Levo SL Gen 1 Upgrade from NX to GX cassette. How?

[Ben_H]

Hi all, help please. My chain is jumping in the smallest cog (I think). I’m going to replace the cassette as already replaced the chain and it hasn’t made a difference. If I’m going to replace something I might as well upgrade but I understand I need to change the hub driver to use GX or above.
Can anyone link me or recommend me the parts I need? Wheels and hubs are the stock it arrived with (from the website - Rear Hub - Specialized Turbo, sealed cartridge bearings, 12x148mm thru-axle, 28h). Thoughts on if the upgrade is worth it and what you would change too. Also let me know if there is a cheaper way of doing the upgrade.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Rahr85]

Personally unless you are chasing weight savings i don't think the upgrade is worthwhile. I'm actually in the process of dropping down to the shimano freehub based NX eagle cassette (pg-1230) from the xg-1275 (10-52t) as there aren't really any benefits to be gained on an eMTB for all the extra cost on a drivetrain that wears faster than on a regular mountain bike.

 

[Ben_H]

You may have a point. Do you think the GX would wear at the same rate? I’m struggling to find any stock of the NX at the moment. Might have to adjust my derailleur for the time being and convert it to an 11 speed. ?

If anyone know’s of stock in the UK please let me know?

 

[Jackware]

I ordered a pg1230 from Mantel in the Netherlands last week. It was delivered within 4 days.
They're showing this combo due in next week and it's cheap;

SRAM NX Eagle PG-1230 12 Speed Combo Offer

The Sram NX Eagle combo deal enables you to provide your bicycle with some fresh new material. The cassette is made of durable material and fits a 'regular' Shimano

www.mantel.com

 

[Ben_H]

Thank you. That is a great price. I have signed up for a stock notification and will try to order when they get some in.

 

[boBE]

There are a lot of SL's out there that are working just fine with the original cassette. Before changing parts to chase down an issue that may not be related to those parts I would get it back to working with the original configuration. Otherwise you may endlessly chase the problem and spend a lot of $$ in the process.

 

[SquireRides]

Done well over 3000Km on the original GX cassette so far (on 2nd chain). Getting a bit noisy on the big cogs now despite the indexing being okay, so i suspect it's approaching end of life...

I'm trying to run a reasonably light trail build, so paying for a GX cassette is just about justifiable to me.

 

[Ben_H]

There are a lot of SL's out there that are working just fine with the original cassette. Before changing parts to chase down an issue that may not be related to those parts I would get it back to working with the original configuration. Otherwise you may endlessly chase the problem and spend a lot of $$ in the process.

the only thing I changed on the configuration is the chain as the one I took off (that was doing it too) was showing as 0.75 on my chain wear indicator. Not sure what else I can do to try and solve the issue. The lbs made sure everything was straight and true and set up correctly.... I appreciate the input and help, but not sure what to do to get it back to working....?

 

[boBE]

the only thing I changed on the configuration is the chain as the one I took off (that was doing it too) was showing as 0.75 on my chain wear indicator. Not sure what else I can do to try and solve the issue. The lbs made sure everything was straight and true and set up correctly.... I appreciate the input and help, but not sure what to do to get it back to working....?

I can certainly commiserate with you, it is maddening when things go like this! I would suspect the derailleur adjustments, maybe there is too little tension when in the smallest cog (or the chain is too long?). I have a good LBS but they still miss things sometimes, I always double check everything. If you don't have it get the Park repair book and download the SRAM spec/installation sheets.

This is a stretch but if you have a GoPro maybe you could mount it looking at the cassette to see a video of what is actually going on under riding conditions.

 

[DarrenCC]

Check the rear derailleur for excessive movement in the parallelogram cage and /or jockey wheels. Also check it is screwed tight into the mech hanger and there is no excess play here as well. Is the mech hanger tight on the frame and straight. All worth checking if your indexing is otherwise ok.
Ahh , also check the bolts on the cable anchor, the long bit between the anchor bolt and the wheel the cable goes round before going into the cable housing.

 

[Ben_H]

I managed to catch it on camera, but it happens so quickly it's hard to see. There is even a delay between seeing it happen and hearing the sound it makes! I have tried to slow it down, and also pause to show at the point I believe it's jumping a tooth. The chain blurs as I think it moves so quickly, but you can see the mech tension arm drop as the chain momentarily travels further (as it rides over the teeth instead of slotting between them). Thanks for all the input so far. Being as there seems to be a shortage of cassettes at the moment I will continue to fettle and hope I can find a solution. If not looks like I will need to make some adjustments to the limit screw to take the 11T out the equation and run it as an 11 speed.

