# 11-42 cassette



## chunkylover53 (Apr 5, 2007)

Seeking wisdom of this forum...have done some searching but no clear answer.

What is the best option for a light weight 11-42 11 speed cassette (Shimano drivetrain)? The XT cassette is a tank. I'd maybe try the XTR 11-40, but I do like having the 42 gear.

Anything else out there?


----------



## -Todd- (Jun 13, 2011)

Try a SRAM $400 cassette if you're looking for weight savings. The options are limited until Shimano gaps the range on the XTR part. You could look at a Wolftooth 46t(?)expander OR just run a 28T ring on the XTR and be done with it...


----------



## belmont (Oct 19, 2016)

XTR 11-40 with a oneup 45t comes in at 396g and $236.


----------



## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)

He said shimano drivetrain, which I assume means shimano driver, which usually means no lightweight cassette.

A couple ideas, if you have a hope or DT swiss ratchet hub, you can order the 1up components mini-driver to use Hope's Cassette, my 10-40 was 268g. 

You may be able to get a SRAM XD driver for your rear hub. The SRAM and E13 cassettes cost more, but they do save some weight. My X01 10-42 was also 268g. The X01 was $299, the Hope/1up driver was significantly cheaper on CRC.


----------



## blacksheep5150 (Oct 22, 2014)

You could look into a e 13 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## chunkylover53 (Apr 5, 2007)

Thanks all. I am running Shimano drivetrain on Tune hubs. I thought about the one up option, but it seems it really cuts into the weight savings. Right now I find the 11-42 with a 32 front ring is just about perfect for what I ride. I'm leaning toward trying the 11-40 XTR with a 30 ring. Just hoping I don't spin out on flat stuff...but I'm thinking that won't be too much of an issue except on straightaways.


----------



## watts888 (Oct 2, 2012)

sunrace 11-42 cassettes. About $60 and 400 grams. Not XTR light, but not horrible for an 11-42 cog set.


----------



## belmont (Oct 19, 2016)

chunkylover53 said:


> Thanks all. I am running Shimano drivetrain on Tune hubs. I thought about the one up option, but it seems it really cuts into the weight savings. Right now I find the 11-42 with a 32 front ring is just about perfect for what I ride. I'm leaning toward trying the 11-40 XTR with a 30 ring. Just hoping I don't spin out on flat stuff...but I'm thinking that won't be too much of an issue except on straightaways.


That's what I am running. I don't find myself spinning out on the mtn, but it spins out pretty easily on flat pavement.


----------



## hdparrish (Jan 24, 2008)

chunkylover53 said:


> Right now I find the 11-42 with a 32 front ring is just about perfect for what I ride. I'm leaning toward trying the 11-40 XTR with a 30 ring. Just hoping I don't spin out on flat stuff...but I'm thinking that won't be too much of an issue except on straightaways.


Doubt you'd notice much of a difference going to an 11-40T cassette versus the 11-42T. Losing those two teeth in the largest cog won't have nearly the impact of losing two teeth in your chain ring.

I applaud Sunrace, Box Two, and others for recognizing a need (and Shimano's lack of initiative) in developing wide-range cassettes that are arguably better than what Shimano is producing, but they've missed the boat on developing a premium version that would not only compete with Shimano XTR, but SRAM, as well.


----------



## TiGeo (Jul 31, 2008)

Agree that going from a 42 to a 40 shouldn't cause much drama if you want to run the XTR. My Sunrace 11-40 10-spd was 377g which was v. respectable for a $55 wear part. Looking on their website, the 11-40 11 speed is 388g and the 11-42 11 speed is 401g. I hate heavy cassettes but just can't stomach the cost of losing the weight here for the outrageous cost and knowing it is being worn out every time I ride.


----------



## watts888 (Oct 2, 2012)

hdparrish said:


> I applaud Sunrace, Box Two, and others for recognizing a need (and Shimano's lack of initiative) in developing wide-range cassettes that are arguably better than what Shimano is producing, but they've missed the boat on developing a premium version that would not only compete with Shimano XTR, but SRAM, as well.


