After a year of riding covering 600 miles virtually all offroad, and riding right through the wettest mudiest UK winter I can remember the jockey wheels on my SRAM GX mech had lots of sideplay. They also attract crap for a pastime.....SO upgraded to some HOPE replacements. Unbelievable improvement in shifting as a result.
Better jockeys
- Thread starter Mikerb
- Start date
steve_sordy
Wedding Crasher
Your blue jockeys look really nice! 
I noticed an improvement in shifting when I changed the jockey wheels. See below for old and new.
As you can see they were cheapish Tacx jockey wheels.
And I gained two ninja throwing stars!
I noticed an improvement in shifting when I changed the jockey wheels. See below for old and new.
As you can see they were cheapish Tacx jockey wheels.
And I gained two ninja throwing stars!
NULevo
Well-known member
I need these!
Ted
Member
Are the metal ones noisy?
The thing is, with this substitution you will now no longer be availing yourself of SRAM's near rocket-science X-Sync "technology" (pattern of tooth thickness/shape), so in their theory your chain is now more likely to rattle off as a consequence, and they would say you might also find you have more issues with mud, wear and uneven backpedaling!
However, if I can only have one or the other, I would much prefer they had simply put decent bearings and seals in the jockey wheels of my (RRP £106) Eagle NX derailleur and instead left out the X-Sync pattern. After just 1,200kms my original plastic jockey wheels had lost their X-Sync shape to a large degree anyway. And at this time the bushes (NX don't have bearings, just crappy bushes with pathetic seals which means dirt always gets in so they wear even faster than they otherwise would) had developed loads of play, and the shifting was now not precise as a consequence.
So, like you, I decided to replace with non-SRAM alloy jockey wheels with quality bearings, even though I'd be forgoing the X-Sync benefits. I've got an earlier version of these : Uberbike 12/14T SRAM Eagle 12 Speed Jockey Wheels - Made In Sheffield UK
As they're SRAM Eagle specific it would have been nice if they'd had the X-Sync pattern too. In this latest version they've added a "retaining lip" for the 14 tooth pulley, they say "to solve any derailment issues that may arise due to setup issues". Why they didn't just make it X-Sync pattern instead I can't imagine. But nonetheless mine doesn't even have the retaining lip and in 1,900kms the chain has never come off anyway (btw my bike has no chain guide and is a hardtail so the back end rattles a lot!). And after these 1,900kms, having plenty of time due to coronavirus lockdown, I rebuilt my entire derailleur. I prised the seals on the jockey wheels so I could clean them out and re-grease but I don't think I should have bothered as once I'd done that I could see that there was still plenty of grease in them and no dirt had got in at all - now that's the sort of quality I was looking for! So probably better to have left these extremely tight and efficient seals in place because after prising them out, however carefully, they may not be quite as good as before, who knows.
Have attached a pic from which you can get an idea of the current state of the jockey wheels. Yes the anodisation has come off a little, but essentially they're still the same shape after 1,900kms and the bearings feel the same as new and the shifting is still as good as a derailleur with brand new standard SRAM NX Eagle jockey wheels (I've got 4 of them, and two sets of Uberbike jockey wheels,
I did the same mod for my 19 Kenevo with the addition of a bike yoke top wheel and it also improved my shifting a great deal. Definitely worth the money
steve_sordy
Wedding Crasher
Probably because SRAM's near rocket-science X-Sync "technology" is patented.
I don't know that it is, because I haven't checked, but if it's "rocket-science" good then it probably is patented.
Hello,
Thank you for the topic and info about the Hope jockeys. Having serviced my SRAM 12x GX nylon jockeys these days I looked for upgrading and ended with the 12/14 jockeys by Hope.
BUT in general the Hopes for SRAM are hard to find on stock at German online stores., I finally found and ordered today. Is there any reason? Does Hope have probs in delivery or changing to revised version?
Thank you for the topic and info about the Hope jockeys. Having serviced my SRAM 12x GX nylon jockeys these days I looked for upgrading and ended with the 12/14 jockeys by Hope.
BUT in general the Hopes for SRAM are hard to find on stock at German online stores., I finally found and ordered today. Is there any reason? Does Hope have probs in delivery or changing to revised version?
- Thread starter
- #13
Sorry mate.............3 years a go!! Cant remember!
Don‘t worry. I found a shopwith a note in the description that there could be different diametres in holes for the upper jockey wheel.
On my 2022 SRAM GX I was able to use the original bolts. The extra bolt is for the lower wheel and just a little different in the length.
