Most durable drivetrain brand / parts for a 2022 levo - need my third cassette in 8 months and I want to replace the lot with something durable

High Rock Ruti

Active member
May 13, 2019
415
326
Massachusetts
Before anyone says "technique at me, I'm 123KG and 2.02m, I am heavy handed and thats just not going to change so it's replacement parts made of something more durable than whatever the stock parts are please!
I was recommended Sun Race?

Cheers for any pointers !
The drive train parts of warrantied for 2 years, months of use is not normal wear and tear. Pack up a (1) cassette send it in for replacement, when they send a new one send in another, gamble and send in all three at once. Perhaps that's more persuasive. You have nothing to loose, if it's SRAM, have your shop do it, if they baulk find another shop. I've done this repeatedly and have never been turned down.

The last time was an AXS derailleur $700 300 miles not normal wear and tear.

Warm Regards Ruti
 

A06

Member
Mar 9, 2023
106
85
Corona, CA
I dont mind spending money on quality items but I hate spending money two or three times to figure things out. My bike came with Deore HG 11 sp groupset.

Before even riding it I put my hybrid Sram NX/X01 12 spd groupset on. Kind of to the point of one of the earlier comments I dont see a need to buy top of the line parts when the cost increase only buys less weight. I run the Nx rear mech and cassette because while they are cheaper they also are more beefy (and heavy). However there is a very noticeable difference in the preciseness of the X01 shifter. Anyway after installing the 12 spd Sram components I didnt like the chainline angles, it worked but visually I felt it wasnt a good fit and would be problematic later.

Swapped back to the Deore set and my complaint was the shifter felt worse than the NX. I debated swapping everything out in favor of a new Linkglide or maybe box 1 Prime 9.

I remembered that I had an Archer Components shifter from a past hardtail build and installed it last week. As expected shifting was spot on since each gear is individually tunable. I hope this will allow me to judge the drivetrain components I'm most concerned about (mech, cassette and chain) independent from my preferences in how I like the shift to "feel".

Interestingly I made note of the steepest most technical section of the climb this past weekend and I was in the 7th gear which happens to be the same tooth count of the 7th gear on my DH cassette. Might try putting that on in the near future just for fun.

With the advent of electronic shifting we are not confined to sticking with an enclosed ecosystem, we can mix and match mechs with other brands but I do believe with the new systems the chains and cassettes need to work together (Linkglide for example)

Pic below of the archer installed. The green tape was a temp solution to close off the cable routing holes so stuff didnt get inside.

shifter.jpg
 

Tetsugaku

Active member
Founding Member
Mar 4, 2018
244
111
Brighton uk
Keep in mind on what constitutes ‘high end’ MTB parts - lightest weight possible, and sort of durable.
Now, Flip that thinking for your ebike - strength first, weight…ehh.
I’m running KMC eBike chain and Sunrace steel cogs. On a Bafang M600 120nm motor that really doesn’t let off quickly for shifts, so they’re all hard. One season down, still in fine shape.
100% what I am looking for. The weight difference between low end and high end is eqv. to a can of coke :)
 

Tetsugaku

Active member
Founding Member
Mar 4, 2018
244
111
Brighton uk
Even a heavey weight rider can reduce wear and tear on the cassette by NOT shifting under load, and staying out of lower toothed gears at lower speeds. And shifting before you need it instead of after the fact. There I did not mention the "T" word, but it is what it is. You might consider an 8-9 speed cassette which can accomedate a heavier chain
it's not that you're wrong, it's that I am not going to do it and know I am not going to, so I wanted to head off unhelpful (for me) advice :)
 

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