Amelio 

Always been a Shimano guy but I got a nice bike with Sram Red 12 speed 10-33 on back. My son and wife’s bike are both Shimano 11 speed grx.

just got a new Wahoo trainer with a sunrace 11 speed cassette, had my first ride tonight and love it! I used my son’s 2021 Cannondale topstone 1.

I know my wife’s 2021 diverge comp should work perfectly as well.

but what what about my sram 12 speed bike?

i’ve seen videos of red 12 speed shifting just fine on the 11 speed cassette, not sure if anyone has tried this?

my big plan was to move their bikes over to sram Xplr Etap 1x

10-44 cassette
xplr rear derailleur
40T crank
dub hub
rival shifters

I know this is an expensive move but hopefully should be able to recoup a good chunk of this selling new take parts from their GRX bikes.

The wrench in the works is I can’t find shifters which I’m sure is everyone’s problem switching over to sram.

I’ve got a new sram 900 hub XDR hub on order for my son’s Cannondale

i should be able to get a Sram XD driver for my wife’s Specialized Diverge with Axis hubs.

sorry for the long and confusing post!

my short-term fix was to install XD drivers on their bikes with an 11 speed sram cassette to get them by in the meantime.

just thinking of all this work is exhausting, I need some sleep! Thanks for reading!

jaxgtr

I would just get another cassette. It sort of a pain, but will be less of a hassle having to tweak things for the trainer and then back for the road. I had sort of issue between my bikes and my wife's bike. My wife's bike ran an 11-34 , I run 12-25 or 14-28, so I found that if I used an 11-30, we could both use the same cassette, without having to make any adjustments. However with a 11 vs 12, I would just get another 12 speed and swap out the cassette. Pain, sure, optimal, no, but better than having to make adjustments all the time, absolutely.

Amelio 

Well I put a my bike on the Kickr with the Sunrace 11 speed cassette, and it works okay. It seems a little noisier than the Shimano bike, and the shifting is a little hesitant around gears 16 17 and 18.

I’m wondering how it would be with a sram cassette and the other bikes… i’m thinking this might be the best compromise.

I know this probably isn’t the forun for this but I can’t seem to locate the one to discuss group sets and switch overs, where do you guys normally go?

if I convert both gravel bikes to SRAM 1x, i’d be golden. 😀 I found the Xplr 10-44 cassettes, rear derailleurs, 1x cranks, BBs, and right-hand shifters, no lefts left.

jaxgtr

try bike mechanics

unterhausen

I think the people that are using 12 speed shifters/derailleurs with an 11 speed cassette (or the reverse) just have very low standards for how much noise, skipping and poor shifting they are willing to tolerate. I don't think you are going to find many people in any other forum that would agree that such a thing is a good idea.

zacster

Why the hell would you take newish bikes with 11 speed and convert them to 12? What advantage do you see? That is a lot of money to change two perfectly good bikes either of which I would love to have. Don't do it. And ask yourself too if they want it, or are they happy with what they have. "Honey, I'm putting 12 speed on your bike", "Why dear? It is perfectly fine the way it is". So, who is actually using the trainer? Are you all using it are is it just you?

My wife wanted to use my trainer and did it 2 or 3 times on my bike. When she realized how hard it is in ERG mode to go above the FTP I set at 140 she gave up. 140 is pretty low and she didn't want to take the FTP test so I had nothing else to go on.

unterhausen

I thought he just wanted to swap bikes back and forth without changing anything.

PeteHski

Blimey! It would probably be cheaper to just buy a second trainer and set it up for your bike.

Amelio 

I didn't ask her, this switchover is for me. I mentioned it to her, and she couldn't care less, but I know she'll enjoy the new etap axs, it's as sweet as her. I want to be able to drop my bike or hers onto the trainer and have them shift and work perfectly. I must say the GRX stuff is still *really* nice. Matched up with the Sunrace cassette, in the words of Zohan, it's "silky smooth!"

With all the component shortages, there's great value in new take-off Shimano GRX groupset components. I haven't even removed her old shifters and brakes and already have them sold for what I paid for Rival Etap shifters and brakes. I lucked out and found L&R, brand new, for MSRP here in Canada, sweet deal! The gentleman (buyer for GRX stuff) has even offered to come and remove them for me. I think I can manage, but still, a a nice offer.

Amelio 

In this day and age of component shortages/no stock/etc this comes across a *little* harsh, but I can't disagree with you. To me, my Sram Red bike on the Suntour 11 speed was less than ideal. It's funny the trainer seems to like the middle gears, and those are the problematic ones. Noise, and requiring two taps to shift sometimes. I ordered the Sram XD/XDR driver the day I registered the trainer, and got it 7 days later, and my 10-30 XD cassette came a few days later. 👍 I got it installed last night, too late to try it, but it looks great! Thanks for your honest reply, it's appreciated!

Amelio 

you’re correct 😊

Ed Wiser

Smart trainers really are better when used on one bike. The spacers and Alining the rear derailleur need to be performed.
if you want to have one piece of equipment that several people can use. A smart bike is the best option.

Amelio 

Maybe so, but I'd like to get my family involved it I could, and we range in height from 5'1 to 6'2"
I was thinking of the smart bike...but we've got so may bikes already, and they're C$5000, but I agree that would work nicely, thank you.

Amelio 

guys, this is coming together nicely, really liking the look of the new Sram Rival 10-30 XD cassette on XD/XDR driver, it's a sweet, no-lockring-required install!
(why are these pics so big? Sorry)


Sram Rival 10-30T XD Cassette installed and ready to grind!

Sram Rival 10-30T XD Cassette - Front

Sram Rival 10-30T XD Cassette - Back

PeteHski

I'm still wondering why you didn't just buy a second trainer. Or was it actually cheaper to swap over the 2 bikes to etap?

Amelio 

yes it’s definitely much cheaper to take new GRX take off parts off 2x 2021 bikes, sell those parts and replace those parts with MSRP- priced SRAM XPLR equivalent pieces.

Shimano GRX groupsets are really in demand for those converting road bikes and hybrids to gravel bikes.

not to mention we end up two nicer bikes that I think will be worth more than the groupset added onto the bike.

In Canada a Sram Rival Etap bike sells for about $6000. I hope to convert each of these for about $600 net difference per bike. It will probably be more than that but that’s fine, I need to have a target to hit.

Also, considering I am the guy riding my son’s gravel bike the most I will be looking forward to the 1x Etap! Not telling my wife to “go to the small ring, left shifter, go to the big ring!!!!” Will be nice. Sram with their easy paddle (left) more difficult paddle (right) is pretty straightforward. 😀

thank you for your message it’s nice discussing this stuff!

PeteHski

I have to say SRAM XPLR Rival looks like an excellent groupset. Enjoy!