On my 2022 SRAM GX I was able to use the original bolts. The extra bolt is for the lower wheel and just a little different in the length.
RickBullotta
E*POWAH Elite World Champion
No ceramic bearings? Pfffffft. How pedestrian. ;-)
Ceramic is for restrooms only!
RickBullotta
E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Ceramic is for restrooms only!
And for dentist bikes.
Must be a lot of dentists in The Netherlands.
BBB Cycling - RollerBoys Ceramic
The RollerBoys Ceramic will make your bike ride so smooth that you will never stop anymore! The composite material is strong and durable and the special teeth pattern makes sure you can shift to a higher gear with the speed of light! The ceramic bearings make sure your pulleys will roll super...
bbbcycling.com
Ark
Active member
won't metal jockeys just increase chain wear?
We're talking about the bearings, not the composition of the jockey wheels (which are plastic composite).
I have put them on our bikes (both 2022 alloy Rail) because they are solid, don't have holes in them to pick up crap and get debris jammed into them potentially causing derailleur damage. I have put BBB jockeys with metal bearing on my wife's bike and the same jockeys with ceramic bearings on my bike, to see which lasts better.
Ark
Active member
aren't hope jockey wheels as pictured in this thread multiple times metal?
steve_sordy
Wedding Crasher
Ark said:
won't metal jockeys just increase chain wear?
I had always believed that the Hope jockey wheels were made from one of the various Aluminium alloys. Whichever alloy it is, it will be softer than what the chains are made from. In any case, the chain slots into the jockey and just sits there as the jockey rotates with the chain. There will be very little wear. Until of course the chain starts to "stretch" ie wear, then the chain will wear the jockeys in the same way that it wears the alloy rings on your cassette.
However, you must take into account that compared to the rings, the jockey wheels are under very low stress and will last for ages.
won't metal jockeys just increase chain wear?
I had always believed that the Hope jockey wheels were made from one of the various Aluminium alloys. Whichever alloy it is, it will be softer than what the chains are made from. In any case, the chain slots into the jockey and just sits there as the jockey rotates with the chain. There will be very little wear. Until of course the chain starts to "stretch" ie wear, then the chain will wear the jockeys in the same way that it wears the alloy rings on your cassette.
However, you must take into account that compared to the rings, the jockey wheels are under very low stress and will last for ages.
I changed the jockey wheels as the original SRAM GX 2022 started soon to show wear on the nylon wheels. In addition, as mentioned by the TO, these had been real grease collectors.
During the first tour I did not notice a change in the shifting performance that was crisp from the beginning. But when changing gear upwards I feel like it is a louder „clack“ than with the „nylons“.
After first tour quite clean but I found having installed the upper wheel with wrong running direction 🫣
@Moderator - Maybe topic could be moved to section „components“?
During the first tour I did not notice a change in the shifting performance that was crisp from the beginning. But when changing gear upwards I feel like it is a louder „clack“ than with the „nylons“.
After first tour quite clean but I found having installed the upper wheel with wrong running direction 🫣
@Moderator - Maybe topic could be moved to section „components“?
Last edited:
RiderOnTheStorm
E*POWAH Master
I recently replaced the basic jockey wheels on my SRAM GX derailleur with the Polish AluGear Aero pulleys. Very pleased. CNC machined aluminum, narrow/wide cogs, sealed ball bearings. They are quiet and have a nice, functional design (no openings that would catch branches and sticks, and cause a mess...)
After 6 months both sets of BBB jockey wheels ("RollerBoys") spin just the same and because they have no holes in them have not had any debris trapped in them. So although my bike does twice the mileage of my wife's bike, seems best to use the metal bearing wheels because they are about half the price of the ceramic bearings wheels. End of experiment.
Edit: half the price
Last edited:
RickBullotta
E*POWAH Elite World Champion
So I am apparently now a dentist (see above) as I reacted to a 60% off deal on Ceramicspeed pulleys for SRAM AXS Eagle - gotta say they work really, really well.
Dutch dentist are said to be the best! Can‘t remember if they all drive Porsches, like german dentists do. 
steve_sordy
Wedding Crasher
Not sure about that, all I know is that they have a thing about putting fingers in dykes.Dutch dentist are said to be the best! Can‘t remember if they all drive Porsches, like german dentists do.
Smart attitude when living in a flat country sub sea level and with a long coastline. Hope I gohgled that right. Or did you mean „dykes‘? Than we have perhaps to redefine that thing with the jockeys….
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