Review Shimano Linkglide 10 speed drivetrain.

Perryqhill said:

I'm somewhat confused by the CUES stuff - do they run on 11 speed chains or on 10 or 11 depending on what speed they are? I read the Shimano compatibility sheet and it seemed to suggest 11.

I'm currently running a 10 speed Deore 11/46 set up with a RD5120, well actually a Sram chain on it at the moment.

If when I need a new cassette I went to a 11 48 10 speed Cues cassette would the derailleur I have do, but I'd need the U6000 shifter?

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All use 11 speed chain. You need to change cassette, mech and shifter to linkglide/cues.

cozzy said:

All use 11 speed chain. You need to change cassette, mech and shifter to linkglide/cues.

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I thought it was 11 speed. There's a train of thought on here and elsewhere that the derailleur is less important though (as above) and that the 10/11 speed shimano derailleurs are compatible because its more about cable pull from the shifter (despite what Shimano say) and may even be of better quality than the CUES one.

Hence It would be easier for me to pick off the shifter, cassette, chain gradually and try it and then buy the derailleur if absolutely necessary. I'm really trying to pick the brains of those that have mixed and matched.

Just ordered the 10 speed Linkglide with the XT 11 speed shifter:
LG 400 cass 11-43 (as I realised I don't and won't ever need 50T)
M5130 Deore derailleur
M8130 XT shifter
LG 500 chain.

All in £160.. BUT those nice people at Nationwide Building Society are giving me a £100 for being a mortgage holder with them. Or in other words cost to me £60. Ive been umm-ing and arrrr-ing over going for the 11speed XT Linkglide but to be honest I just don't think I'll ever use the larger sprockets on the cass. (I cleaned the 12speed SRAM that's on the bike this morning and the largest 50t has never been touched and the next one down 42 (I think) doesn't show any wear, but I know I have used it (maybe twice), so the new 11-43 should be bang on for my needs, and there's always Turbo anyway.

Amber Valley Guy said:

Just ordered the 10 speed Linkglide with the XT 11 speed shifter:
LG 400 cass 11-43 (as I realised I don't and won't ever need 50T)
M5130 Deore derailleur
M8130 XT shifter
LG 500 chain.

All in £160.. BUT those nice people at Nationwide Building Society are giving me a £100 for being a mortgage holder with them. Or in other words cost to me £60. Ive been umm-ing and arrrr-ing over going for the 11speed XT Linkglide but to be honest I just don't think I'll ever use the larger sprockets on the cass. (I cleaned the 12speed SRAM that's on the bike this morning and the largest 50t has never been touched and the next one down 42 (I think) doesn't show any wear, but I know I have used it (maybe twice), so the new 11-43 should be bang on for my needs, and there's always Turbo anyway.

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I guess it depends what you do. I've ran a 11 46 in the 11 months or so I've had mine and I do use it. Mine is an e7000 with 60nm and at 50 I'm reasonably bike fit for my age.

I don't do ridiculous techy climbs as you would see on EMBN but I do like finding some steep areas and seeing if I can't get up them. I'd quite like an extra few gears incase but to be truthful I've never really needed them - on occasions when I've found myself on something really steep I may go into boost and then into the lowest two cogs (possibly 46 and 42), but really it's rare I actually use boost.

Oh and I run the standard deore 11 46, think it's done 500 miles now and I put a new chain on three weeks ago with no slippage. I know some get mega miles out of chains and cassettes but in the slop and the gritty crap its been running in, along with the stick it's had from me as an e-bike learner, I'm quite pleased with it.

I'm on a EP8, live near the Peak District (so plenty of steep climbs) and I'm 60 in a few months. And I've never used the 50t, ever.

Amber Valley Guy said:

I'm on a EP8, live near the Peak District (so plenty of steep climbs) and I'm 60 in a few months. And I've never used the 50t, ever.

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Done a few rides before over there (Doncaster based) on a normal MTB. Likely to have my first try on EMTB there over the next couple of weeks - maybe Ladybower Classic.

Although different terrain I've done Dalby Forest on EMTB and that's quite hilly and to be fair I don't think I used the lowest gears that often.

Perryqhill said:

Done a few rides before over there (Doncaster based) on a normal MTB. Likely to have my first try on EMTB there over the next couple of weeks - maybe Ladybower Classic.

Although different terrain I've done Dalby Forest on EMTB and that's quite hilly and to be fair I don't think I used the lowest gears that often.

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I think it all depends on your preferred riding style, some people prefer a higher cadence with less effort, others lower cadence more effort (power) and others can do both, like the lycra boys, I can't spin for long as my knees are shagged.

