Sensible weight 12 speed HG cassettes?

(tick) Not to derail thread, but I'm also looking for a new bike and a lot on my shortlist are pretty heavy and use NX...

Garbaruk cassette. Cheaper than Sram XX1 and lighter too. Had one on my XC bike for a couple of years and still looking like it has plenty of life left.

GX cassette is a good weight saving vs NX, although obviously keeping it 12 speed.  Can be had for @110 via eBay.

Seriously, are you really concerned about the weight of a cassette?

Unless you're an elite level competitive cyclist, component weights are an irrelevance.

You could lose a few kgs of bodyweight at little/no cost rather than dick about with, potentially (very) expensive component upgrades which will deliver marginal gains and mimimal weight reductions.

Your money, your decision.

GX cassette is a good weight saving vs NX, although obviously keeping it 12 speed. Can be had for @110 via eBay.

I think this require a different freehub (XD?) as well, assuming the hub manufacturer offers different freehub types...

You could lose a few kgs of bodyweight at little/no cost

I'll tell Mrs Vlad this. She'll be pleased to know having spent gawd knows how many years trying to shift a few lbs of extra body flab 🤣

If you're bothered about grams, XD freehubs do give you some excellent choices and the freehub format itself is also lighter. Swapping isn't usually too expensive and you can generally sell your old freehub or find a swap.

As above Garbaruk is the best bet for weight vs cost, SRAM GX for cost.

The best weight 12s cassette for HG is Ingrid, but it’s almost £400.

If you wheels can be converted to XD, it’s the best way to go.

My wheelset was stuck with HG, so I’m using the Ingrid as I like the wheels.

I would spend the money on a lighter wheelset TBH, you would notice it more. Silt XC wheels are around 1,600gms for a set and currently £350, you will notice a lighter rear wheel far more than a lighter cassette.

SRAM do an xplr cassette in 11-44 that should work and won't weigh a ton. Just watch for road Vs MTB freehub width. Work checking first.

Otherwise Shimano do short cage xt and 10-46 which is a great set up but would need microspline.

If you're concerned about weight, everything in the NX groupset is heavy.

You could take it all off, sell it and go to Shimano 10 or 11 speed new old stock.

Failing that, Garbaruk are very nice as above. I have an 11 speed one on my hardtail and it is a thing of engineering beauty, as well as being light and perfectly functional.

I’m about to pick up a new bike which comes with a 12 speed SRAM NX drivetrain.

Whats the rest of the spec, there's probably better places to loose some weight than the cassette without having to go through the hassle of swapping a freehub first - That's if the rear hub 1. Has a swappable freehub, or 2. You can buy one that'll fit.

XPLR will need a new freehub, cassette, chain and maybe jockey wheels as it uses a flattop chain.

all the nx is heavy, have you considered Shimano cues 10 speed, or a sunrise cassette tends to be far lighter.

Just go for a pre-ride poo.

Seriously, are you really concerned about the weight of a cassette?

Well it seemed like a cost efficient way to lose some weight from an unsprung part at low £ per gram (and sell the NX cassette) whilst also getting closer ratios.

Unless you’re an elite level competitive cyclist, component weights are an irrelevance

I'm not, but I might do the odd race and besides, lighter bikes are more fun.

You could lose a few kgs of bodyweight at little/no cost rather than dick about with, potentially (very) expensive component upgrades which will deliver marginal gains and mimimal weight reductions.

No I can't, I'm pretty happy with my weight thanks. 😜

Based on the above, the Garbaruk looks good but I'm not sure that I'm ready for £200 cassettes!

I believe that the hub will be traditional Shimano HG, so older 11 speed XT would fit as an alternative to the Gabaruk, but I wonder how obtainable 11 speed XT parts will be in a few years?

I've not looked at the wheel weight yet, but I suspect that there will be some weight savings there, so there is a potential route of new rear wheel (with a Hope micro spline hub) as someone suggested above, and swap to a 12 speed XT 10-46 drivetrain, but that is a bigger upgrade than bunging a new cassette on.

I guess I just wanted a rant about the cost of bike parts. £110 for a very basic boat anchor SRAM cassette?!

I think Sunrace higher-end cassettes are the best balance of £s and lbs.

I've also found they last very well.

Like you, I struggle to part with more than £100 for a cassette.

