SROAD Cassette - Cheap, lightweight, & durable - What's the catch?

[@JeremyDawesJezweb]

Typical bike part review is a presenter riding maybe a few times. Luke casually says he has ridden with the cassette for 2000+ km 🏆🥇😆

[@cyclingsfatsuma9808]

Miles not km. So about 3200km...

[@TraceVelo]

Thanks Jeremy! Yeah when I first put this cassette on the bike, I thought it was the best thing since sliced bread and i was desperate to recommend it, but I'm glad I put in the miles. It's SO close to being a great choice, if only the shifting held up. Still, only a sample size of one so far, so once the 12 speed one comes, I'll have to see if it follows the same pattern as this one. I suspect it will be no different tbh, but we'll see...

[@angela-onesroman8873]

Another well thought out comprehensive review, and funny as Always 😆...

[@myketrip8938]

Miles

[@benhowe2087]

I wonder if it is possible to twist the teeth slightly to emulate the Shimano unit?

[@TryboBike]

The shadow style rear mechs from shimano rely heavily on the hyperglide profiles to actuate a shift ( regardless of direction, btw ). The issue here is the b-gap - the distance between the guide pulley and the cassette. It gets really large in the middle of the cassette due to the cassette sequencing. In short - shadow style rear mechs _really_ like when the cassette has uniform size differences between cogs. Road cassettes tend to not do so, whence the reliance on the hypeglide. The issue Luke is having here is not specific to the s-road cassette, it just surfaced quicker due to its shallow shifting profiles. As the chain stretches, it becomes less laterally stiff. Aa that progresses, the critical b-gap through which a shift can still happen decreases. To address this: 1. Get the b-gap as small as possible. At 7:52 we see a rather large b-gap over the 28T cog. That can be adjusted to just a fraction of a milimeter. 2. Replace the guide pulley with one with taller teeth ( some rear mechs already come with it, so might not be relevant ) 3. Replace the RD with one of the older, dual-pivot design, which is more flexible and follows cassette contour better. EDIT: replacing the chain with shimano _12 speed_ chain or with any _10_ speed will also work. For different reasons.

[@cyclingsfatsuma9808]

Would a hydraulic system or electronic one be less of an issue due to lack of cable stretching? I wonder if that might account for others commenting here on having longer lifespans on their cassettes

[@byrondixon4648]

Love the full explanation! I had a 3T cassette that cost mega bucks that I'm fairly sure had the same problem, but got a refund after two rides because it was so bad. Shimano hyper glide is just soo good.

[@TraceVelo]

Thanks for the comment Trybo, this is EXCELLENT advice!!! I'm gonna have to get myself a 105 5800 RD and see if that makes a difference, once again the comments section is dropping some KNOWLEDGE on me, love it!!! I did actually play around with the b-gap loads off camera, reducing it to the point where the pulley was really grinding against the largest sprocket, and it did make the shifting in the smaller sprockets _slightly_ better, but ultimately it was pretty unuseable. As you suggested, I did also swap out the guide pulley with a few different ones (including one with taller teeth), but again, no dice. But I definitely think you are onto something with the extended 'shadow' link arm on the 105 r7000 rd!

[@Sukirai]

i have almost same setup with luke but rather than a r7000 rear mech, i am using a 6800 ultegra rear and i also experience the same issue luke is having.

[@hamhed]

I had this problem with a SRAM cassette and Rival derailleur. B-screw adjustment fixed it right up. Awesome explanation!

[@ChinaCycling]

I own 3 of these SROAD cassettes now (I paid full retail for all three.) and so far mine have all been great! Your video is pretty eye-opening because I was all but ready to recommend these as a no-brainer upgrade.... now I'm left not so sure! Hard to track mileage amongst my numerous wheels and numerous bikes ( #FirstWorldProblems ) but I imagine my most used is about 4000-5000 km. Will keep my eyes on the prize as wear and tear continues!

[@TraceVelo]

Yeah me too!! I was so sure these were a great option, but shifting has really nose dived over the last 300-400 miles. I tend to keep my bike really clean, and swap out chains as soon as they fall under 0.5 on the wear gauge, so it's not like I have really abused it either. Maybe the 12 speed one will hold up better....

[@cyclingsfatsuma9808]

@@TraceVelo can't you fix it with a file? Could be a good video. Trace's Repair Shop 😅

[@knalliebar]

@@TraceVelo hey Luke, did you check spacing between the cogs and best, did you try a second one for more than 2000M? If you tried two without issues. Maybe best to give it a go 😜 anyways doesn't fix the lack of HG though

[@cup_and_cone]

@@cyclingsfatsuma9808 It's not just the profile shape, some teeth are intentionally twisted and different widths.

[@aemediainc]

@@cyclingsfatsuma9808 I tried fixing mine with a file, but it didn't help... the 13T or 14t wasn't made correctly so I binned it.

[@gillaroya3529]

I tend to be both a weight weenie and also a tinkerer. I noticed the SRoad cassette struggled with downshifts and noticed right away the tooth profiles. I went at the larger cogs with a Dremel tool, ramping every 6-7 teeth by grinding a slight angle into the top of the tooth. Problem solved, and now its super smooth, won't wear light aluminum, and shifts like a dream.

