I got a new frame and transferred over my SRAM Red 11s etap group set over to it. The group set is over 5 years old but working fine.
So last weekend, I noticed a slight delay in my front derailleur moving the chain from the small ring to big ring. I tried to adjust the limit screw and I think it was rusted and it broke and it’s stuck in it. Now it’s stuck on the small chain ring and it won’t shift to the big ring. I ordered a SRAM Force AXS front derailleur and paid for expedited shipping but that got lost in transit. They are sending me another one but won’t get to me in time for my race on Sunday.
So I have 2 options.
move the front derailleur from my road bike. I have to reprogram it.
just remove the front derraulur and put the chain on the big ring. It’s a flat course and I won’t need the small ring. Will the chain stay on the big ring? If it will, then I rather go with this option.
1x chainrings have tooth profiles specifically meant to keep the chain on. I would absolutely have doubts that the chain will stay on your large chainring without an FD if you go over some rough road. I would also have doubts about the compatibility of the derailleur you ordered with your 11s groupset.
I know the AXS force is 12sp. But how is that gonna matter for the front? The front is only big and small. If you’re wondering about the connectivity part, it will connect. I have the AXS blip right now connected to the old 11sp rear and front derailleurs.
It may or may not. The spacing is a little different on the 11s chainrings, and people have enough trouble getting these FDs to shift on rings that are officially compatible. Might work, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it starts throwing the chain off either.
I’m almost positive that the axs stuff is not compatible with the original etap. Different wireless protocol or something. You can put the new (or old) fd on and basically run it as a chain catcher, but I wouldn’t run open chainrings
You cannot mix a 12 speed front AXS derailleur with an 11 speed eTap rear derailleur. It won’t work.
Yes, the AXS blip box or AXS shifters will connect with both 11 speed front and rear derailleurs, but you cannot mix an 11 speed RD with a 12 speed FD.
You either have both 11 speed derailleurs or both 12-speed derailleurs. Otherwise, you can only connect just the one 11 speed RD to the blip box/shifters or just the 12 speed AXS FD to the shifters and loose connection to the rear.
I moved over the FD from my road bike and reprogrammed it. But I am now very curious about this. I will test it out next week. Will remove the FD and go out for a ride.
@CoffeeNDonuts you guys were correct. The 11sp RD won’t pair with the 12sp AxS FD. I tried this on the road bike that has the 11sp brake handles and on the tri bike that even has the AXS blip.
So it’s getting shipped back. Now I have to find a 11s etap FD.
The other option is to convert the tri bike to 12sp. I already have the blip. Do I need anything other than 12s RD, 12sp cassette and chain? Will my current cranks and chain rings work?
Maybe or maybe not.
I don’t know what cranks and chainrings you have, but I’m going to assume you have the 11-speed SRAM chainrings.
They might not work or they might work OK. For some people OK might be good enough.
You will get many people that will tell you that they have made it work with their SRAM 11 speed chainrings, so you could give it a try?
I have tried both 11 speed SRAM and Shimano chainrings, and they both worked “ok”. Never dropped a chain, but from time to time the front shifter will be a bit slow to my liking.
My advice is to get a 12 speed SRAM AXS chainring and forget about compatibility and any other shifting issues.
Otherwise, you could try 12 speed Rotor AXS chainrings. I have them on my DFour Quarq and for me they have been as good as the SRAM Red AXS chainrings.
There are other options like Praxis, but I don’t have much experience with them.
I have Rotor Non-Q 50-34 chainrings on there. I like to stay away from the SRAM chainrings bc I have 145 cranks that I like and SRAM doesn’t make cranks that short. Which is the whole reason I bought a frameset instead of the complete bike.
If Rotor makes compatible 110BCD rings, I can get those
Another vote for Rotor: I have tried their oval 2x and 1x chainrings, both on Shimano, though. On the 2x chainrings front shifting felt identical to shifting with Shimano chainrings. I was expecting some weirdness because they were oval and not round, but nope. I can attest to the quality, easily in SRAM Red/Shimano DuraAce territory, if not beyond. (My Rotor 1x oval chainring on my mountain bike is significantly stiffer than the XTR chainring it replaced.)
I disagree with this assertion. I tried this when I had an old sram front derailer that cracked, and I found that I dropped a chain every ride I didn’t have a front derailer on. I run many 1x setups, and if you don’t have a clutch, use something as a chain guide. A front derailer isn’t ideal for this, but it is better than nothing.
