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Product name: Shimano Linkglide 10 speed drivetrain.
Price paid: 275
Score (out of 10): 8
Review: First up , some context for this review.
I have been riding MTB since 1999 , EMTB since 2017. My current bike is a Mondraker Crafty RR 2022 model. I am 57 years old.
I don't have much time on modern 12 speed drivetrains. I have been running SRAM 9 and 10 speed since....forever.... mid 2000s. Shimano 9 speed prior to that...
My preferred setup has been SRAM 10 speed shifter and derailleur , Shimano chain and Sunrace 11-40 10sp cassette. The last worn drivetrain I replaced endured over 2000kms of power delivery behind a Bafang BBSHD mid drive motor. I will say I rarely used all the power of the Bafang and rode mostly in dry conditions but it was far from a cycle path baby, and that drivetrain had some more life in it when it was finally retired.
When I bought a new bike last year and it came with a SRAM GX Eagle 12 speed drivetrain , I figured it was time to face my distaste for modern drivetrains and accept the products that the industry was dishing up. So I ran with it.
After a couple of months , the chain snapped on a power stroke just after a slightly hard landing off a jump. The shifting and general performance up until that time had been adequate. Nothing amazing , a few adjustments were made to the shifter cable as things settled in on the brand new bike. But the chain failure and subsequent face plant as I went over the bars and buried myself refueled my resentment for 12 speed modern drivetrains. I didn't need 12 gears or the ratio range of 11-50T and I could certainly do without BS failures like I had just experienced on a 200km old chain.
Rather than revert to my old faithful SRAM 10 speed setup that had been so reliable and fuss free , I decided to once again restrain my narrowminded , angry old man outlook and to allow the bike industry of 2023 to "blow my mind" with a drivetrain that seemed to be targeted and someone like me.
Shimano Linkglide.
I could care less about weight and bling. What is more important to me in a drivetrain , it should give the ratio range necessary for the places I ride , be reliable , simple to maintain and if the cost is repectable , that can be the icing on the cake. I chose 10 speed Linkglide over 11 speed because 43T with a 29" wheel is a short enough gear to get me up anything I ride. 11-50 would be overkill and it is the only option with 11 speed Linkglide cassettes. It would have been nice to have XT spec shifter and derailleur offered with 11 speed though.
I was unable to find all the Linkglide parts at one place online , but I do love to hunt down the best prices. In fact , I have a slight obsession in that area. So after a few hours online , I had everything ordered and for a pretty decent outlay. The total cost for 10 speed derailleur , 11-43 cassette , 34T chainring , shifter and chain: $275 AUD / $167 USD / 142 GBP / 166 EUR. The chainring is a Deckas from Aliexpress. I figured , lets keep this as a budget concious project and at $8 AUD each , I bought 2!
Fitting and setup was pretty straightforward. I had to pull the cable housing through a few centimeters to allow for the "loop" to the derailleur , something that has puzzled me for a long time is that Shimano refuse to redesign this area. SRAM have had a nice straight run of cable from chainstay to derailleur for many years now.
The one thing that wasn't going to bolt straight on was the shifter. With its enormous gear indicator (ugh) finding a position to marry it with the SRAM G2 brake lever was impossible without compromising the position of one or the other. This made the choice of surgery even easier to accept. I hated the look of it and now there was an excuse to make it disappear. An hour later it now resembled something much more civilized. Best thing that could have happened to it and a pretty simple operation to perform with an angle grinder , styrene plastic sheet and super glue.
Chain length took a couple of goes to get just right. I found that this and the B screw adjustment were important in getting the shifting just right.
After the first few rides , I reduced the tension on the clutch slightly , this seemed to give shifting a lighter feel and with no noticeable trade off in chain slap or other side effects.
Now with eveything tuned , shifting is accurate and consistent. I wouldn't say it's anything better than I've used or seen previously. It does what it needs to do without fuss. The shifter has a nice positive feel , and slightly heavy feel to the shifts although it's no burden. Coming from years of thumb shifting with SRAM , I find myself using the trigger for upshifts rather than thumb. Maybe it's just a novelty for now or it could be that the lever is in a better position for this action than using your thumb ?
With only 300kms of use , I'm a long way off from knowing how durable the whole drivetrain will be. Overall impressions are positive , it's a cheap and cheerful replacement for a worn out or broken drivetrain. If this derailleur gets damaged in a crash , wallet damage will be minimal. It doesn't protest when shifting under load but you'll hear it when it happens. If you have seen reviews and are under the impression that Linkglide does something magically different than any other drivetrain on the market , I can say from my experience so far that it doesn't. For a freshly fitted and adjusted drivetrain , it does what it should , nothing more , nothing less.
Likes: Price , solid construction , 11-43 range across ten ratios. Operates with a cable. Doesn't need recharging. Price.
Dislikes: Gear indicator. Bulky size of the derailleur. Cable loop by Shimano TM. Zero flex at the trailhead car park as in , check out my wireless expensive af behemouth TranSMission OMg!!1 (Actually , is that a like ?)
Product name: Shimano Linkglide 10 speed drivetrain.