[@rupiamasterconfig]

Great review. I have Sroad on my gravel bike, same issue within the 14t and 16t sprockets (combined with Sram Force 1, Empire Shifter and KMC). My road bike, ZTTO cassete, same issues, but on all 5 smaller cogs. The key is the (lack) of HG design, period. I managed to solve the ZTTO issues replacing 3 or 4 cogs (thanks god it was loose cogs) for "branded" cogs like Sram and Shimano and personalizing the spacers to acquire a perfect indexing. This kind of work is for cost-weight maniacs (like me) and is not worth the time loss. For now, it's working, so I agree with Luke: choose Sram, Sunrace or Shimano if you are not a experienced bike mechanic and have precious time and pacience to spend on these chinese cassetes. But Sensah mechs and shifters are perfect! Combine them with a good chain-cassete combo and be happy.

[@perasperaadastraandback]

You said sensah is perfect,but use sr force😁

[@rupiamasterconfig]

Have both...full sensah on road, sensah + force RD on gravel

[@perasperaadastraandback]

@@rupiamasterconfig why force on gravel?

[@rupiamasterconfig]

@@perasperaadastraandback It's a gravel RD...force 1 type 3.0

[@EstelonAgarwaen]

wouldnt microshift work too? i only have experience with a single 8 speed cassette from them so far, but that one does the job perfectly. they also seem to have more/better shift ramps.

[@shannonparker7404]

Love your work, as always, Luke. Thank you for the effort.

[@TraceVelo]

No problem, glad you liked it Shannon!

[@benjpk9]

TTC for the losses in good gggygy get guy VT and

[@shrv-pro]

Such a great huge job filming this. Thank you so much!

[@mikeymike1792]

Makes sense to me, and I'd suspect most of the positive reviews are from the first few days and weeks. Like you said, it started off well, but it didn't last long enough.

[@TraceVelo]

Yeah agreed! Reviews tend to be first impressions mostly, very few Amazon/AliExpress reviews are longer term. I mean when i first put it on the bike, shifting was decent, probably due to the sharper edges of the teeth.

[@danalmasan]

I love your attitude, you are really enjoying what you do,. Thank you for your work and I hope your channel will grow enough so that you will only follow your passion

[@TraceVelo]

Thanks Augustin!!! What an awesome comment. But you are very welcome, i'm glad you like my videos!

[@Nico-jt8ll]

Change your jockeys / pullywheel! Thats a first and must do on every Shimano derailleur. Shimano pulleys dont even have bearings inside and are kinda floating, thats the reason why they shift smooth and silent compared to Campa or Sram. You can go with cheapy BBB 11t pulley (workshop approved), working like a charm and are 10x better - they will guide the chain a lot more directly, which also means that your derailleur cable tension have to be on point. (In the video it looks like you hadn`t enough tension on the derailleur. Every cassette is different - even the same brand/model - and requires an readjustment after swapping out cassettes)

[@BurningEmu]

I run an SROAD 10-50 12 speed and noticed that it's more sensitive to slop and needs the b-gap tighter than a GX cassette... but once those are sorted I find the shifts comparable. It's already outlived what a GX would and although I see some wear on the working side of the teeth it still looks good overall.

[@stephenstevens6573]

90% of riders don't ride 2000 miles in a lifetime. You know...they ride as a hobby till they go out and buy the next best thing. Appreciate your take on everything you do! Crack on!

[@okantichrist]

2000miles isn’t really very far 😂

[@filipbronola536]

If you don't ride more than 2000 miles you're probably not in the market for a 'premium' cassette and light weight bike components

[@stephenstevens6573]

@@filipbronola536 not necessarily. How many folks do you run into, sporting the latest bike, with the latest upgrades...who haven't broken much of it s sweat? Don't know about you, but I see them all the time.

[@a1white]

@@stephenstevens6573 When I was commuting to work, I easily cycled this in 6 months. If my cassette wore down to an unusable level after this amount of time, I'd be be very unhappy.

[@stephenstevens6573]

@@a1white I am 65 years old. I have been riding for 50 years. I only ride that much in a year anymore..in my day, I was riding 4-5000 miles per year. I love riding just for the sake of riding. All of you guys know who I'm talking about. Guys with 10,000.00 worth of gear and only bring it out when the weather is perfect. Unless you have been living under a rock, there are more of those folks that you are willing to admit.

[@eLpELoNdeJaPoN]

OMG 😮 I have been dealing with a lot is issues regarding shifting with the SENSAH EMPIRE and I was already giving up on it , I never actually acknowledge that the issues could be because of the cheaper cassette I'm trying 😄 I'll have to dust off the old 105 cassette and giving a try again for the SENSAH. Great video as always Luke!!

[@dan_lazaro]

I have perfect shifting on Sensah Empire with the cheap Sunshine Cassette, what I do is put the b setting really close to the granny 28t cog.

[@TraceVelo]

No worries eL pELoN!!! Yeah I would definitely change the cassette and see if that makes a difference. The 105 R7000 cassette would be a great choice!

[@eLpELoNdeJaPoN]

@@dan_lazaro I have that cassette but 25 , maybe putting it close is also something to try ! Thanks for your advice!

[@montanajones8393]

If you're having problems with correct shifts, I would first suggest you get your hanger checked out. If your hanger is not bent, then I would suggest that you try another rear derailleur. I had shifting problems with my Empire as well & it was due to the rear derailleur when bolted on was not correctly aligned with the bike, like it was bent. I switched out with a Sram one & it solved it. I guess the tolerances on that Empire rear derailleur were bad. Good luck.