I think this is the right one, but you might want to check with them: SunRace 12 Speed MTB Cassette Black 12spd 11-50t | eBay

They're a bit over 500g, that's just what a big cassette weighs. You won't get lighter without spending loads or takign a punt on AliExpress.

XPLR will need a new freehub, cassette, chain and maybe jockey wheels as it uses a flattop chain.

I had not considered the chain issue. Doh.

I wouldn’t worry about availability if 11 speed , Shimano keep churning out stuff for years. If you’re happy with range then I’d drop to 11. NX mech and shifter aren’t great. Cranks heavy but will work with 11 and the steel ring lasts for ever. Take off cassette, chain, mech and shifter and sell them. The overall uograde cost will be be way less than any decent cassette.

but I wonder how obtainable 11 speed XT parts will be in a few years?

Its not going anywhere, you'll be able to get 11sp parts for decades yet

I'm so sorry, I didn't read the OP properly.

I totally agree with Clubby, sell the NX stuff and get onto 11sp Shimano.

That's what I have on all my MTBs and it's functionally very good, quite durable and if you're on HG there are loads of cassettes to choose from. But the Shimano SLX or XT 11-42 might suit you best.

Seriously, are you really concerned about the weight of a cassette?

Unless you’re an elite level competitive cyclist, component weights are an irrelevance.

You could lose a few kgs of bodyweight

The weight saving of components all adds up and does make a big difference. If you're already a light rider, a couple of KGs off a bike could be a large percentage of your total weight saved. Makes a big difference on the climbes and the feel of the bike.

Cassette, wheels, cranks, tyres all add up.

I wouldn’t worry about availability if 11 speed , Shimano keep churning out stuff for years.

This seems like a sensible option for an 11-42 cassette (even that will be the highest number of teeth I've ever had on a bottom gear!) and would also allow me to use the Hope XC wheels from my hardtail.

I can probably live with the heavy SRAM cranks for a while since the weight there won't be as noticeable as weight on the rear wheel. Will an NX 12 speed chainring be compatible with 11 speed Shimano cassette? What chain(s) are cross compatible between the two? Bloody standards.

weight of XT 11x1 is about 1800g, weight of 12sp NX groupo is about 2000g.

Is that really going to make all that difference to your life?

I'm a touch surprised that the Specialized Diverge Expert (RRP £6500) has an AXS mech paired with an NX cassette.
That must make up nearly half of the bike's weight, though it probably reduces wheelspin.

Still thinking of getting it, and that would be the 4th bike I've had with the NX cassette. I've never had a problem with one yet.

That must make up nearly half of the bike’s weight, though it probably reduces wheelspin.

😀

weight of XT 11×1 is about 1800g, weight of 12sp NX groupo is about 2000g.

It might not change my life but it will make riding my bike more fun, which is the whole point, right? There is 200g difference in the cassette alone (620g vs about 420g), which will be noticeable every time I stamp on the pedals, especially since I weigh 60kg. I've just grabbed an XT 11-42 11 speed cassette for £60 so even if I change my mind and stick with the NX, it can go on my hardtail next time it needs replaced instead.

which will be noticeable every time I stamp on the pedals

It probably won't, but you'll tell yourself it does, which is most of the effect anyway.

Will an NX 12 speed chainring be compatible with 11 speed Shimano cassette? What chain(s) are cross compatible between the two? Bloody standards.

Yes probably, you might get slow shifting, but the 12sp SRAM chain that's probably on there will work OK on a 11sp cassette. I don't think 12sp Shimano chains play well with anything other than Shimano 12sp cassettes, but some-one will be along to say that they've made it work on something else.

I appreciate it involves a swap to XD drivers, but I don't regret changing to SRAM cassettes when I had the chance (was building new wheels, cost was same for XD vs HG). Lighter cassettes at not-too-silly prices and IME much more durable, which was my main motivation after going through 11sp SLX cassettes at a ridiculous rate.

SRAM GX XG-1150 10-42t is a sweetspot in price/weight/durability for 11sp and 390g. Around £80.

GX XG-1275 10-50t is the closest in 12sp even though the big cog is aluminium rather than steel, and 450g. Around £105-110.

I'd be lying if I wasn't concerned about cassette weight but with it being at the centre of the wheel its much less important than saving weight from rims/tyres if weigth reduction's your intention.

