Hey hope someone can help this is driving me mad

I’ve been using some spare wheels over the winter, decided swap over my well used Shimano 11×46 cassette onto the winter wheels and buy a new casette for my summer wheels

Having no problems at all with the Shimano casette on either wheels/hub

I’ve installed a newly bought sunrace CSMX8 11×46. For some reason it only makes a grinding noise in 3rd gear when riding. No noise when on the stand and it shifts fine in every gear.

I’ve tried aligning everything again on my xt derailleur watching countless YouTube videos (learnt alot 😁). But sadly no difference.
The sunrace came with no spacers included but it definitely needs one as there is alot of play in the cogs. so I’m using the same as Shimano between hub and casette

I prefer the smoother shifting on the sunrace but I’m about to give up and just get another shimano M8000 11×46 which I know will just work when swapping wheels without any adjusting. Or I may pay the local bike shop first to take a look

Cheers guys

This might sound really daft but I’ve just had a similar problem with a brand new bike.
A stumpy evo for what it’s worth.
Just could not stop it sounding rough in 3rd
Despite everything being new swapped the mech, cassette, chain and shifter from sram to shimano and still grinding in 3rd.
Changed the chainring from sram to a cheap superstar and it’s now silent…

I have this issue with a 11-42 sunrace mx3 cassette too. Indexing is fine across the whole cassette except for going from 4th to 3rd. It needs a little bit of over shift to get it to go.

Like the OP I have had great fun trying to sort it. New cable and outer, new (spare) rear mech, checked and straightened hanger. And whilst it’s perfectly usable it’s not quite right.

Is the cog the right way round. I had a transition freehub with less keying that allowed the loose single cogs to be flipped. Took me a while to figure it out.

Well this is bizarre, I noticed the “clicking only in third gear” with my Sunrace 11-46 11 speed cassette for the first time last week. Cleaning and lubing seemed to cure it. I am running a KMC chain, Shimano SLX derailleur and replacement BBB ali jockey wheels and quite recently put a new chain on (the previous one wasn’t so worn though). I thought maybe B screw needed screwing in a bit more.

Sunrace cassettes are shit

buy a nice cheap/durable Deore or SLX next time.

Dissagrees with geex.
All my sunrace cassettes have been much better performing and wearing that the XT’s they’ve replaced.

Same issue here with my recently purchased mx8 cassette, clicking in 3rd and sounds efin awful under heavy load, I was starting to think I’d bent my mech hanger. Guess it’s just dodgy manufacturing. Think I’ll get an xt ordered up tomorrow

TBF Stu the only Sunrace cassette I have proper experience of is the BOXtwo-E (made by Sunrace) and it’s shit. similar 3rd gear set-up weirdness as reported here (all brand new Box components) and the 15t wore out to slipping in less than 100miles. it’s replacement didn’t last much longer.
Would not bang again!

You banged your cassette?
You dirty ****.😵

Sunrace cassettes are shit

TBF Stu the only Sunrace cassette I have proper experience of is the BOXtwo-E (made by Sunrace) and it’s shit

Then your sweeping statement isn’t really right then is it..

Sunrace cassettes are brilliant in my experience of using them exclusively across 3 bikes for several years now with zero issues on any of them.

Sorry you’re having issues op. Annoying when it happens. Hope you sort it.

Well this is bizarre, I noticed the “clicking only in third gear” with my Sunrace 11-46 11 speed cassette for the first time last week

Me too, can’t for the life of me figure out why, it’s only just happened and it’s be fine before hand.

Set up is M9000XTR Mech, XT Chain and XT Chainring, it’s a tad annoying, but nothing too detrimental.

Sounds like the profile of the cassette doesn’t match the profile of the top jockey wheel’s travel.  So at that point in the cassette the sproket is slightly closer to the jockey wheel than is should be.

What are the sprocket ratios on the casettes in question?  is third gear the same number of teeth?

Try adjusting the B screw?

I’m not sure it is the cassette profile.

I replaced the MS3 cassette (11-42) with a fancier lighter MX3 (11-42)

I checked the sunrace website and it has the same cassette profile, 11-13-15-18-21-
-24-28-32-36-42 on both.

I didn’t have this issue with the cheaper one.

I have this cassette, I’ll be looking for clicks on my ride this afternoon.

Ok…
Daft question…
Is it the black cassette?

I’ve had the 10 speed MX 11-46 ones on various bikes since they brought them out, all in “champagne” with ZERO issues!!!
I recently bought a black finished one, and…
3rd/4th shifting is a bast@rd!!!
So, assuming it was the coating, i polished the teeth with a Dremel
FIXED!
Strange but true!

My silver one was fine, my black one is annoying.

You might be on to something.

Is it the transition to alloy sprockets? My 10s has an alloy 42T sprocket, the chain has been known to make a bit of noise against it on muddy rides, it’s a little wider than the steel ones.