[@ilikewasabe]

Yet again a great review! Facing a similar problem myself. I also re-cabled the shifter and played with the barrel adjuster several times. Using a much more cheaper cassette. Looks okay so never would have guessed it would be the cassette. It was great when i first installed it. Thought i had a bent derailleur hanger or cage even though it never fell down or crashed. Thank you Luke 🙏

[@Hambini]

On the face of it, it looks like the SROAD cassette is lacking the hardening of the Shimano one. THe shimano one is probably slightly work hardened during the stamping process

[@cyclopenguin]

the hardening lacked, the pen was not working properly... 😂

[@Hambini]

@@cyclopenguin the sroad could probably do with some help on the hardening front.

[@doublejumpvideogames....]

hambini showing up has me hard already

[@paulbrown4235]

@@Hambini’s hairdresser might be able to help with the hardening process!

[@TraceVelo]

Yeah this could definitely play a part. I think the box fresh SROAD cassette probably had some sharper edges on the ramps and teeth which would have helped lift the chain onto the upper sprockets. Lack of hardening would prob mean the edges rounded off pretty quickly. I guess we'll see if my 12 speed one follows the same pattern...

[@henrybutterworth5116]

I’m using E-Link electronic shifting on 3 bikes. Road bike with MTB 10 speed RD with clutch, 11 spd chain, 11 spd lightweight cassette. E-Link allows the sprockets to be indexed individually at 0.1mm cable pull increments. MTB dynasys 10sp cable pull has a good pull ratio which increases accuracy. Clutch on RD keeps chain on smaller sprocket until it hits the ramp. Best shifting I’ve ever experienced. Never tried expensive Di2 though.

[@dperreno]

I have two of these on my road and gravel bikes both running 11sp SRAM Force and I haven't encountered any issues with the shifts not "taking" on either bike. One cassette is an 11-32, the other is an 11-34. But I do acknowledge that the Hyperglide cassettes do work well and shift a bit smoother.

[@timoeveraers336]

I own a SROAD 12 speed 11-50 HG mtb cassette and it's flawless with SRAM X0 parts. Love it and will buy it again.

[@ChristopherSooTho]

Always enjoyed your videos. I don't own or ride a road bike but the information you've shown is also applicable to mountain biking when it comes to cassette teeth profile. I think that is why manufacturers make complimentary chains, cassettes and chainrings for a reason. Keep up the good work.

[@randalclark6283]

I have a similar cassette (by ZTTO) and have had your same issue. It is on a SRAM eagle system. What I did to help the shifting (didn't resolve it completely) was to adjust the b-angle out of spec to bring the upper pulley wheel as close to the cassette as possible. The tweaked the barrel adjuster so that an up shift was slightly slow (fraction of a second). Still, nowhere near crisp and still has issues sometimes. However, I am determined to see how long the cassette will last! Good luck.

[@klcbsoft]

I can subsribe to that: my Empire-Shifters came with an 11-speed ZTTO-cassette which started acting up after some 100km. In order to fix this I upgraded to Ultegra-shifter and 105 shifters ... to no avail. In my final step of fixing this I slapped on a Shimano 105-cassette and lo and behold: over 4000km without any shifting problems. Another brand that also ran fine was SunRace. Sadly the latter is sold out all across Europe it seems.

[@biglegcatluvr]

Definitely have some of the more well known Aliexpress cassettes but when I took my bike in for a BB swap, the mechanic pointed out that the spacing between the cassettes were not consistent which explains some shifting issues I've been having. I have noticed these on multiple aliexpress cassettes that I have on other bikes as well. Looks like the tolerances on the cassettes are just not tight enough and the lack of the HG technology really screws it

[@philadams9254]

I had a similar comment about one of the cheap ones I have on my 8 speed bike where we couldn't get the shifting to work consistently. The tolerances there would be less so I can believe it would be even harder to get right on the more premium ones

[@jonathankirwan5757]

Love the top down POV and the accessories which you put in there - nice touches!

[@TraceVelo]

Thanks Jonathan, yeah spent alot of time planning out the shots for this video, glad you enjoyed it!

[@joules531]

I'm still working my way through a whole stack of genuine Shimano HG, 7 speed cassettes, that I bought for, wait for it... ...£3 each. Together with around 50 "Sedis Narrow" 7 speed chains, which I bought back in 1985 for... £2.99 each! And given that they seem to last around 5,000 miles if replaced as a pair, I probably won't run out in my lifetime 😎 People might laugh at those of us who are riding 7 speed cassettes, but the wider spacings mean perfect shifting every time, coupled with outstanding reliability, and at prices that make modern systems look astonishingly expensive. Other than tyres, tubes, and a handful of cables, I can't actually remember having to buy any bike parts, let alone whole bikes, for at least twenty years.

[@Bikaiii]

Built a new bike with a SROAD 11-28t cassette, same shifting issues like you described. Thought I lost touch setting up the mechanical shifting, glad to know it's the cassette issue instead.

[@TraceVelo]

Yeah maybe throw a Shimano cassette on there, see if that makes a difference. Also make sure the B-Adjustment screw is set properly, it's something alot of people miss :)

[@sham2613]

Great point , most reviews are only out of the box chat and first rides , possibly. Great video, appreciate the honesty

[@TraceVelo]

No worries, glad you liked it!

