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Hack: Black Water Cyclist gets help from Dirk Stock to create SRAM 1 x 13 mechanical drivetrain

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Can’t wait until more drivetrain manufacturers join Rotor in producing a 1 x 13 set up? Well, if you have the desire to create your own SRAM mechanical 1 x 13 set up, Black Water Cyclist’s latest video will show you how…

Hack your SRAM mechanical drivetrain into a 1×13!

While this would certainly be considered a hack, it’s more involved than just tinkering with your current set up.

The key to the whole thing coming together is a SRAM mechanical shifter that has been modified by Dirk Stock. Apparently, you can purchase the modified shifter from Dirk which have a new index wheel with 14 indentations with spacing that matches the 12 speed SRAM AXS cassettes. Technically, that would make it possible to make this a 1 x 14 drivetrain, but here it’s limited to 13 shifts due to limitations at the cassette. The partial shifter can be purchased for €199 (about $235), and you’ll still have to install your own brake lever and master cylinder, so this is not for a complete shifter. You’ll definitely need to be a skilled mechanic to put it all together.

Sram 1 x 13 cassette hack

To create a 13 speed cassette with the right spacing, it’s apparently possible to simply mount the cassette on top of the adapter on an XDR freehub if you’r using the Fouriers adapter shown above. This adapter reportedly has a thinner width which results in enough spline to mount both to the XDR freehub. Other adapters can be used, but require additional machining to fit. Sram 1 x 13 cassette hack frame

The extra width may interfere with some frames, so Dirk provided a pedal washer with an ID that’s enlarged to slip over the thru axle and act as a spacer. Obviously, this widens the overall width of the hub and will probably void any warranty. This should go without saying, but the moment you start ‘hacking’ your bike, don’t expect any manufacturer’s warranty to cover anything if it goes wrong. But if you’re even considering a drivetrain hack of this level, you’re probably already aware of that. As with any hack, you do this at your own risk.

Finally, to make it all come together, a SRAM Force 1 derailleur is used to provide the clearance for the bigger cassette. Only, the narrow-wide pulleys won’t mesh with the 12 speed SRAM Flattop chain. So the wider teeth were ground down with a Dremel.

In the end, everything seems to work surprisingly well though it will be interesting to see what the increased chainline at the cassette will do to the system’s longevity, and how well it will continue to shift over time. To find out, Black Water Cyclist says that he’s planning on some follow up videos to address just that, so make sure to subscribe for updates.

Thanks to Billy for the tip!

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Heffe
Heffe
3 years ago

This is super cool, great, and a bit of a raised finger to SRAM for oddly blowing off further development of mechanical drop-bar groups. Kudos! At the same time though, Campagnolo has the new Ekar 1 x 13 group coming out Sept 24th with no tinkering required and 3 cassette choices… if the shifting and braking is on par with their 12-speed groups, Ekar will certainly be more enticing than hacking older SRAM parts.

Morten
Morten
3 years ago
Reply to  Heffe

Agree it looks like a dirty and too expensive hack of something that aint the good in its original base.

Ekar 1×13 will blow away the non-OEM market.

Gearing options with 3 casettes (all with a straight 6 block) and 3 chainrings options will blow away GRX and SRAM ASX Mullets if the shifting is as good as 2nd gen 11-speed or 12-speed. The Camagnolo hydralic brakes co-developed and co-produced with Magura are soooooooo sweet and by far the best out there and the easiest to bleed.

Best thing is the price we assume based on the leaked price list from Willier: betwwen GRX 800 mechanical 1×11 and di2 1×11. Which mean not nearly as pricy as Potenza H11, and no where near Chorus H11 og H12.

Heffe
Heffe
3 years ago
Reply to  Morten

I’m now running a Super Record/Chorus mashup on my all-road machine, and it is incredible. The Chorus crank, while not a pig, is not especially light but man is it nice, you can just feel the solid transfer.

Morten
Morten
3 years ago
Reply to  Heffe

Me too
I just build a Midnight Special with Chorus 11 crank, front mech, Potenza medium rear mech, Record H11 Ergo/disc brakes, Wipperman SX11 chain, Miche Primato 14-34 casette, DT180 hubs, R460db rims, Compass 35mm tyres, Tubus Dou front rack and and a pair of Ortlieb front panniers. A lovely fun & fast allroad touring machine that took me on a 10 day ride in Denmark & Schlesvig-Holstein.