Price paid: 275
Score (out of 10): 8
Review: First up , some context for this review.
I have been riding MTB since 1999 , EMTB since 2017. My current bike is a Mondraker Crafty RR 2022 model. I am 57 years old.
I don't have much time on modern 12 speed drivetrains. I have been running SRAM 9 and 10 speed since....forever.... mid 2000s. Shimano 9 speed prior to that...
My preferred setup has been SRAM 10 speed shifter and derailleur , Shimano chain and Sunrace 11-40 10sp cassette. The last worn drivetrain I replaced endured over 2000kms of power delivery behind a Bafang BBSHD mid drive motor. I will say I rarely used all the power of the Bafang and rode mostly in dry conditions but it was far from a cycle path baby, and that drivetrain had some more life in it when it was finally retired.
When I bought a new bike last year and it came with a SRAM GX Eagle 12 speed drivetrain , I figured it was time to face my distaste for modern drivetrains and accept the products that the industry was dishing up. So I ran with it.
After a couple of months , the chain snapped on a power stroke just after a slightly hard landing off a jump. The shifting and general performance up until that time had been adequate. Nothing amazing , a few adjustments were made to the shifter cable as things settled in on the brand new bike. But the chain failure and subsequent face plant as I went over the bars and buried myself refueled my resentment for 12 speed modern drivetrains. I didn't need 12 gears or the ratio range of 11-50T and I could certainly do without BS failures like I had just experienced on a 200km old chain.
Rather than revert to my old faithful SRAM 10 speed setup that had been so reliable and fuss free , I decided to once again restrain my narrowminded , angry old man outlook and to allow the bike industry of 2023 to "blow my mind" with a drivetrain that seemed to be targeted and someone like me.
Shimano Linkglide.
I could care less about weight and bling. What is more important to me in a drivetrain , it should give the ratio range necessary for the places I ride , be reliable , simple to maintain and if the cost is repectable , that can be the icing on the cake. I chose 10 speed Linkglide over 11 speed because 43T with a 29" wheel is a short enough gear to get me up anything I ride. 11-50 would be overkill and it is the only option with 11 speed Linkglide cassettes. It would have been nice to have XT spec shifter and derailleur offered with 11 speed though.
I was unable to find all the Linkglide parts at one place online , but I do love to hunt down the best prices. In fact , I have a slight obsession in that area. So after a few hours online , I had everything ordered and for a pretty decent outlay. The total cost for 10 speed derailleur , 11-43 cassette , 34T chainring , shifter and chain: $275 AUD / $167 USD / 142 GBP / 166 EUR. The chainring is a Deckas from Aliexpress. I figured , lets keep this as a budget concious project and at $8 AUD each , I bought 2!
Fitting and setup was pretty straightforward. I had to pull the cable housing through a few centimeters to allow for the "loop" to the derailleur , something that has puzzled me for a long time is that Shimano refuse to redesign this area. SRAM have had a nice straight run of cable from chainstay to derailleur for many years now.
The one thing that wasn't going to bolt straight on was the shifter. With its enormous gear indicator (ugh) finding a position to marry it with the SRAM G2 brake lever was impossible without compromising the position of one or the other. This made the choice of surgery even easier to accept. I hated the look of it and now there was an excuse to make it disappear. An hour later it now resembled something much more civilized. Best thing that could have happened to it and a pretty simple operation to perform with an angle grinder , styrene plastic sheet and super glue.
Chain length took a couple of goes to get just right. I found that this and the B screw adjustment were important in getting the shifting just right.
After the first few rides , I reduced the tension on the clutch slightly , this seemed to give shifting a lighter feel and with no noticeable trade off in chain slap or other side effects.
Now with eveything tuned , shifting is accurate and consistent. I wouldn't say it's anything better than I've used or seen previously. It does what it needs to do without fuss. The shifter has a nice positive feel , and slightly heavy feel to the shifts although it's no burden. Coming from years of thumb shifting with SRAM , I find myself using the trigger for upshifts rather than thumb. Maybe it's just a novelty for now or it could be that the lever is in a better position for this action than using your thumb ?
With only 300kms of use , I'm a long way off from knowing how durable the whole drivetrain will be. Overall impressions are positive , it's a cheap and cheerful replacement for a worn out or broken drivetrain. If this derailleur gets damaged in a crash , wallet damage will be minimal. It doesn't protest when shifting under load but you'll hear it when it happens. If you have seen reviews and are under the impression that Linkglide does something magically different than any other drivetrain on the market , I can say from my experience so far that it doesn't. For a freshly fitted and adjusted drivetrain , it does what it should , nothing more , nothing less.
Likes: Price , solid construction , 11-43 range across ten ratios. Operates with a cable. Doesn't need recharging. Price.
Dislikes: Gear indicator. Bulky size of the derailleur. Cable loop by Shimano TM. Zero flex at the trailhead car park as in , check out my wireless expensive af behemouth TranSMission OMg!!1 (Actually , is that a like ?)
Chainsuck got beyond a joke during yesterdays ride. You DO actually get what you pay for haha.
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