I've had multiple Sunrace products, and I don't think they're ready for the "premium" market. They missed the boat years ago, got a rep for mediocre products, and they're stuck for now. Another couple years, maybe. For now, they're getting solid into the deore, SLX, and SRAM GX levels. I hope they keep it up. I'd like an alternative to the $300 XTR stuff.


----------



## moefosho (Apr 30, 2013)

With a 30t front ring on a 29er and a 11-40t cassette you would be going 28mph at a 120 cadence(spinning out) thats pretty fast on most trails.


----------



## TiGeo (Jul 31, 2008)

watts888 said:


> I've had multiple Sunrace products, and I don't think they're ready for the "premium" market. They missed the boat years ago, got a rep for mediocre products, and they're stuck for now. Another couple years, maybe. For now, they're getting solid into the deore, SLX, and SRAM GX levels. I hope they keep it up. I'd like an alternative to the $300 XTR stuff.


Agreed...more working class but def. not low end...the CSMX10 11-40 I just got shifts great and isn't too heavy....I feel they could market/sell a $100+ cassette and do well with it.


----------



## watts888 (Oct 2, 2012)

TiGeo said:


> I feel they could market/sell a $100+ cassette and do well with it.


I don't have any idea how wide Sunrace's presence is in the rest of the world. I've started seeing their wide range 10-speed stuff on more American offerings, which is a good thing. Can't help but wonder if they'd bite off more than they can chew from a quality control perspective trying to get a 300 gram 11-speed cassette.


----------



## hdparrish (Jan 24, 2008)

watts888 said:


> I've had multiple Sunrace products, and I don't think they're ready for the "premium" market. They missed the boat years ago, got a rep for mediocre products, and they're stuck for now. Another couple years, maybe. For now, they're getting solid into the deore, SLX, and SRAM GX levels. I hope they keep it up. I'd like an alternative to the $300 XTR stuff.





TiGeo said:


> Agreed...more working class but def. not low end...the CSMX10 11-40 I just got shifts great and isn't too heavy....I feel they could market/sell a $100+ cassette and do well with it.


I agree that Sunrace shouldn't compete in the >$200 segment, but if they are cranking out quality mid-level cassettes for $60, it seems they could produce a "premium" line for twice that or even less.

There's definitely a market for it, especially for those with legacy (non-XD) drivers wanting wide-range cassettes. Look at the current offerings: XTR has an 11-40T in 11 speed for ~$150 (but no 42T, 44T, or 46T), Garbaruk just released lightweight 11-42T and 11-45T in 10 speed for ~$180 ... and that's it, unless you happen to run the right Hope or DT Swiss hubs?

I'm with TiGeo in that I have ZERO interest in dropping $200 or more on what is essentially a wear-and-tear item. I put nearly 2,000 miles on my Sunrace MX3 last season and hope to get 3,000 more this year, but it'll probably be time to replace after that.

If someone had a wide-range cassette that was closer to 300 grams than it was to 400 and that didn't require me to switch to an XD driver, I'd be willing to shell out $100-$120 for it.


----------



## RS VR6 (Mar 29, 2007)

I guess you can always look for a used SRAM cassette...if you're patient enough you can find a lightly used one for fairly cheap. I picked up a barely used X01 on eBay for 115 shipped. The black anodizing was pretty much unmarked.

There are also the SeqLite cassettes. There only seems to be the 11-40 available now. There were loads of the 11-42 on eBay a few months ago.

$140 with free shipping.
SeqLite S-11 Lightest 11 Speed 11-40 MTB Bike Cassette fits Shimano Sram | eBay


----------



## jestep (Jul 23, 2004)

Garbaruk is supposed to be coming out with an 11 speed, shimano freehub compatible cassette really soon. Their 10 speed 11-42 comes in around 275g, I can't seem to find the specs link I had bookmarked, but I believe their 11 speed was something like 300g.


----------



## RS VR6 (Mar 29, 2007)

Their 11 speed is a 11-48.


----------

