the XDR driver will work for both eagle and AXS. i believe either the flattop or the eagle chain will work fine with either cassette. i'm pretty sure the derailleur determines the chain, that is, AXS derailleurs want the flattop, and eagle derailleurs want the XX1. for your purposes, for what you need to know, your trainer needs an XDR driver. i will look into this.

beyond this, the SRAM folks were here last week, at the compound, and i asked them specifically about running an XX1 eagle chain on an AXS groupset, in place of the flattop. they're getting back to me. on paper the answer is know. but i'm not so sure. i'll let you know when i know.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Gerard V wrote a good blog about what you can get away with doing and what you can’t. The chain, as you mentioned will be dictated by the derailleur. Here’s the post.

Thanks guys, great info. Very appreciated.

Been running axs with 11spd cassette on kickr without issues. With smart trainer you dont need to shift.

Interesting, thx great to know about the 11 spd.

I'll be migrating from 10 spd. So it looks like a new cassette one way or another.

What did you end up doing here with your kickr? I'm in the same boat.. axs 12 speed bike on the way, kickr set up for 11 speed. I have the '17 kickr, so from relatively shallow research, it's looking like the XDR freehub from Wahoo will not work anyway.

I usually ride in sim mode, so I would like to be able to shift. Will the 12 speed axs rear derailleur shift at all on a 11 speed cassette? I'd think that the cog spacing would be further apart on a 11 speed?

yep, that's the setup I have been using for a while and I have had no issues with it at all

Thanks

are you able to shift at all or do you use erg mode? Would work fine for me if I could use cogs 3 - 8

why do you think the driver body from wahoo won't work with your axs-equipped bike? because your kickr is too old?

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

I’m actually quite surprised that the aftermarket (particularly Sunrace and/or Miche) haven’t launched affordable, HG freehub compatible 12 speed cassettes with 2x12 road appropriate ratios. The demand seems obvious. Ax’s users would have to give up the 10-tooth cog, obviously, but I think it’s a compromise many would be willing to accept. Over in the MTB world, plenty have been more than willing to forgo the 10t cog to get a more affordable 12 speed Eagle setup, or to be able to convert HG-compatible wheels to 12 speed without the need for an XD driver. SRAM even went there with their two lower tier Eagle groupsets.

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"They're made of latex, not nitroglycerin"

Yes - Wahoo sent me an email yesterday that stated the XDR driver from them will not work on a '17 kickr.

If the 11 spd cassette won't work for a few gears at least, without chewing anything up, I was planning to buy one of the XDR drivers anyhow and see if I could get it to work. I'm planning on getting a Kickr bike in the next few months, so just looking for a temporary work around.

I agree. I read that some pro teams using AXS are running custom larger chainrings and not using the 10t cog because of extra drag they get at their power levels

here's the article on the front page as of this morning on driver body changeouts. or, here's the 2min video:

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

I see that.. According to Wahoo, it won't work on a '17 kickr. I may still give it a go. I had to put the road bike on hold for now. If the smart bike comes back in stock in the next couple of months there will be no need for me to adapt the kickr to 12 speed though. Wahoo is saying Fall '20 right now. I'll report back if I do end up putting the 12 s cassette on the '17 kickr.

if what you're waiting for is a smart bike, then you have 2 good options. i've got a kickr bike and a neo bike in my studio right now. it's a very hard choice between them. the kickr bike has more road-realistic shifting, more intuitive shift action, and has inclline/decline that syncs with the game terrain. the neo bike doesn't have those things. what it does have is just, when you're sitting there riding along, the quietest, smoothest, most comfortable ride experience. i can't decide between them.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

I have all but made my mind up on the Wahoo smart bike. I think the incline/decline will be awesome. I first thought that I would wait and hope that Wahoo put some storage spots on the bike for the next version, but the more I think about it, I'm better off putting a phone holder or other gadgets on myself as they will serve my purpose exactly. I read your review on the bikes, and the long term review of the Wahoo bike, along with dc rainmaker and a handful of others. Not only will it be an amazing indoor training tool that my wife and I can both use with quick adjustments, I will be able to simulate any bike I want and ride that stack and reach prior to purchase. And I will prevent the fatigue and salt exposure to expensive carbon frames and groupsets.

my wife CLEARLY adores the KICKR Bike. if you know your wife's fit coordinates, it's a 10min set up. if you two ride the same pedals, it's a 2min set up.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Dan - I was reading your article about your recent bike build. Is this an 11 speed Dura Ace cassette??

You ever get the AXS to work on 2017 Kickr? I’m in the same boat.

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The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.

Not really cheap, but I think the Rotor cassette can solve a problem for many people on this thread. It is 12 speed and compatible with a 11s freehub: https://www.dulight.fr/...or-12s-cassette.html

EDIT: after more research, I am not 100% sure it is compatible with a 11s freehub despite what this website is saying.

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- Antony Costes -
PhD in Biomechanics / Professional Triathlete (9 pro wins)

"If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it."
Lord Kelvin

It is compatible with an HG 11-speed freehub. Unfortunately, since it's designed with 1x in mind, the tightest cluster on offer is 11-36.

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"They're made of latex, not nitroglycerin"

I don’t have my AXS installed yet. But was thinking I’d just run it on 11sp for my Kickr. Or buy a pos trainer bike.

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The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.

What did you end up doing here?

i currently have SRAM 12 Speed AXS system with brand new wahoo kickr and not exactly sure what the cheapest option is to go about.

Id like to avoid purchasing the XDR hub and SRAM cassette if possible and looking for a option thats less expensive where im still able to shift gears if required.