Shimano Ultegra 12 Speed with SRAM Force AXS Derailleurs - Will It Work?

[@BlackWaterCyclist]

Be sure to visit my website at www.blackwaterbicycles.com Subscribe: tinyurl.com/yyd6vb6k Follow me on: Instagram: instagram.com/blackwater.bicycles Facebook: facebook.com/Blackwaterbicycles1 Strava: www.strava.com/athletes/179615

[@azmok1]

I'm building a bike for myself right now and was looking for this exact video. Great video and thank you for sharing a lot of details.

[@sphinxter25]

Yey thanks for this

[@jimbo9030]

As someone who's built 10 plus bikes with this setup you've pretty much nailed everything.....the only thing I would add is some crank arms such as Praxis etc may rub the outside tip of the front derailleur cage for a couple of revolutions when you change to the big ring before the derailluer trims back after a second or so. Also on most bikes you won't fit anything bigger than a 52 front ring and on some frames you'll need to file the front hanger a little to even fit a 52 (unless you are using the Red Pro front derailleur that has capacity for larger rings). My experience is Shimano 12sp cranksets work flawlessly in this setup and it quite literally is the best of all worlds.....even if GCN tell you it's not possible 😜

[@BlackWaterCyclist]

Great feedback and add on! I appreciate it. Of course GCN will tell you it is impossible, they don't want to bite the hand that feeds them.

[@JohnnyUrkle]

Nice to see you again on the Blackwater Trail yesterday with Troy and Andrea.

[@BlackWaterCyclist]

Always great to see you again John! I hope you had a great ride. The weather was nearly perfect.

[@Fleckinger]

Good to now, that i can use this mix. Great video.

[@jbay443]

Thanks for the video because I was thinking about doing this because I don’t like sram cranks I love shimano cranks. So now I will try it out

[@michaelbondad3912]

Someone had to try it. Thanks!

[@HeyWattsUpCycling]

great video!

[@bobotea1234]

i just want to say i finally finished assembling my new bike with Sram Etap AXS D1 derailleurs + Shimano 12S drivetrain (YBN 12s Chain, 105 11-34t cassette, rotor 3d24 50/34t 9/10spd rings). Just went for my first test ride and everything is working great!! Im actually still using my old Rotor 3D24 cranks with 9/10s chainrings, it works fine. Will probably eventually upgrade those at some point. So for anyone reading this it works, you just have to make sure the drivetrain is either all shimano or all sram (flat top) standard. Some micro adjusting of the steps is needed.

[@BlackWaterCyclist]

Awesome feedback here and I appreciate it!

[@grzegorzjanusz2985]

So cassette plus crankset from Shimano group r8100 are not compatible with SRAM chain?

[@bobotea1234]

@ no the sram T chain is different size from normal shimano 12s spec. You either use all sram drive train or all shimano. you cannot mix and match those parts (chainrings, cassette, chain).

[@Emtbtoday]

I Have a GX axs on my 12s XT cassette with the hyperglide chain and e thirteen chain ring, its just what came on my new bike all 12s XT but just put a GX upgrade set on it this week works great

[@BlackWaterCyclist]

It really is the best of both worlds, Shimano smoothness with SRAM Wireless.

[@SyLens1]

thanks mate, Im running a 1x sram rival (not xplr) i have a HG body and run a 11-36 and it works flawlessly with a shimano chain. however i wish to use a 2x as well as get a powermeter. I have a 105 11spd PM crankset, so i bought an FD and will pair this up. Hope it wont drop my chain on gravel

[@BlackWaterCyclist]

Sorry for the delay, did you get a chance to try this set up yet? Did it work for you?

[@SyLens1]

@ hey, i havent had the time yet to put the parts on bcs i just moved. However i’m defo making a video on this once i got it set up

[@adamcurpier]

Great video, ty for sharing. Would you recommend going with the "wide" front mech on a Road Bike setup? 30mm tires. (same gearing 52/36 - 11-34.)

[@BlackWaterCyclist]

No need to go wide with the road set up. The wide is just for gravel bikes to clear larger tires. Has no bearing on if it will work with Shimano or not.