The Chorus crank is not that heavy, 50g lighter than equivalent Ultegra and 40g heavier than DureAce (on BSA cups).

Bike comes in at a respectabe 9.9kg incl Favero Asioma Uno pedals before the Tubus rack, bottle cages etc…

useless
3 years ago
Reply to  Morten

“Blow away the non-OEM market” is an unusual way to describe a groupset so magnificent that Campag can’t pursuade OEMs to build it onto new bikes, and most aftermarket folk would be wary of buying it as an upgrade because all their other components are already Shimano/SRAM/whatever.

I’d really love my next bike to have a 1×13 Campag groupset, just for old times’ sake, but “We’re not going to stoop so low as to deal with the new bike market” might not be the best future for Campag.

Morten
Morten
3 years ago
Reply to  useless

OEM market is not an option with production facilities in Europe due to logistics when +99% og the worlds bicycles are assembled in east Asia.

JEREMY MOORE
JEREMY MOORE
1 year ago
Reply to  Morten

You think all Campy components are made in Italy?‍

Jeb
Jeb
3 years ago

I am running SRAM Force mullet setup and it works fine but it’s shifts slow/clunky and the fact SRAM refuse to make a reasonable 10-46 cassette with 1 tooth gaps between the small cogs means I’ll sell it the minute the Campy stuff is available.

Jeff
Jeff
3 years ago

At what point does a 2×10 become lighter and easier. all this effort and sacrifice just to not have a front derailleur. then people complain about all the down sides of 1x when they could just use a 2x and have what they want. people need to think for themselves and stop letting a bike company tell you what you need. News flash, their answer will always be that you need what ever you dont have and they are selling.

JEREMY MOORE
JEREMY MOORE
1 year ago
Reply to  Jeff

Its not lighter now because nobody is working on making 10sp lighter. Also, this is a hack to get more gears. This isn’t OEM or made by a company with tons of R&D money so of course its not terribly light.

d.
d.
3 years ago

Stock-Rennsporttechnik meets ALL existing gearstandarts! if Campa comes with theyr 13sp cassettes, the ” Stocky´s 14″ is allready available since some years. so you can go the campa cassettes with sram shifting.! they allready ride sram 2×13 based on campa sr12 cassettes since many years. ( in the moment when campa comes out with 12sp.) Stocky´s has allways the developments to use full potential of sram shifting systems. 12,13,14 speed also on every freehub, and many more. they can shift on every existing cassette of the world and more. so there is nothing coming out new, its all old, because at stocky´s its long available. when rotor has come out with “worlds first 13 speed” stocky did it 3 years before. this system shown from billy is made in 2014. for you its new, you see it first time, in real its very,very old.

Tom Meraw
Tom Meraw
3 years ago

Singlespeed!!!!!!!!!! 🙂

BlackWaterCyclist
3 years ago

Another thing to realize is the potential this group has compared to many out there. You can throw a front derailleur on it and make it 2×13 with a compact 50/34 and a 10-40 in the rear and you have all the range and close gears you could ever want for any situation. Also you can contact Dirk and he can make a shifter with indentions for a Sram Eagle 10-50 cassette and derailleur and you can have a mechanical mullet set up instead of having to go the AXS route. Also you could even do a 13 speed, 9-52 E-thirteen 12 speed cassette with a 52 extender on it so 10-46+52 extender for the ultimate mullet set up. I plan to test the 2×13 set up as well.

I will have future videos on this 1×13 setup as well as many others.

I also am excited to see the campy 1×13 that is to come out but also interested to see the pricing on that.

Seraph
Seraph
3 years ago

The XX1/X01 derailleurs work great with a Shimano chain and 10-45 cassette, fyi.

Unicorn Cycles
3 years ago

Personally I am a big fan of 1x for a road and gravel bikes, but like many things it’s a personal choice. I have reached out to Dirk to test a 1×13 setup for myself. Might consider 1×13 setups for our custom Unicorns.

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