Just wondering who here is rocking a mullet? I just converted a Force 1x42 10-33 to a Force 1x42 and Eagle X01/XX1 10-50. Sram has done a remarkable job. Freaking brilliant performance!
I just hacked my Force shifter with the Ratio mod and am running a 40 tooth up front with an X0-1 derailleur and 10-52 X0-1 cassette. I got it out on it's first run yesterday and wow! It was amazing! I was actually faster up some steep climbs without feeling blown out. As an added benefit, the Ratio mod actually improves the feel at the shifter.
Now if I could only find a Force 22 left hydro shifter to run my dropper.
I ran a mullet set up for my bikepacking trip when I did the Sky Islands Odyssey East Loop: 38 x 11-50t. Worked perfectly except that my legs ran out of gas before I ran out of gears! ...also traction had a lot to do with it too!
Man, that's a sweet bike. How's the ride? I do chunky fire road and single track with a lot of road in between. I am seriously considering getting one of those frames and swapping my kit over.
I’m a senior citizen who finally had a ‘dream bike’ built by Merlin Metalworks. Went with GRX Di2. Shimano specs said max rear cog of 34. I put on 11-40t Shimano XT mtn bike cassette. Shifts great. At some point I may try an 11-46t using Wolftooth Roadlink.
AXS XX1 with Force 42t crank and Red shifters on an OPEN UP. The bike was ordered unpainted. I like it in stealth matte black. I ride it on road rides with a set of Zipp 303 rolling on 28 tires. Shown here with 650b Valors with GK SK 1.9. Also have a set of 700c wheels with GK SK+ 43s I love this bike and the versatility it offers
I’m a senior citizen who finally had a ‘dream bike’ built by Merlin Metalworks. Went with GRX Di2. Shimano specs said max rear cog of 34. I put on 11-40t Shimano XT mtn bike cassette. Shifts great. At some point I may try an 11-46t using Wolftooth Roadlink.
Super curious about the 11-46. I'm using Ultegra 8000 Di2 med-cage RD with the Wolftooth DM, GRX 46/30 and 11-42. There a couple climbs around here where I still run out of gear.... if I could make an 11-46 work, I could also move over to a Garbaruk cassette which would drop the weight of the cassette by half.
Super curious about the 11-46. I'm using Ultegra 8000 Di2 med-cage RD with the Wolftooth DM, GRX 46/30 and 11-42. There a couple climbs around here where I still run out of gear.... if I could make an 11-46 work, I could also move over to a Garbaruk cassette which would drop the weight of the cassette by half.
You can mate Ultegra with Di2 XT MTB derailleur. That'll get you 11-46 no problem. Buddy is running that on his Hakka MX.
Is he running that with a 2x? I heard that you can't mix F/R mechs with Di2? Road or MTB?
1x. 2x 11-46 is some pretty crazy range. Not sure that's really needed as you don't get the tight cadence benefits of tighter cassette. I think 40T front is good, can drop to 38T is really needed and still be OK for road unless you are really fast.
mtbnut87 wrote: Super curious about the 11-46. I'm using Ultegra 8000 Di2 med-cage RD with the Wolftooth DM, GRX 46/30 and 11-42. There a couple climbs around here where I still run out of gear.... if I could make an 11-46 work, I could also move over to a Garbaruk cassette which would drop the weight of the cassette by half.
That's a lot to ask of that derailleur. I have heard the Shimano RD-RX812 can clear an 11-46 on some frames and the Chamois Hagar comes stock with that. The MTB di2 derailleurs won't work with a road front derailleur.
(Since this is the SRAM Mullet Thread) If you need that low of a climbing gear, you're getting into the territory of a 1x setup with a SRAM AXS 'mullet' combination of road shifters and an Eagle 12 speed rear derailleur. A 46/30 with 11-46 in the back is only 13 distinct gears if you don't count the 46x11 combo. 46 x 11 is a LOT of gear inches on gravel tires and would likely only be used for pedaling downhill. 50km/hr at 90 rpm on 38 mm tires and that number only goes up as the tires getting bigger. A 36 front chainring with a 10-50 or 10-52 rear cassette would get you lower gearing than your current setup and the 36 x 10 is slightly more top speed than your 46 x 13 on your current (or the 11-46) cassette. A 34 front would also be possible for a little more help on the climbs.
(Since this is the SRAM Mullet Thread) If you need that low of a climbing gear, you're getting into the territory of a 1x setup with a SRAM AXS 'mullet' combination of road shifters and an Eagle 12 speed rear derailleur. A 46/30 with 11-46 in the back is only 13 distinct gears if you don't count the 46x11 combo. 46 x 11 is a LOT of gear inches on gravel tires and would likely only be used for pedaling downhill. 50km/hr at 90 rpm on 38 mm tires and that number only goes up as the tires getting bigger. A 36 front chainring with a 10-50 or 10-52 rear cassette would get you lower gearing than your current setup and the 36 x 10 is slightly more top speed than your 46 x 13 on your current (or the 11-46) cassette. A 34 front would also be possible for a little more help on the climbs.