[@83dsvhtubb]

The KMC X12 is compatible with SRAM AXS and Shimano 12 spd Road

[@henriclouisemeldgard5048]

I had contemplated using an eagle axs rear derailleur on my 12 speed Shimano xtr drivetrain. I read that there was a compatibility issue between the xtr chain and the nw pulleys on the axs derailleur. That the wide blocks on the pulleys were too wide for the chain internal width…much like having to run a specific Shimano compatible 12 spd chainring to match the Shimano chain. I assume the chain you are using is a 12 spd asymmetric chain since you noted the compatibility of the chainring. Did you notice any issue with the pulley wheels? Are road axs derailleurs using different pulleys than the eagle series?

[@BlackWaterCyclist]

Great question! The AXS road pulleys are made for a flat top chain so I believe the wide section of them are probably a hair narrower than the Eagle AXS pulleys since the Eagle chain is a bit wider internally. I have in the past, dremmeled SRAM 11 speed narrow wide pulleys (pretty much same width as the Eagle 12 speed pulleys) to fit a Campy 13 speed chain before and it worked great. Pulleys are just plastic so very easy to dremmel down with the round sander bit from dremmel. Another option is to buy pulleys from RATIO tech out of the UK who makes narrower pulleys to run the Campy chain on their 1x13 sram mechanical hack. Last option I can think of is buying new SRAM Transmission MTB pulleys and put them on your Eagle Derailleur.

[@cristiansalvador6213]

Hello!! Thanks a lot for your video. In my case, I have a bike equipped with a complete SRAM Force 12-speed groupset, and I use a Garmin trainer with a Shimano 105 12-speed cassette. My question is: Can I use both cassettes interchangeably without any issues? Will the difference between the SRAM Force and Shimano 105 cassettes affect the chain or drivetrain performance?

[@BlackWaterCyclist]

I would have an extra chain to swap as well with each cassette. The SRAM flat top chains have larger rollers which will cause excessive wear on the Shimano cassette since it is made for the smaller rollers. After saying that, I have used flat top chains on older non AXS cassettes that were previously worn out and it worked great because the larger rollers filled the area that was wollard-out by the old worn out small rollers. I would lean towards using a shimano chain with a shimano cassette and vice versa. The front chainrings should be fine with either chain.

[@cristiansalvador6213]

@BlackWaterCyclist thanks a lot!!

[@gracierunwiththewind]

@BlackWaterCyclist .Fantastic good job I found this . If I use the Wireless Force setup with Shimano 11-34T cassette and chain 12speed ,will it work on my Utegre 8000 11 speed chainrings 52/36. on 25mm tyres Do I need the Wide Force R.D? It is confirmed that the 12 speed chains work on the 11speed shimano cranks just fine. Just a small adjustment is needed on the F.D. Thanks

[@BlackWaterCyclist]

The regular 33t rear derailleur will clear the 34 tooth with no issues at all. I've seen people run the 10-36 cassette on the 33t rear derailleur before.

[@kovar2344]

12 speed compared to 11 speed is much less cross compatible. With 11 speed you could mix all 3 major brands almost on demand. (I know I am exaggerating little bit) Due to this I am not rushing into 12 speed ecosystems. I like to miss match my stuff.

[@endtimeslips4660]

ultegra and dura ace cassette no problem but with shimano 105 12 speed. it has a problem, down shift to smallest cog is not a problem it smooth but when you go up to bigger gear in between 9 and 8 cog you will have problem it wont shift under load. you need shift up 2 gear to force it shift up. 105 di2 cassette is no go zone for sram axs deraillur

[@BlackWaterCyclist]

This is invaluable information, thank you for adding it here in the comments to help others.

[@user-lx6pk9os2d]

If SRAM dropped the silly chainrings and 10T sprocket - they would decimate Shimano. The fully wireless setup is so much better...

[@Emtbtoday]

Its better all round and probably why sram just made the T type to only work on sram cassettes etc its not backward compatible anymore but yeah i think thats more the reason they done the iPhone move locking you in to their products

[@BlackWaterCyclist]

I could not agree with you more.

[@fukairen9601]

Is there any necessary to replace the RD's pulleys to shimano standard? due to the diameter of chain rollers.

[@_msc-ds9sj]

It works best with the YBN 12s chain - it is the widest 12s and can easily compensate for the difference in cassette width. It is also super efficient and durable.

[@BlackWaterCyclist]

Thanks for the feedback! Love the YBN chains!

[@galenkehler]

Thanks for trying this, we're all curious about the combinations but few of us have the resources to hand to actually do it 🫡