GX XG-1275 10-50t is the closest in 12sp even though the big cog is aluminium rather than steel, and 450g. Around £105-110.

This is mostly what I use, unless I can find XO1 on offer anywhere, and I get 2 years/ 6000 miles at least. It would last longer without a doubt, at that point the chain's generally between .75-.5 wear, I use 12sp XO1 exclusively, as they're just ridiculously durable, but the performance is only going to degrade at that point, so I change it all in one go. 12sp SRAM stuff from GX upwards is I reckon, the best drivetrain I've ever used in 30 years from a durability and lack of maintenance perspective including all the 8-9-10 speed Shimano stuff I've used in the past.

There is 200g difference in the cassette alone (620g vs about 420g), which will be noticeable every time I stamp on the pedals

It won't be. 200g is around 2% of a posh bikes weight and 0.2% of your total system weight. It will have no noticable difference at all

200g alone might need make much difference but if you save another 200g on other parts (crankset and pedals? XX1 cranks are 200g lighter than NX) then maybe another 200 on wheels. Thats 600g in total which is 1% of the OP.

I have 2 sets of wheels, 1 set is 2100g and the other is 1450g. I notice a big difference so to me it was well woth the money.

Tough crowd! That NX cassette is an absolute bloater, and an obvious place to dump some needless weight.

The NX rear mech isn't great either... so if you're playing swapsies, I'd take that off while it's new as well.

XT 11 speed cassette, mech and shifter isn't huge money.

Seriously, are you really concerned about the weight of a cassette?

Unless you’re an elite level competitive cyclist, component weights are an irrelevance.

The trouble with the cheaper/heavier cassettes is chainsuck and less active suspension.

My deore 12s is great, until you stop pedaling and the momentum of half a kilo of cassette spinning at 200+rpm throws the chain forward!

And if I can feel the weight difference between SS and gears in how active the back end feels, I'm sure I could feel the difference between a cheap and a decent cassette.

I want to know where A11y is getting 1150 at £80 and 1275 at £110.
£100 and £140 (in stock) respectively seems more the ball park.

Im in a similar boat, got an 11-46 shimano block to fit the 10spd gear I already had to a new frame, to get it on the trail. Its a right lump. 
Swapping to 11spd shimano sounds like a safe bet in terms of £/g for OP, but Im thinking of going bigger, like a 50t and Ive got a spare xd freehub, so sram seems obvious choice

Epic thread resurrection, I was about to re-post my last comment about it not so much affecting when you stamp on the pedals as when you ease off!

I want to know where A11y is getting 1150 at £80 and 1275 at £110.
£100 and £140 (in stock) respectively seems more the ball park.

Should have stocked up last year when there seemed to be a massive surplus of components after the covid boom+bust.  SRAM prices have gone back upto silly number again.

XT-M8100 10-45 is <£100 still though if you can get a microspline freehub.  It's only about 10g lighter than the 10-51 though so only really worth it if you want tighter ratios, not so much for the weight saving.  And the 10-51 is still ~£110.

Posted by: thisisnotaspoon

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XT-M8100 10-45 is <£100 still though if you can get a microspline freehub.  It's only about 10g lighter than the 10-51 though so only really worth it if you want tighter ratios, not so much for the weight saving.  And the 10-51 is still ~£110.

Its entirely worth the upgrade for the medium cage mech alone, which shifts more reliably and is well out of harm's way compared to the long cage.

I miss the days of Xt Sub 300g cassettes for under £30....  Sure they were only 11-32, but it meant you weren't carrying an extra 2-3 big chainrings on your back wheel to accelerate, brake and manoeuvre over. Round and down stuff. 

Were front mechs really that bad? 

Or go trawl aliexpress for a one-piece machined cassette of your chosen ratios. Lookout for the 13-16tooth jump.on lots of them. 

I miss the days of Xt Sub 300g cassettes for under £30....  Sure they were only 11-32, but it meant you weren't carrying an extra 2-3 big chainrings on your back wheel to accelerate, brake and manoeuvre over. Round and down stuff. 

Were front mechs really that bad? 

I loved those too, but I'm not going back from my 10-46t cassette and I'm fine with 1x front.

You could always get the Classified hub gear system though, if your frame doesn't take a front mech.