Certainly glad of the 48t on my 10 speed linkglide today grinding to the top of okeford bikepark after 15 runs.
No way would I be getting up there with smaller cogs.
Different requirements for different people doing different riding.

It's not about the gears, it's about the strength in your legs or the wear and tear on your knees.

When arthritis first struck my knees, I went from a 36 driving a 36 to a 30x51 and still struggled on the same trails! I went down the medication route, painkillers, anti-inflammatories, physio, kinaesthetic tape; finally, all at the same time. The only thing that worked was getting an emtb! It took a month or so for my knees to partially recover, because they were now being stressed less.
I now have a 34x51 plus an 85Nm motor and Volterol full strength on my knees and there are still some short and steep climbs that I cannot get up 100% of the time. Pre-arthritis, I used to fly up them on my ordinary mtb.

steve_sordy said:

It's not about the gears, it's about the strength in your legs or the wear and tear on your knees.

When arthritis first struck my knees, I went from a 36 driving a 36 to a 30x51 and still struggled on the same trails! I went down the medication route, painkillers, anti-inflammatories, physio, kinaesthetic tape; finally, all at the same time. The only thing that worked was getting an emtb! It took a month or so for my knees to partially recover, because they were now being stressed less.
I now have a 34x51 plus an 85Nm motor and Volterol full strength on my knees and there are still some short and steep climbs that I cannot get up 100% of the time. Pre-arthritis, I used to fly up them on my ordinary mtb.

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Yes mines arthritis of the knees, I find higher cadences can trigger the knee ache, but I don't run around in Turbo, hell Trail feels like Mad Max turning on the nitro sometimes, I'm mostly in Eco to keep the leg strength up and the heart rate elevated.

Im a trail rider, if you get to the top of some crazy climb, you know you won't be doing the same climb again the same day, as you said different requirements

cozzy said:

Certainly glad of the 48t on my 10 speed linkglide today grinding to the top of okeford bikepark after 15 runs.
No way would I be getting up there with smaller cogs.
Different requirements for different people doing different riding.

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cozzy said:

Certainly glad of the 48t on my 10 speed linkglide today grinding to the top of okeford bikepark after 15 runs.
No way would I be getting up there with smaller cogs.
Different requirements for different people doing different riding.

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Hey I forgot to ask, how do you find the LG 10 speed, are you overall happy with it?

Amber Valley Guy said:

Hey I forgot to ask, how do you find the LG 10 speed, are you overall happy with it?

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Brilliant so far, not that I've got a huge amount of riding in so far this year as the weather has been shocking.
I especially like the dorky shift window! Ive never seen the need before but it's super useful on the start ramp of the bikeparks I ride to know it's in the 13t cog before I pedal off. Saves craning the neck round.
The short cage mech with the 11/48 cassette is the one for me. But I did see another post talking about the steel freehub getting gouged by these cheaper cassettes, so I will be keeping an eye on that.

Yesterday I installed a new rear wheel on my Trek Rail 7...one of those carbon rimmed, straight pull spoke, Bontrager models. Not installed because of failure of the OEM rim, I just know how my J-Bend spoked rear wheels usually end up breaking spokes.

Anyway, as I mentioned in my earlier post, I've been running a complete CUES, 9-spd, setup, and it had 750 miles on all the original components. I've had not one hiccup with this setup, and I had planned on running it longer until this new rear wheel deal popped up. I went back with a new, identical CUES 9-spd cassette and chain, retaining the previous CUES shifter and derailleur. This allowed me to have a complete spare rear wheel on hand when/if needed to be ready to plug and play.

This bike has been pounded in very rough, rocky terrain with lots of ups and downs. Maybe it being 9-spd makes it more forgiving or such...don't know. Also we don't have a lot of rain and mud here like some of you folks do, so that may be another reason why this inexpensive drivetrain has worked so well. For my application I'm not seeing a huge benefit in buying some of the more expensive drivetrains that can cost several times more. And trust me, I'm not easy on this bike. Durability has been quite surprising.

cozzy said:

Brilliant so far, not that I've got a huge amount of riding in so far this year as the weather has been shocking.
I especially like the dorky shift window! Ive never seen the need before but it's super useful on the start ramp of the bikeparks I ride to know it's in the 13t cog before I pedal off. Saves craning the neck round.
The short cage mech with the 11/48 cassette is the one for me. But I did see another post talking about the steel freehub getting gouged by these cheaper cassettes, so I will be keeping an eye on that.

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I read that about his HG driver getting gouged, this could be the cassette ..but more likely not using a torque wrench to tighten the cass and it's been chattering when on and off load.