[Closed] Some-one tell me this is a bad idea

As long as it's all cross-compatible, sounds like a perfectly reasonable idea.

Why, as in what are you try to achieve/save?

And have you seen the price of new cassettes?

New road freehub as well as a cassette I'd have thought....

Also - this is a idea - just because you told me too.

If you changing mechs anyway...
How about new shifter and mech, full length outer cable, then when you want to swap just unclipped the cable and the whole lot comes off as one, the other shifter/mech/cable goes back on as one, next to no faff and just takes a couple of minutes? You don't want to be recabling every time.
I dk that with my SS, got a 10sp shifter and mech I just pop on in place of the tensioner, swap the sprocket for a cassette, job done.
Also means you can buy a cheap 9/10sp set up too if it fits your hub.

Why, as in what are you try to achieve/save?

Have you seen the price of GX cassettes? The Enduro needs a new one and this may just mean quite a saving.

Might be worth just going 10 speed these can be had at decent prices.

Agree with mackem, 10 speed stuff is far cheaper lately, and for flat terrain is absolutely fine.
The rest of your plan seems sound to me.
Remember to factor in slogging home against a headwind when you’ve just hit the wall, the slightest hill can seem like mt everest under those conditions.

Why not singlespeed the Scandal?

Y'know, here's a controversial thought.

I used to go through cassettes and chains in the days of 8/9/10sp like mad, changing them after 6 months of use I think for most of us, wasn't that uncommon; One of the game changing effects of going 12sp is that fact that I don't have to do that anymore. 12sp lasts, like, years for me. The Enduro GX cassette and chain is maybe 2 years old now, and it's done 1000's of KM and it's only just beginning to show signs of becoming picky about tension, and graunching a bit when changing down from the 50T .

I wouldn't go back to 10 sp if you paid me frankly

Why not singlespeed the Scandal?

See my OP, It's pan flat round here. I like SS in the hills, but on the flat, you're almost always in the wrong gear IME

I'm in agreement...although the 12-speed stuff is expensive it seems to last far longer - I get about 2.5-3 years out of a drivetrain - I'm properly tight and keep the chain that length as well so everything wears and keeps working...by the time it gets changed the chain is totally ruined and the cassette and chainring are a collection of throwing stars, but it keeps running fine until it is replaced.

As a youngster I cycled everywhere - was doing about 350 miles a week and it was in all weather and conditions...I was going through drivetrain parts very regularly, but since going to 12-speed that has changed massively (admittedly I'm no longer doing that kind of mileage annoyingly!) as the kit is much harder wearing and I suspect it gets less sympathetic attention and maintenance than when I was doing that mileage as life is now far busier than back then.

If you aren't making use of the full range, it does make sense to change the gearing to something more effective, so your idea doesn't sound like a bad one to me.

New road freehub as well as a cassette I’d have thought

Just picked up on this, don't they use a normal XD driver then?

TLTW: the XDR road driver is longer, just as for HG.

Thanks Kelvin

hmmm, so If I've understood that right, XDR is to maintain the same dishing on 11spd road bikes? He explains that when fitting a MTB cassette onto a road bike spaced for 11spd you need the spacer, so if I'm fitting a road cassette onto a mountain bike spaced for 12spd I should be OK?

Edit just seen your drawings: thanks, that's clearer. so new driver also required

I'm in the Netherlands and use my Scandal all the time and yes, use about three gears out of the ten. I've put about 5k on it and I'm still on the first cassette. I think my second chain. HG50 chains were €10 in Decathlon for ages, so I bought a stack of them. My cassette is one of the marginally heavier steel Shimano ones with the aluminium spider and I can't say I notice the extra 200g or whatever it is. Previously I was on the all alloy SRAM ones (on my Explosif, RIP) and was replacing them every six months because they ended up looking like hedgehogs.

Have you seen the price of GX cassettes? The Enduro needs a new one and this may just mean quite a saving.

Note, the Scandal runs a Shimano freehub and the cassette is a 11-50.

@nick and Dick, interesting what you say about the 12 speed wear rate.
Do you think they have improved the materials on chain/cassettes and then using a single Chainring also reduces chain wear/stress?

runs a Shimano freehub and the cassette is a 11-50

Not if it’s GX 12 speed.

@fasthaggis. I'm not totally sure TBH, I think (purely anecdotally, I've no data to back up my thoughts or experience) I think it's a combo of a narrower chain not collect/holding dirt as badly, more spread of gears shares the load more evenly, better materials and construction, and probably a better tooth profile making shifts smoother.

I guess it shouldn't be a total surprise that now SRAM and Shimano have decades of looking at how MTB cassettes wear, that they've learned to make better ones.

Aye, that's why they will be so expensive ,they are getting all that R&D spend back. 😉

Sounds like a good idea as you could use a close ratio cassette. I recently bought a road bike and first thing I did was put on a 12 - 25 cassette where the first 8 gears are 1 tooth apart (12-13-14-15-16-17-18-19) and it is great as always have exactly the right gear.

exactly @kerley, that's what I'm hoping for. The jumps on MTB cassettes have never really bothered me before, but on the flat on a mixed shared paths, bit of tarmac, bit of singletrack, it can be pretty jarring.

Well, that idea didn't last long. Apparently there's no XD-R driver for the hub: Poobumbottom. back to the drawing board.

Someone asked about 12 speed road cassettes a few weeks ago and apparently there are some close ratio cassettes on Aliexpress.

Bigger chainring an option?