I use Shimano Deore and used some Sunrace cassettes. Issue with both – when they have “high range” – say above 36 t: they come mor easy loose than the old 11-36. Need to re-tighten.

But real “difference” I found: the “slower gear” sprockets on the Deore are riveted. The Sunrace uses a strange design with tiny bolts to keep them together. After a year of biking in the rough the Shimano cassette / those rivets are stiff fine when you take the cassette off.
The Sunrace cassettes might be “in pieces” then. The tiny bolts broke and are lost. But no issues when biking. Only when you take the cassette off you might find that the thing is broke.

Yes. BLACK

does make some sense.

the 15T sprocket on the only two Sunrace cassettes I’ve ever used lasting 1/10th of the usual wear means I’d still stand by my sweeping statement of Sunrace cassettes being shit.
Funnily enough there is barely any noticeable wear on the sprockets but the black coating is worn on the leading edge of both sprockets.

I’ll bang anything once (or twice) Stu
It’s high maintenance I’m not into 😉

I read this at the time and was congratulating myself on my new Sunrace MS8 cassette being silent – until Wednesday, when I noticed bad creaking noises in the middle gears only, not at the extremes of the cassette. All new drivetrain, just over 400km on it. Cassette lockring was tight, no indexing or B-screw issues.

Took off the cassette, opened up freehub (old Pro II) for a look while I was in there – to find one spring had snapped at the hinge and was lying under the pawl doing nothing. Replaced, reassembled and reinstalled cassette. To avoid confusion, I did nothing to the cassette other than wipe down the freehub/cassette contact surfaces with some kitchen paper, to remove the small amount of dust and dirt. So, no lubing of cassette rivets etc.

Result? No creaking. Inconclusive, can’t see why the creak would only be in the middle gears if the broken pawl spring was to blame – hasn’t happened when I’ve broken springs before. The creaking was definitely worse in the four gears on the middle unit of the cassette. Guess we’ll see what happens in another 400km.

No problem here, am running an 11-46 on one bike and an 11-50 on another, the latter with an XTR chain.

That said, if my bike makes noises I don’t like then I turn on my iPod.

I had one clickety gear on my Sunrace cassette when it was brand new, one ride and it wore in fine. Champagne colour.

…and needing wearing in or wearing in in one ride didn’t ring any alarm bells about it’s quality or durability?

m’kay

I’ve got a sunrace 11-42 10speed on my fat bike. Doesn’t look overly worn (second hand bike) but I changed the chain and chain ring.

Clicking and jumping was awful in the middle of the cassette, put the old chain back on and it was good again. I’d gone a link shorter on the new chain, presumably just shorter than it was happy with.

SR cassette deffo smoother shifting that new xt xt wears quick too i found of the most recent model 8000

I’ve had issues with the sunrace cassettes moving on the rivets and it was exchanged under warranty as it was new .
Replacement lasted longer but play developed and I now just use Shimano nor SRAM for my bikes .
Always felt clunky changing gear compared to Shimano

Also found the 15t on my sunrace cassettes have worn in no time.

Slightly off topic, but I have what sounds like an indexing issue on on the second largest cog on my SRAM GX cassette. It’s done it since new and I can’t see a problem. Shifting is spot on and it’s fine in all the other gears

No geex, what was probably a tiny speck of extra chrome wearing off in one ride seemed reasonable for the price. And given that it has worked and worn fine ever since seems to support that view.

Slightly off topic, but I have what sounds like an indexing issue on on the second largest cog on my SRAM GX cassette. It’s done it since new and I can’t see a problem. Shifting is spot on and it’s fine in all the other gears

See my post at the top.
As strange as it sounds changing the chainring cured it.
Kind of presuming you’ve checked alignment on the gear hanger as that could also cause it.

Had a black sunrace 11-46 for 2years and a good few 1000k, has move between bikes and only now starting to look a little tired.

Sure I’d rather the sunrace than the boat anchor Shimano offering.

Have had four Sunrace cassettes, all champagne (how posh is STW these days?), currently there’s one on the hardtail and the fat bike – no problems whatsoever. Mostly I use Absolute Black chainrings but I’ve also used Raceface and Hope chainrings without problem.

I have same clicking/grinding in 3rd gear with silver 11 speed 11-46.

It just happens to be the ideal gear to spin away up long climbs too…

When I build up new frame it’s going on spare wheels and won’t purchase Sunrace in future.

Not sure if geex has encountered a bad batch, or if I never use my 15T, but I’m on my third chain on mine now. The chainring was worn out, so I’ve not been too fussy on replacing chains early. I can’t really see how a new chain could wear out a sprocket in one ride, even if the sprocket was fairly shit…
Anyway, just wanted to make the point that my 15T is fine, and ask for more information from geex.

(would edit, but can’t – even 100 miles on a new chain shouldn’t remotely wear out a sprocket, unless it was an old chain, or really shitty conditions)