 

[DarrenCC]

Some cassette options on eBay
Standard HG driver

ZTTO Mountain Bike 12Speed Flywheel Cassette 12S 11-50T ULT HG Freewheel Durable | eBay

ZTTO MTB 12 speed Cassette 11-50T 12v k7 11/50 ultralight Steel 11 50 lightweight 12s 11-46T 12speed Sprocket 11/46 HG ultimate. compatible with 10 speed hub, HG standard.

www.ebay.co.uk

9/10/11/12 Speed MTB Mountain Bike Cassette Bicycle Freewheel Bracket Sprocket | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 9/10/11/12 Speed MTB Mountain Bike Cassette Bicycle Freewheel Bracket Sprocket at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!

www.ebay.co.uk

Sram HD driver

SRAM XD Cassette 12 Speed 9-50T MTB bike freewheel fits for GX EAGLE Cassette | eBay

MTB 11/12 Speed SRAM XD Cassette Sprocket. Compatible :Sram XD. 1-11 teeth Ultra high strength steel, hardness 680HV 12 teeth 7075 aluminum alloy, hardness 170HV. 12s 10-52T Black :10-12-14-16-18-21-24-28-32-36-42-52T about 545g.

www.ebay.co.uk

ZTTO ULT Rainbow MTB Bike 12S Cassette PRO Bicycle 9-50T XD Sprocket Ultralight | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for ZTTO ULT Rainbow MTB Bike 12S Cassette PRO Bicycle 9-50T XD Sprocket Ultralight at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!

www.ebay.co.uk

The first and last are both from China but are pretty bling looking oil slick machined numbers by ZTTO. All are bargains compared to shop prices

 

[Ben_H]

Has anyone tried the Ebay ones? The prices are attractive, but also concerning (have I been groomed to believing more money is better quality...?).

I have pulled the trigger on a GX cassette and new free hub from Europe. No doubt it will take forever to arrive and I will be stung for VAT or import duty or something, but I can't not ride my bike.

 

[SquireRides]

Has anyone tried the Ebay ones? The prices are attractive, but also concerning (have I been groomed to believing more money is better quality...?).

I have pulled the trigger on a GX cassette and new free hub from Europe. No doubt it will take forever to arrive and I will be stung for VAT or import duty or something, but I can't not ride my bike.

If it's a brand that can be found on entry priced known-brand bikes, go for it. Otherwise I'd steer clear.

Brands like Joytech sound like cheap Chinese components, but they are 'fine' and you do see them spec'ed on regular bikes (my Norco used them).

But a friend purchase some ebay chains (Ybn, I think) and the first one snapped after less than a week.

 

[DarrenCC]

I have purchased various eBay options over the years and have generally been very impressed with the quality of the parts. I usually go by the mantra “buy cheap, buy twice” but this has been disproven by many “Chinese” parts from EBay. I think particularly with drivetrain parts that are going to wear regardless of how much you spend on them, hollow chains and £300+ cassettes on an ebike are largely a waste of time. You get what you pay for is not always a guarantee of quality or longevity. Just my opinion

 

[SquireRides]

It does strike me as odd that we don't see more 'no name parts' in the consumable bits of the drivetrain.

Headsets, hubs, even cranks (including the chainring) it's not uncommon to see no name parts, even around the £1k price point for a bike. With a bit of digging you can work out the supplier (Joytech, Samox etc etc).

But as far as I have noticed, cassettes and chains are always reasonably well know brands on production bikes. Sunrace and KMC being the used to save a few $£, even though they are pretty well known trusted brand.

If there's any obscure brands you recommend, please share!

 

[DarrenCC]

I have purchased a couple of ZTTO cassettes (not identical to the ones I listed above) and if you didn’t know different, they could easily have been passed as much higher end sram items. Nice anodised cog bearers and fancy packaging. I also purchased three separate narrow wide chainrings for my kids various bikes, the last one being this

Durable CNC MTB Mountain Bike Chainring 30/32/34/36/38T 6mm Offset For SRAM GXP | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Durable CNC MTB Mountain Bike Chainring 30/32/34/36/38T 6mm Offset For SRAM GXP at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!

www.ebay.co.uk

Super trick in the flesh and basically identical as far as machining and finish go to anything you would pay £60-£80 for over here. I got my wife and two kids into cycling to share the passion and it gets pretty expensive having to maintain so many drive trains , especially now just my son alone has a collection of four different bikes! Hence the shopping around to try cheaper alternatives to the very expensive “branded” parts.

 

[DarrenCC]

Snail is the above chainring brand, pretty random name but probably out of the same factory as known brands. It certainly doesn’t look bad on my son’s Ibis ?

 

[Ben_H]

Thanks for this. You’ve convinced me to at least give them a go. Has anyone gone a layer higher and tries ‘wish’ or ‘Alibaba’?

 

[boBE]

Has anyone tried the Ebay ones? The prices are attractive, but also concerning (have I been groomed to believing more money is better quality...?).

I have pulled the trigger on a GX cassette and new free hub from Europe. No doubt it will take forever to arrive and I will be stung for VAT or import duty or something, but I can't not ride my bike.

Amazon appears to have the NX at the usual list price ($100). From the video it sure looks like your chain is riding up on the cog, kind of like it is wanting to shift to the next cog.

 

[Ben_H]

Thanks but I’m in the UK. No stock on Amazon here.

 

[Hopyyz]

I recently upgraded my comp carbon wheels from NX to GX, new xd freehub part number for the formula hubs to support GX cassette is S202100009 (or Sp-20481). Had trouble pulling the old freehub so had to bolt the NX back on and give it a really good tug to get the freehub to break free from the axle.