[@stefanohbellote9948]

The thing with the reviews (be it Amazon or AliExpress) is that most people write it within a short time or right after receiving it.. so it's mostly "first impressions" and not a deep review, which sometimes sound like the part is really good but in use and after some long term, can reveal a different scenario - and then there's no way to change the review. Anyway, thanks for the details and common sense on the review, as always! Good to know there's more coming, can't wait!!

[@mikeb9303]

too get the best shifting you have to use the barrel adjuster at the derailleur to get it exact, you can adjust just a quarter turn can be all the difference between $20 or $120. remember shift/brake wires stretch until they brake, so micro adjustments need too be made constantly

[@TraceVelo]

So I separately tuned the derailleur to each cassette off camera. It looks as if tightening the barrel adjuster might help the chain jump up to the bigger sprockets on the SROAD cassette demo, but trust me, if it was any tighter, the chain just wouldn't up-shift properly. It's basically as good as i could get it with this derailleur unfortunately...

[@jonburnell532]

Thanks for the ongoing videos 👍

[@fourzeroonek]

This is a corner I've considered cutting many times, and keep going back to Shimano or Miche. Based on this, I'll stick with those options. The poor shifting reminds me of an issue that was resolved for me by realigning my derailleur hanger.

[@montrose252]

Thanks for the input. I am seeking a lighter cassette and Miche seems like a good choice...

[@shepshape2585]

I appreciate you going through the time and effort required to test out a lot of these Chinese made parts. Reviews can't always be trusted, and most of them are posted way too quickly before the part has been thoroughly tested. I guess when it comes to cassettes, at least for now, we'll just have to stick with the Shimano product. I do find it weird that, while the Chinese manufacturers so often don't seem to care about infringing on patents and just blatetently copy other products, they're less keen to do so in this case. Anyway, looking forward to the upcoming bike build and thanks again for all your time and efforts in regards to saving us money on quality bike parts.

[@TraceVelo]

Yeah no problem! But yeah i think if you want to guarantee decent shifting, stick with Shimano cassettes over these SROAD ones. But I agree, the cheaper chinese stuff is cathing up in quality VERY quickly... Maybe in a year or two they will havfe some more of the kinks ironed out...

[@shepshape2585]

@@TraceVelo I'm sure when they do, you'll be the one to let us know. Have a great day, be safe out there.

[@a1white]

I guess Shimano must have a bigger budget for lawyers. I don't blame Shimano, they also spend a huge amount on developing tech such as Hyperglide (which as shown is terrifically effective).

[@shepshape2585]

@@a1white I agree, they must know Shimano doesn’t play. Plus, most of the Shimano stuff is made in China (Kunshan), Malaysia and Singapore, so they know all these Chinese manufacturers and can come down on them quickly if patents are violated.

[@tgoods5049]

Funny, just last week I was wondering when you were going to update us on SROAD. Thank you!

[@AKG77]

I had a similar cassette from aliexpress. The shifting wasn't good as well. Thanks for pointing out the difference between them and shimano hyperglide system. But I held on to it for more than a year because of the lightweight ness, Until 1 day the 11 tooth sprocket cracked. I went back to the heavier shimano but with a peace if mind.

[@steve0680657]

Shimano are just the best. Well worth the weight penalty, especially if you're going further from home, like a European tour, and easy to find replacement parts from bike shops in foreign locations.

[@FiveMinuteVelo]

Luke, I run an 11-speed Empire groupsets with the £25 steel cassettes. With one caveat I find shifting to be good, not quite up there with Ultegra, but still good. The caveat is that when changing from a smaller to larger sprocket I press and hold the gear changer for a split second rather than just dabbing it and let go like you show. It would be nice not to have to do this but as my right hand is not doing anything else at that time (!!!) it's not really a problem unless you make it one.

[@jc74435]

I see a trace velo video, I click!!

[@TraceVelo]

My man!!!! 👊 😎

[@orrinkelso9295]

I have used one for about 8,000 miles. Has held up really well. But because it has an aluminum inner part that interfaces with the wheel, it has started to creak with every pedal stroke when under lots of pressure, such as climbing. Other than the noise, it has been very durable. I am using Shimano Dura-ace 9100 derailleurs. I have also used one made entirely of steel, with extensive machining, about the same weight, but it wore out after one chain. The steel was too soft. But both were about 225 grams in an 11-32.

[@numarc1010]

That skipping pretty much sums up my drivetrain if my bike has one spec of dirt on it. I use AbsoluteBlack wax on 6700 Ultegra chain & cassette w/ 7900 Dura Ace everything else except chainrings (Absolute Black oval) installed on a 1999 Specialized Allez frame. I often wondered if the chain stays are microscopically bent due to a crash years ago. I hung this bike up in 2004 and got out of cycling 2008-2017. Decided to build this bike back up and it downshifts like complete garbage when (slightly) dirty. DA components have a few thousand miles (unknown, bought off a friend) and the cassette, chain, chainrings are under 300 miles. I bought these new thinking they were the culprit and wasted many hours tuning my rear derailleur and swapping out cables. Unfortunately, no. I gave up and just double-shift when needed until I get a new bike!

