frustrating! :(
This must be a recent quality problem. In Nov'17, I converted my YT Capra from 2x10 to 1x12. The cassette I chose was a GX 1275. I had zero problems with it and in use I could not tell the difference vs the XG 1295 I had on my Whyte T130. Both were perfect and neither had wobbles.
 
Eddy Current tyres. Hateful things.
 
goroncy said:
This is a thread about parts we all want to forget and we want to warn others not to buy and/or use. I think it's fine if we will write about parts that are not necessarily specific to e-MTBs. But of course these should be things that exist in e-MTB word.

I want to start with an abomination which is SRAM's 12 speed GX 1275 cassette.

View attachment 80112

Since last 12 months I had a doubtful pleasure of trying out exactly 5 of these. The problem with those cassettes is the wobble that is particularly pronounced on 11th and 12th cog (two biggest cogs). It is humanly impossible to set the drivetrain to do it's job with this cassette installed. The wobble makes it impossible. There will always be a gear that is making clicking noise or drop to other gear. All cassettes I tested were installed properly without cross threading.

There is some speculation why is it like that. That XD driver was supposed to be used only in mono-block cassettes. I have no idea if it is true or not, but the fact is that this part is absolutely horrible. Waste of money, nerves and time. It gets my full score of 5 points of horribleness.

The wobble I'm talking about looks more or less like this:


I don't want to throw whole SRAM's drivetrain under the train. Their shifters and derailleurs are fine. Their 400 something EUR top shelve cassettes are also fine. NX cassette that is made for regular HG driver is OK (just prohibitively heavy). But GX 1275 is simply a no go. DO NOT CONSIDER BUYING THIS PART.
Click to expand...
..........bit confused by that!! the XD 1275 SRAM cassette is fully pinned and fits an XD driver yet your video seems to have a cassette mounted on a splined driver...HD or microspline. I have the XD 1275 10-52 Eagle on my bike...it does not wobble and gear change is great.
 
RustyMTB said:
Knock blocks. And if you take them off Focus bikes, the battery falls out. Stop me & ask how.
Click to expand...

If we are in the knock blocks subject I'll add the Acros headset with routing through 2 HUGE gaping holes that allow ALL trail dirt to go inside the frame and lower headset bearing. What a horrible idea this is.
 
Bigcoose said:
Shocking horrible things,made my bike feel as numb as an oil tanker.
Click to expand...

It's not the size you mean. It's the mass. 29" are awesome but you need to spend much more than on 27,5" to get to liveliness. If you'll reach low enough weight the benefits of 29" are quite obvious. Especially in the front. I'm referring to very demanding Alpine kind of terrain. 29" on regular single flowy trail or bike park is useless. If you like speed and hard terrain 29" is the shiz.
 
[EDIT]
goroncy said:
If we are in the knock blocks subject I'll add the Acros headset with routing through 2 HUGE gaping holes that allow ALL trail dirt to go inside the frame and lower headset bearing. What a horrible idea this is.
Click to expand...
[/EDIT]
 
goroncy said:
It's not the size you mean. It's the mass. 29" are awesome but you need to spend much more than on 27,5" to get to liveliness. If you'll reach low enough weight the benefits of 29" are quite obvious. Especially in the front. I'm referring to very demanding Alpine kind of terrain. 29" on regular single flowy trail or bike park is useless. If you like speed and hard terrain 29" is the shiz.
Click to expand...
I will beg to differ there,I've had a fast xc bike with 29 wheels and that was okay until you were travelling fast through twisties then it was hard to turn quick.i was still faster on my fast xc with 26s over the same course
I ride a 27.5 gambler in the alps and that's a lot of fun and ain't any slower than the bikes with 29s,it's actually quicker through the fast tight sections.
I'm also not very tall so maybe that makes a difference.
 
goroncy said:
You NEED to elaborate on this one.
Click to expand...
If you don't remember these, here are the main features:
Almost the only lights available throughout the 70, the batteries would last around 3 hours if you were lucky. The rear mount would gouge your frame as your foot clipped the light smashing it into your spokes ripping the lens off and spewing the batteries randomly. The front mount needed a headset bracket that relied on a shitty spring clip to hold the light in place, which it didn't as the slightest bump would have the thing fly off again sending two halves and the HP2 batteries in different directions. They were heavy as hell and dim as a candle in a stadium.
On the positive side they did help convince my mum to let me ride my Chopper to school in winter aged 8.
 
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