As per the title really; anyone running this combination yet? Any issues if you are or has it all been smooth sailing?
Reason to ask is that I’m looking to get an XT 12 speed groupset to rebuild the HT but I was wondering if I can get away with keeping the old GX eagle chainset.
No personal experience yet, but all the real world tales I’ve heard are that everything is interchangeable aside from the obvious shifter/mech and cassette/freehub situations. New 12spd Shimano chainrings are now proper narrow/wide too.
If you’re at all worried, run a SRAM or KMC chain instead of Shimano.
EDIT: Also if you’re buying a full groupset and looking to shift the chainset on, order a 170mm setup with a 32T chainring and give me dibs on it please! 😉
I found the Shimano chain (XTR) didn’t like a brand new Sram ring & tended to catch on the teeth, not releasing properly and making an awful noise.
An older (circa 500 miles of use) ring was absolutely fine!
something I picked up on the cyclingtips podcast, not sure on the affect though. Sram use a larger roller in their eagle chains compared to others. I can see this might cause issues with wear and engagement.
Well, I guess i’ll just have to give it a go and see what happens.
The £120 price difference for skipping the cranks should go most of the way to getting a new SLX set up if it turns out to be a bit pants mixing brands.
My understanding, although I have no real world experience yet is as follows.
The hyperglide plus is as much due to the chain as it is the cassette.
The inside of the chain links have a chamfer on them that is obviously designed to work with their chain rings.
The difference is such that some aftermarket chain ring manufacturers (wolf tooth spring to mind) actually offer a specific 12 speed narrow wide option.