[@wngimageanddesign9546]

I've never given shift performance a thought in the past as I have never had trouble with Shimano and SRAM cassettes. So I don't find any reason to stop using them. Don't need to add a failure mode with SROAD. Could also be less prone for 10 and less cassettes and older style derailleurs from Shimano. The jockey pulleys track closer to the cogs.

[@mattbond3002]

You should add a warning about sizing of Siroko gear. Their size charts are useless and returning is at own cost.

[@livinginsyn4814]

Are they consistent least? Like always big or small?

[@ChrisP978]

I've found that sizing charts for all bike clothing is pretty useless. I wear medium up to XL depending on the brand.

[@tomcruz3774]

In decathlon im a large but in reality I'm smaller than tom cruise lmao

[@abedfo88]

agree, the bib short sizings are massively out.

[@treadtyred9742]

I've got their sunglasses which are good for the price but went closer to home for my clothing for this reason.

[@SteveKimbo]

Sloppy shifting really grinds my gears. Awesome channel by the way, I'm really enjoying your videos!

[@DaveCM]

If you do the math, it doesn't even save you very much money. I have an Red cassette that came with my bike and it is still in great shape. I put it on my trainer to setup my new saddle. (I have dedicated trainer bike.) I don't even know how many miles are on it but it was on there for about three years until I switched it to an Apex level cassette two years ago to get better range for climbing. (The Red is an 11-28 while the new one is 11--32.) And the new one still works like a charm after a couple of years or so and thousands of miles including multiple trips to the mountains. I keep a close eye on chain wear which is the biggest enemy of the cassette. Anyway, my point is, buying a quality cassette will not be an more money in the long run because it will actually last you way longer as long as you actually maintain your bike.

[@StevieOnHisBike]

Thanks Luke. This is not what I wanted to hear but needed to hear it. I'm old enough to remember Hyperglide coming out (I was working in a bike shop) and thought the cassettes were faulty ☺

[@jmvallet1475]

I've got a ZTTO eleven speed, not a SROAD but CNC as well. I desagree with some of you the shifting is as good as my SLX or 1275 Sram. The rerailleur i use is a deore 11s and the shifter as well. I am stoned by the price 78€, the weight 395g but also by the visual quality of this sheet. I use it since one year and it works perfectly. Honestly i am thinking to try the 12s, i am really impressed by SOME of the chinese products.

[@alasdairchubb6749]

Superb vid Luke. You really are the man.

[@goldenmath4091]

I have the same experience with alot of the cheaper cassettes, changed back to Shimano and it's virtually flawless It's not to say you can't get em working, works probably 80% ok , but on an MTB it was always at the wrong times

[@timtaylor9590]

youre right the smaller gears lagg more but what i found is dont push your lever further than the click and push the lever with some snappiness press fast and let go fast, it will shifter faster and more precise, try it out, ull see it really works. also im sure you tried to turn the barrell adjuster counter clockwise but they say you want to make it so the derailleur is closest to the larger gear as possible, so just enough to where its not rubbing or making noise on the larger gear.

[@GunnyWombat]

We use SROAD in my LBS where I'm the mechanic. A mixed bag really. Due to non-available Shimano spares we've had to try all these lower tier products. Sunrace, Sunrun, SRoad, ZTTO. Most are usable, but just don't have the same build quality and service life as Shimano. If however weight was a condition, then the SROAD cassettes aren't bad for race/climbing wheels as long as you understand the shortened service life and replace after 2k. Great video as per normal Luke :)

[@Osmium1hr]

Hope you can do a cheap crankset review

[@MegaMilesteg]

I have subscribed some 2-3 years ago…..Love your videos! This even though i ride the exact opposite ; steel bikes with hardly any thought about weight;))

[@ricogonda]

awesome as always. I make sure to watch or review your videos before buying those cheap options. thanks a lo!

[@munkeng]

Hi Luke, I have the same problem but I managed to get rid of it by moving the guide pulley as close as possible to the smallest cog. This creates a better chain wrap and ease shifting on the first few smaller cogs. Try it.

[@derekim75]

I've been using a gold color Sroad 12speed xd cassette for 2 years.....more than 4000km with it....It's been just superb~~~

[@TraceVelo]

OK noted, hopefully my 12 speed one will hold up as well as yours!

[@Scbm6492]

i've been riding on SROAD cassettes for a year now, i replace them about every 3000miles and have them on both my road bikes so i've been through about 4 in that time (around 12,000 miles worth) and i do really like them mostly because of the cost and i just live with the iniquities due to the ridiculous cost savings.

[@2wheelsrbest327]

Thanks Luke another great one. What is so great about your channel is you are always willing to give an honest opinion good or bad. I am going to have to see whether SIROKO do big boy sizes.

[@Nico-jt8ll]

Have to say Sroad has been the only AliExpress cassette brand which delivers quality. I use their 12s 11-32 and 11s 11-28 sroad cassettes for training. These are the setups which i use (shifter/derailleur): Sram force/force and red 11s mechanical, red/force 12s mechanical (xRatio upgrade) and force axs/force axs 12s electronic. Chains which are working: All Sram 11s and Axs´s, Zrace ybn + sumc. Kmc`s are not working for single front chainring (1x) setups, they fall off

[@YakirGabay]

Great channel. :) I have bought several of these cassettes, either for 12 speed mtb groupsets as an alternative to sram and for myself to work with a sram road groupset. I can say that the switch has always been not smooth however after a few adjustments works really well. So far I've accumulated about a 1000k and shifting is flawless. The fitting was a bit snug for me on the hub body so without small taps with a rubber mallet it would probably not go all the way in, but that together with little adjustments made it work great. Therefore I'd recommend these cassettes, although it is something that is needed more testing across variety of groupsets.