Sorry, I hopped in the middle of this thread and didn't mean to derail the SRAM topic. Thanks for that info
I don't think I started this with "SRAM" specifically in mind. If there are other build options out there than can obtain the 1x large range "Mullet" gearing, lets see 'um. 👍
My Lynskey Race GR with a 44 x 50-10 SRAM Force/Eagle XO-1 AXS mullet build. I really like the AXS stuff. If I were building a bike for use primarily on the road, I think I’d opt for 2x. But I have a road bike that I love, and this is primarily for gravel/dirt. The jumps between gearing hasn’t been an issue, and I have plenty of low end. The FLO G700 wheels have been great. I’m using WTB Raddler tires, switching between 40c and 44c to see what I like better. I’m big for cyclist at 6’3” and 190+ lbs and can be hard on equipment.
My Lynskey Race GR with a 44 x 50-10 SRAM Force/Eagle XO-1 AXS mullet build. I really like the AXS stuff. If I were building a bike for use primarily on the road, I think I’d opt for 2x. But I have a road bike that I love, and this is primarily for gravel/dirt. The jumps between gearing hasn’t been an issue, and I have plenty of low end. The FLO G700 wheels have been great. I’m using WTB Raddler tires, switching between 40c and 44c to see what I like better. I’m big for cyclist at 6’3” and 190+ lbs and can be hard on equipment.
I love my Lynskey GR Race. 😍 Handling, shifting, and comfort are great! My gearing is very close to yours except I have a 42 in the front. I was initially going to go with a 44, but the 42 seems fine. I've got well over 1000 miles on it now, mainly tarmac, and the gear gaps don't bother me (but I don't race anymore either). Now when I jump on one of my road bikes (11s) the gear gaps seem so small, it's hard to notice the change unless I go up 2 cogs. 😉
I love my Lynskey GR Race. 😍 Handling, shifting, and comfort are great! My gearing is very close to yours except I have a 42 in the front. I was initially going to go with a 44, but the 42 seems fine. I've got well over 1000 miles on it now, mainly tarmac, and the gear gaps don't bother me (but I don't race anymore either). Now when I jump on one of my road bikes (11s) the gear gaps seem so small, it's hard to notice the change unless I go up 2 cogs. 😉
I used to race on Litespeeds years ago, and loved my Litespeed Vortexes (Vortices?). My last one got destroyed in 2006 in a pretty nasty collision with an elderly disabled WWII veteran in a Mercury Marquis. That bike was replaced with a custom Lynskey R460 that I rode until last winter, when I finally broke a weld on a chainstay while using it on my old Computer trainer. When I called Lynskey to see about a repair or replacement, I was told that “lifetime means lifetime.” I was offered a new frame no questions asked. I already have another road bike that I really love (Allied Alpha), so i instead was offered the opportunity to pay a very reasonable upgrade fee to pick up the Race GR. I liked the fact that the Race GR geometry was reasonably close to my road bikes in terms of fit and toptube length, and I like the shorter chainstays. The bike handles really nicely. I added in the Lauf Grit suspension fork and Lauf Smoothie bars to make things easier of the back and shoulder that had been banged. I had ridden Farmer’s Daughter the previous spring on my old CX race bike, and the washboard downhills destroyed me — I couldn’t lift my arm for a week. The Race GR with the Lauf fork and bars flys downhill and is super smooth and comfortable. I love this bike,
I just hope I get the same warranty consideration when it’s time to replace all the titanium parts in me.
I don't have ti parts in me, but stainless, from bike crashing (wish it was Ti). I'm a huge Ti fan and bought a Merlin back in '91 and raced it for 5 years. I quit racing and road it until 2006 when it developed a crack in the down tube. Merlin replaced it (15 years old and probably close to 100K miles), and upgraded it with new BB and shifter stuff (it was downtube shifters), for free. I was so impressed I bought a 2006 Merlin S-Works frame and built that up and I'm still riding that. I've upgraded it to DA 11sp and it still rides like a dream. I'll never let go of that road bike (even though I have a couple Fuji carbon WW builds that would still be my choice in a race, which I don't do anymore). 😂 I just love the GR Race though. I ride alone alot, and it is close enough to a road bike that I don't care, yet comfortable and versatile enough to tackle the gravel roads I like to explore. Such a great bike! I still ride my ww bikes when I want to make speed through my ride, but as I've posted before, if I could only have one bike, the GR would be it. Sounds like we agree. 😉
Super curious about the 11-46. I'm using Ultegra 8000 Di2 med-cage RD with the Wolftooth DM, GRX 46/30 and 11-42. There a couple climbs around here where I still run out of gear.... if I could make an 11-46 work, I could also move over to a Garbaruk cassette which would drop the weight of the cassette by half.
My previous bike I ran Ultegra Di2 50/34 paired to RD-6870-GS rear derailleur with Roadlink and 11-46T cassette. Worked well. Not sure if 46T will work with GRX 48/31. If I try it I’ll post results.
