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I just bought a box containg a full X0 Transmission groupset from a mate for a very good, un-turn-downable price. So today I'm going to quickly nail it on, go click click buzz buzz and wheelie into the sunset.
Except, SRAM has other plans.
Why does this crank axle look freakishly long?
There's about a 10mm gap with the bolt nipped up. What am I missing?
I already have a Dub BB. I've removed a GX crankset. I haven't dropped or misplaced any spacers and there's nothing left in the box. It should be a straight swap surely?
That'll be a dub wide crank. Just needs a 3mm non driveside spacer / 5mm driveside IIRC. Just fitted one on my son's bike #standards!
(Should say Dub wide or wide on the axle)
Here's the SRAM doc to find you spacer config -
Oh my God I'm reading about it now and they have actually invented a new axle length BB combo and called it 'wide'. The absolute MF'ers.
So I need a new Dub Wide bottom bracket, or the spacers? If I can find a BB in the LBS I'll buy it because this one if a few years old now anyway.
Dub and Dub Wide BB are exactly the same in terms of the cups and bearings they just come with a different set of spacers. You can also buy the spacers seperately.
(Its the crank and axle that are different, to get the big wide chainline we need).
See this document here to workout what combo you need:
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/
Thanks I think I've figured it out now.
I have a more patient friend rummaging in his spares bin right now.
I thought this was going to be "why did I wait so long - it's awesome!" from the title.
Another reason to avoid SRAM.....
I bought an Uberbike BB for my son's bike and when I asked about the spacer config, they didn't seem aware of this new "standard" of utter pointless ****ery. In the end they answered my question by quoting what I already had established from that SRAM pdf.
it's awesome
It really is though! S'why I'll be selling mine - to share the love! 😀
It's funny because when I was unpacking the box I was thinking "I wonder how far I'll get through this process before something stops me" and the answer was absolutely nowhere. I thought I'd at least get to the app/Bluetooth stuff before I got stuck.
Even switching from SRAM to SRAM is difficult.
To my surprise they did include a clamp for the shifter so I can attach it to the handlebar which is generous of them in my experience. I was expecting to have to hunt for one of those as well.
Saved by Halfords.
I just found some Dub BB's reduced to £23 that come with a selection of spacers so now I'm in business. BB has gone into the spares bin for the future.
Once it was bolted on it took seconds to set up. I didn't have to cut the chain so I stuck the hole thing on, paired the shifter and mech and it started working perfectly right away.
I paid £500 for the whole kit. Still boxed, never touched a bike. If I hate it I can probably move it on without losing any money.
Test ride on Friday.
1. You need to take the stickers off those storage boxes.
2. You must fill them to the maximum with stuff “that might come in handy”.
3. You shouldn’t have stuck the hole on, that is for emergencies!
£500! you've got nice mates!
Even switching from SRAM to SRAM is difficult.
My son's crank came with a 30T ring (one of the 🤑 £80 ones!) and he wanted the same size as he already had, so I took his old one off his SX crank and... the T-Type ones have a new 8-bolt fitting instead of the old 3 bolt!! What, was there a spate of the 3-bolts coming undone? Wobbling?! no! of course not, they've just changed it to make them incompatible!
Thanks for noticing the nice new storage boxes. I'm so pleased I can fit 6 matching boxes into that space. Just out of shot is a mountain of potentially useful items waiting to be sorted into 6 categories.
£500! you've got nice mates!
He's a good lad.
My son's crank came with a 30T ring (one of the 🤑 £80 ones!) and he wanted the same size as he already had, so I took his old one off his SX crank and... the T-Type ones have a new 8-bolt fitting instead of the old 3 bolt!! What, was there a spate of the 3-bolts coming undone? Wobbling?! no! of course not, they've just changed it to make them incompatible!
I know it's a PITA but I think it's because they've changed the chain. The Transmission chain won't run on previous chainrings and sprockets and the new bolt pattern prevents you from mixing and matching and ending up with crappy shifting.
Since I bought the whole thing at once, hopefully that's me done for a long while.
What if you want to reuse some old cranks with the new chainring type…?
You can't mix n match cranks and chainrings... but they haven't found a way to stop you using both chain types on the T-Type rings. Ha! Missed a trick there didn't ya Sram!
The Transmission chain won't run on previous chainrings and sprockets and the new bolt pattern prevents you from mixing and matching and ending up with crappy shifting.Since I bought the whole thing at once, hopefully that's me done for a long while.
Just for the sake of clarity, ‘flat top’ T-Type chains are backwards compatible. They have done something with the size of the rollers & spacing of the chainring teeth which means non T-Type chains won’t work on a T-Type chainring, but they are fine with the mechs & cassettes 🤦♂️
Quite an achievement to make it both incompatible & compatible at the same time…
They have done something with the size of the rollers & spacing of the chainring teeth which means non T-Type chains won’t work on a T-Type chainring, but they are fine with the mechs & cassettes
In my experience it's round the other way - I tried to run a T-Type chain on a non-T-type cassette and it didn't work. Skipped all over the place.
My son has a non-T-type chain running fine on a T-Type chainring.
Did a few miles today on the new robo-gears.
It's bloody good innit!
I'm yet to test it properly off road, I'll do that next week. Happy with it so far. We'll see what it's like when it's covered in shite.