[@ezoez7548]

Jgbike is insane for the price. I have bought 3 wheels from them and have been Hella satisfied.

[@leedorney]

I use Miche and the extra useful aspect of Miche is the sprockets are customisable 👌 and they last AGES bit heavy but the custom aspect is important to me..

[@becyk_du_quebec]

I've had the opposite experience with my gravel bike and a s-road cassette (11-34) paired with grx shifters and derailleurs. I've been racing for ~1500km with it and I've never had any issues like the ones mentioned in the video. I've found it to be a bit more noisy than a 105 cassette I tried, but shifting has always been smooth on my side. Although I expect the cassette not to last as long as a Shimano one. In any case great video as always, it keeps the discussion going and it's always welcome to have different tested opinions on a product.

[@Nahhnope]

Sounds like you've put about half the miles as Luke has on it. He said it got worse as he put miles on it.

[@niwrad84]

Such an eye opening info on the cassette. Tons of cheap Chinese cassette in our country.

[@gtranquilla]

Good information. Fortunately I stuck with the extra light weight 10 and 11 speed Shimano cassettes for my two CF bike builds……with Praxis bottom brackets, chain rings and cranks on the front……

[@TristanET]

I'm using Sroad 10-42 and 10-36 cassettes for XD Driver on my gravelwheelsets. Shifting is after ~1500miles on the older cassette still great. But one of them had an poorly cut thread and fucked up my aluminium hubbody. It still holds on, but unscrewing it is going to be an nightmare and it's to be determine how much new cassettes the hubthreads will survive.

[@Nico-jt8ll]

Do you mean the cassette lockring? I think i had the same issue with a purple coloured lockring (dont remember from which cassette), noticed it getting thight too early and so swapped it out before it did any damage to the body.

[@Peregrino.51]

@@Nico-jt8ll no, xd drivers screw on different. No lock ring involved

[@monztrluvr]

Awesome! Luke, if possible try to review " wheeltop EDS ' electronic wireless groupset.

[@Carftymk]

it's not available yet and it's MTB only

[@monztrluvr]

@@Carftymk , can be tried for Gravel, right?

[@Carftymk]

@@monztrluvr as far as i know it's going to be flat bar only, so no gravel either (unless you think gravel bikes can have flat bars which is wrong)

[@monztrluvr]

@@Carftymk , my bad !

[@VanillaSky23ffm]

I have an s road on my Sworks Tarmac SL 6 - maybe 5000km down - flawless

[@robinbebbington7063]

Teasing us all with a bike build!!

[@Carftymk]

Hey Luke I see you're still using those same SIS bottles. I don't know if you're happy with them but I had them in 550ml and was very unhappy with them between the plastic taste that wouldn't go away, the prints fading, the weight and most importantly the lid design retaining a lot of the precious water, easily 5ml at times which I had to unscrew to get. I switched to the elite fly bottles (upgraded capacity to 750ml too) 6 months ago and I couldn't be happier: 86g per 550ml bottle for the SIS ones versus 40g per 750ml(!) bottle with the elite fly. They feel sturdy enough, print did not wash away yet, no plastic taste, are easy to squeeze, let out all the water and under half the weight ontop of being bigger. One of the best 10€ I have spent on cycling products if not the best, in terms of weight and quality of life. Can definitely recommend

[@elbatch]

Elite fly bottles are basically above any other brand. Just don't machine wash them hot because they can melt lol

[@Carftymk]

@@elbatch lol i never even considered putting ANY bottle in the dishwasher, i didn't know people did that. i only ever run water in my bottles anyway

[@kt31166]

I bought and use a SROAD 10x52 XD cassette on my Specialized Epic. It is very light and at first functioned perfectly but over time it to has a few cogs it trips up on. I generally have to over-shift and correct back. And I have half the miles on it than Luke does but I am sure the abuse is much higher. For now it is something I can live with. If it continues to get worse then I will have to look at other options.

[@celynjones4958]

Shimano cassettes the smoothest in my experience. Weight penalty be damned !

[@JohnnyMotel99]

The shifting speed of Hyperglide probably outweighs ANY weight advantage.

[@TraceVelo]

Yeah in this case... i have to agree with you. I'll still keep looking though, there has to be a cheap cassette out there that can compete...

[@celynjones4958]

@@TraceVelo Yep. This one did come close but I guess the machining for decent ramping is still a bit tricky and somewhat proprietary. Cheers and keep up the great content / real world testing.

[@goku445]

What do you think about Shimano cassettes price? It seems to be pretty cheap compared to the rest of the groupset.

[@celynjones4958]

@@goku445 Mostly very reasonably priced apart from the high end ones with titanium rings. I tend to prefer 105/Deore since they are all steel, so they last longer.

