new to these massive cassettes but seem to have read many are using special links to aid the derailleur? what the cheapest set up that’ll work really well and last a while ? presume there’s no 9sp available?
thanks in advance
Bill

actually any recommendation for 40T + cassettes would be great

xt8000 with a xt mech Bill. works fine. no link needed.

thanks Ton …are you now going to sell me one!

as it happens, I have just got together a full 2 x 9spd set up for my jones.
got 1×11 on at present, but as the summer is coming, I am gonna leave it on a run it till it is fubar……..so no, sorry 😆

Slx medium cage mech works with Sunrace 11-46

why do people use the goatlink thingy then?

Mech positions vary from bike to bike. Some will need goatlinks etc and some won’t.

because it varies by bike as well as the components used. There also seems to be a mix of 9/10/11 speed being talked about here

9sp – no massive cassettes afaik
10sp – many aftermarket massive cassettes – eg sunrace or expander cogs for you to adapt an 11-36 xt or similar. This is where you may or may not need to fiddle with the mech/add in goatlinks/radcages.
11sp – all works fine as standard with the big cassettes.

also worth adding that 10 and 11 speed mechs are different

My SLX mech worked on my Reign but not on my Whtyte, so I took the circlip out of the doglink and swapped it round to get the mech properly aligned.

Unless you want a lot of speed and hence a big chainwheel or have a adventure bike with camping stuff you want to run 1xyou might question if you need a 46T at all.

I’ve got a 30/32 oval front on my trail bike with 11-42 11speed and a 30T NW and a 12-40 on my XC bike (both are 27.5 wheels)

On any serious single track: The trailbike has 2.6 tyres and the front lifts if I really stomp on it but have grip in 1st and the XC bike has 2.1’s and the rear wheel slips.

Its honestly hard to imagine needing an easier 1st gear …. on 27.5 wheels

I’m also to be honest a bit underwhelmed by the 1×11 compared to the previous 1×10 with a 40T expander…. and for me probably not worth the money (cassette, rear mech, chain and shifters having got i-spec B to retain the M780 brakes)

Don’t get me wrong… nothing WRONG with it but £££/improvement is IMHO not great….

The goatlink is generally used in 2 situations..

The 10 speed goatlink can help make 10 speed shimano Mechs work a bit nicer with rear cassettes larger than 36T, without needing excessive B-Screw (Excessive b-screw can hinder shifting in the lower cogs)
The Rad Cage from on-up does a similar thing..

The 11 speed goatlink is used with a Shimano Mech and SRAM cassette and can help the shifting around the 10T cog on the SRAM cassette..
(shimano mechs are designed around a smallest cog of 11T)

They’re not 100% essential in either case though, and just tweak the shifting so it all plays a bit more nicely..
On some bikes that tweak can make the difference of it all working properly or not.

Stay 1×10 with a 11-42 sun race cassette, but get a 11spd xt rear mech. It has the same pull ratio as a 10spd, but I’d designed for wide range cassettes so the b-screw works much better, the jockey wheel position is better across the cassette range, and shifting is much better than with a 10spd. Replacement chains & cassettes much cheaper for 10spd.

Recommend using a SRAM GX instead of an XT 11-46.

10-42 gives same range as 11-46, at a lighter weight, similar price.

But less efficiency.

good stuff guys thanks

On two different bikes with a 40T expander I never had an issue with the b-screw although it is all the way in or nearly… so it’s worth checking first if the 10 speed rear mech works OK. I’m sure on some bikes it’s just passed but worth trying before spending on the 11 speed rear mech.

I didn’t have an issue with it ( you can get a longer screw too) it’s just that as the mech moves to the smaller cogs, the jockey wheel gets a long way from the cassette, as 10spd mechs are designed to follow the profile of a 11-32/36 cassette, whereas the 11spds are designed to move at the angle of a 11-46. I found the shifting sluggish on a 10spd 11-42.

I may well just run a 2×9 temporarily as i have all the bits already.
out of interest do those expander cogs work well with 9speed and are they available cheapish now 10/11 is the norm?

Does the SRAM GX mech play well with 11/46?

Kaiser,
I’ve not heard of anyone trying an expander on a 9sp. The spacing between it and the largest cog of the cassette would be too narrow, in theory… but you’d possibly be OK in reality as the only real risk would be of overshifting the expander and into the spokes.
You’d be able to prevent that with the limit screw though.

I’ve got a Works Components 40t expander going spare if you want to try it. Used only a couple of rides, so almost new. (I decided I needed 42t instead).
£15
Can send a pic later if you’re interested.

it has been done on 9speed it seems ..here’s one of several examples linky
thanks for the offer re the extender will mull it over!
Also seems that a number of wide range complete 9 speed cassettes are available as mentioned in the same linked article.