[@simonalexandercritchley439]

Thanks for another great review Luke. I once tried a lightweight 12-32 mtb cassette(1990s) that was steel/titanium combo (5 Ti /3 St) light,durable but not cheap. Lighter than XTR at the time, with good tolerances but had the same issues due to ramp/tooth profiles. I gave it back to the shop and said thanks but no.(one short ride uphill proved this, would only have got worse with use- it was set properly with correct spacing).

[@targaW3007]

Your are the best! I just enjoy every video from you. Thanks

[@icreyes3]

Luke, we NEED more videos. You may have to skip a ride and stay up all night to feed your ravenous subscribers!! YOU have us hooked on this content and we demand more NOW!!!!

[@TraceVelo]

Yeah I would LOVE to spend more time on there vids, it's just so difficult to schedule time in to get it all done.... maybe I should just pack it all in and so youtube full time 😅

[@elwoodzo]

Man I remember when hyperglide came in and it knocked everything else into a cocked hat overnight. Hyperglide was instrumental in starting shimano’s near total dominance of the bike industry - it revolutionised mtbing. Roadies were a little bit slower to bite but they soon cottoned on...

[@dymbag1]

The tooth profile on a Shimano cassette is by far the best for shifting efficiency of any cassette when combined with a shimano chain

[@palicar]

I agree with your definitions of up and downshifting. Only in bikes do people try to reverse these - every other vehicle upshifts to a harder / faster gear. People who do it the other way are probably the type who are responsible for the degree discrepancy: 1st degree burns are minor while 1st degree crime is the worst.

[@TraceVelo]

Yeah it's quite confusing honestly, and I'm definitely guilty of using them the wrong way round when explaining stuff. Will try to use the right terminology moving forwards tho!

[@remitournier2526]

Hi and thanks for the work! 💪💪I'm at my 2nd sroad cassette. The first one lasted about 15 000 km (chain waxing) and was still going. I decided to change because it was getting a bit worn, and my chain was at the .5 limit but it was still working. My second is a bliss as well. I race and ride in all weather (northern France). Genuinely surprised by your review! I use YBN and shimano chain with ultegra groupset.

[@rolandovera5935]

“The mid-point between summer and winter” is called autumn where I’m from. Calling it Fall is acceptable too. 😜

[@andypughtube]

Also, it might be an altogether different proposition to machine Hyperglide onto a monobloc cassette. Given that I can save that 200g on my commute by eating a smaller breakfast, I will probably stick to the Shimano. But I do wish that Shimano would do this construction, if possible. Not for any performance reason, I am a 90kg middle aged commuter, but for the same reason as I run a Campagnolo Ultratorque crank (on my 5 mile commute) Because I love elegant engineering. I will, though, point out that I have never been overtaken on that commute, or if I have, they haven't made it stick 🙂

[@ferventheat]

Thanks for the well made content. I hope they can get the shifting right next version, they'll sell a ton of these I'd they do make it as good as hyperglide. Just to note, before hyperglide the cassettes shifted well enough, presumably because the rings were spaced further apart with less gears. Maybe they should bring out a range of 5, 6 and 7 speed cassettes as they are heavyweight generally and would benefit from the slimming process. P.s. Interesting you have the back brake linked to right brake lever.

[@TraceVelo]

Yeah if they managed to nail the shifting, these would be the perfect cassette! But yeah I've always set my bikes up that way with the brakes, just personal preference I guess!

[@buntawrx]

What? You're using the right lever for the front brake? I've never in my lifetime seen a bike with that configuration for the brakes. It seems just logical to have the rear derailleur and brake hooked up to the same side.

[@hkchew03]

@@buntawrx simply means you haven't seen enough, many countries have their bikes setup this way by default.

[@tn9274]

mine the opposite as well, front brake on right side, like on motorbike.

[@cyclingsfatsuma9808]

@@buntawrx this is a legal requirement in NZ and Australia. It's to do with ability to do hand signals safely - on the most visible hand. You guys drive on the wrong side of the road so have it on the opposite side.

[@nem3th]

Just yesterday installed new the same SROAD only 11-32T cassette , and i got the same issues what you described . At first i thought that i lost skills to fine tune shifting, and couldnt understand why it doesnt work, as good as old many thousand miles used SRAM PC-1030 cassette. Especially inconsistency was between 1-3 smallest cogs when shifting upwards. Now i understand why. Where i live, i usually doesnt need 32T cassette, but i planned to go for cycling camp to Girona , where 32T cassette could be very usefull in long climbs. Now i have dillema , i have new spare SRAM PC 1070 (11-28T) wich definetly wont be shifting problems and installed new SROAD 11-32T with this inconsistency. New chain also been installed.

[@BIKEPRO603]

use a Shimano chain, the chain have asymmetrical design. The chain inner plate have more pronounce cutting to help the up shift

[@samuelberkun4466]

mine works perfect with r8000 and 11-32, using a cheap sram chain

[@germanhugger41]

Great review as usual..I just wish that Shimano and some of the aftermarket manufacturers would do one of their eleven speed cassettes beginning with twelve tooth top cog for us mere mortals. 12-13-14-15-17-19-21-23-25-28-32....Or 13-14-15-17-19-21-23-25-28-32-36... Would be great options.

[@waisinglee1509]

I'll stick to my Shimano Ultegra cassette which has about 26,000 kms on it so far. Thanks for the video!

[@botondrostas]

I have one of these in 10-42 for an XD freehub. From day 1 it was shifting poorly in the climbing part of the cassette regardless of how much I tried to adjust and re-adjust the b-screw and fiddling with indexing and so on. In the end I got tired of spending more time trying to make this work than actually riding it, so I got a Sram 1150 cassette and had nothing but perfect shifting experience so far. It is a shame as for the same price the Sroad cassette is way lighter and visually looks better as well.

[@gattmolson]

I've ben using this cassette now for almost 3 years. I switch out two different wheels, one with shimano and the other with the sroad. I realized that I needed to give the barrel adjuster about a turn or cable tension when I had the sroad cassette wheel on. It's still working great for me.

[@ChrisP978]

That's mostly due to cassette/hub alignment, it's a pretty common issue when swapping wheels.

[@TraceVelo]

Yeah I spent AGES fiddling with the barrel adjuster for this video ,trying to get the shifting to work with the SROAD cassette... but no bueno unfortunately 😔

[@thesupernad]

I bought an SROAD XD 11 speed cassette that looked beautiful, but the first ride I knew something was up. The teeth profile were not manufactured properly and when I would apply power in two of the 11 gears the chain would slip over them. I ended up getting my money back from Aliexpress and its in the bin.

[@samguan5236]

Recently tried a microshift 8 speed cassette thinking it’s as good as shimano but cheaper. Similar observation, the teeth profile isn’t shaped like the hyper glide and the shifting is horrible. So inconsistent that I can index it perfectly and then few tries later, I could hit the same gear and it would have issues catching the chain. This is a great review, I can’t stand inconsistent shifting.

[@marcojavier1185]

Was about to purchase the 11-32 cassette, but thank you for the honest review Luke...looks like I will reconsider and probably stick to Shimano. Cheers from the Philippines and keep up the good work :)

[@babyrabies]

ive been using sroad on all my bikes. Its a bit of a mixed bag. Those fully steel cogs are great but the alloy/steel ones are inconsistent. ive got 3 of those and one isnt working quite well on one of the alloy cog. Draw of the luck perhaps, but at that price and weight i aint complaining.

[@messymimoo]

Nice review as always 🏆👍

[@TraceVelo]

Thanks 👍

[@pqzharold]

Same weight as my dura ace, if they get the shifting sorted out all my bikes will move to this than a 105.

[@TraceVelo]

Yeah it's a shame the shifting didn't hold up, bceause the weight is pretty great for these cassettes!

[@peterhans7824]

Very interesting Vid. Might be a good idea for a bike you only take out on very few occasions.

[@bigwave_dave8468]

Good review! FYI, in the USA, patents expire after 20 years so anybody could use the original Shimano Hyperglide design and modification up through 2001.

[@redalert2834]

Quite, plenty of manufacturers admit they are making "hyperglide clones".

[@scherzo0o]

Nice honest review. I have such a cassette (I don't remember the brand or the manufacturer) a 11-36, 11 speed.... tricky to set up, but after that, it works fine, after more than an year. What I find puzzling in your review is that the cassette worked well for some significant mileage. If it were a problem with the teeth's profile, it should have gone bad from the very beggining, right? I mean, wear is insignificant for such a cassette at this mileage, as you mention... If the spacing of the cogs is the explanation... again this didn't change during the usage... how come that initially it worked well?

[@thebespokecyclist3624]

Sroad and Sunshine cassettes drives me crazy as well. Unfortunately since I got the 12 speed Empire Pro I need to wait for a 105 12 spd cassette before I can replace.

[@TraceVelo]

Yeah 12 speed cassettes are not super widespread atm. I've got a cheap 12 speed ZRace cassette too, so hopefully it will work well..

[@thebespokecyclist3624]

@@TraceVelo It's actually smoother than any Ultegra 11 spd on my bikes but 1 of the rings is twisted out of the box so sometimes I wouldn't upshift. Luckily I only have it on my trainer bike on Wahoo.

[@yazidyusop]

time for some riding adventure video... anyway thanks for your hard work... im sure we all benefit from them

[@WashichawbachaW]

Hey Luke, your SRoad cassette is similar in design with Sram's Powerglide II. That's why it's not shifting well. There are many Hyperglide base cassettes out there not just from Shimano. Unfortunately, not as light as that one.

[@Peregrino.51]

The more I look, the more I see people raving on the ZTTO 9-50 ULT Pro! Have you considered buying it? I'm about to get one my self. The rainbow SROAD 10-50t is just not cutting it. Super unreliable.

[@roadsquadra]

I was testing a ZTTO cassette and out of the box, the shifting was crap even if I was using either R9100 or R812 RD. A mech had suggested using a 10 speed chain but I haven't gone that route and bought an XG1150 cassette instead.

[@josh33172]

These are/are not very good cassettes. They are all 1pc, but not the back spider that connects to the freehub. The spider is pressed in onto the cassette. Mine came out...well not out completely, but out enough that it constantly clicks as I pedal. I own 2 of these cassettes, and thankfully it hasn't happened to the second one. My guess is its the roll of the dice in terms of QC. If you get a good one.....its very good!

[@jswisher893]

i love this man

[@TraceVelo]

Love you too James 😘

[@doesitgame]

Have the same issue with inexpensive ZRace/ZTTO/Bibike/Sunshine-SZ cassettes. Fine for the direct drive trainer, but on the road it’s Shimano cassettes only.