I would drill it. A lot of the material is there and physically does nothing. They've just left it because it costs time and hence money to remove it. The metal is 4-5mm thick and I'd be surprised if drilling two 5mm holes made a massive difference - just don't go to the corners. Also preheat the metal in the oven to 60C before you do it, it will reduce the risk of a crack from drilling that you can't see. I appreciate a lot of commentators will be risk averse but this is a TH-cam channel and people are tuning in to either see you hurt yourself, make an expensive mistake or end up in Accident and Emergency! Best of Luck
LOL, well said. I‘d say „drill it“, too, but because I like watching your stuff not for the sake of seeing you hurt yourself, I‘d say just make sure you regularly inspect those holes. If no cracks are starting to form, you‘ll be fine. That thing isn‘t just going to brake from one moment to another.
these china stuff is safe if u drive a bike no faster than 15kph and wearing a bullet-prof west with a motorcycle helmet.. i can not believe that people trust this guy with 0 technical knowledge .. it like watching a cocomelon episode and saying "Yes that's a proper thing for my kids"...
Will straight drilled holes work or should they be drilled at an angle to avoid damage to the cable housing? The latter would make it considerably more difficult, even with some clever use of a Dremel.
The "big bike" (as in "big pharma") finally caught him and made a pretty convincing bio-robot. We should be on high alert and lookout for unnatural behaviour 🙈 Let's throw baguettes at him: if he responds, it's still Luke 🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖
In the 70s and 80s, my dad was a major 'recycler". He often went to the local garbage dump and brought things home to tinker with. He brought a car wheel home one time, but the holes for the lugs weren't right for the car He wanted to put it on (my car). So he redrilled it. Do you know what happened? It formed cracks between the newly drilled holes and collapsed while I was driving. No one was hurt, but my father, who had a PhD and a masters too in another discipline, learned a valuable lesson. Luke, don't be like my dad!
Luke, we like you. Please don't drill your stem, especially near the clamping area. That's where all your weight rests on the steerer tube. I do see that stem looks pretty chunky on the inside, but I wouldn't risk my teeth hiding that much of cable.
I have to agree, where you're considering drilling are both essential to the structural integrity of the stem. For the sake of your teeth, don't do it!
The spot Luke's pointing at is far enough from the clamping zones. High end stems even have webbing where normally a tube is. Rather, consider how cleanly the hole is drilled and deburred - that might start cracking.
Agreed. Please don't drill holes in your stem, steerer, or handlebars. I think you only mentioned the stem, but I kind of want to cover every base I can.
It's hard to know if that alloy stem has been heat-treated, but most cast alloy parts need machining while the alloy is still soft and malleable, before final heat-treatment to guarantee the strength and stiffness needed for things like tapped screw threads. Machining something that's been heat-treated can have wildly different effects depending on the type of heat-treatment the alloy has had, so it's a gamble that might go one of several ways, a few of them being undesirable. 🥖🥖Rather than trying to drill the stem, why not 3D-print something that covers up all the mess under the stem, replacing the existing plastic aero wedges where the bar meets the stem clamp? 🥖🥖
I got the same cassette, and so far no issues in 4000km, working well even with a di2 Shimano. As for the drilling, I'd be wary of drilling so close to the handlebar clamp, since it's going to be a loaded zone. Rather I'd 3d print a cover which attachs underneath and covers off the cables
I wouldn't risk my safety for minor appearances. There'd be no appreciable gain moving the hoses. Take a pass drilling the stem. My two cents. Great content, keep it coming.
@@Runner9264Yes exactly. Trying to ride on a lightweight bike provides a completely different feeling than before. I definitely recommend to try riding a lightweight bike.
FSA makes a stem that will do what you want. The FSA SMR. There are two of them. One has a cover than goes under the stem that the cables go through. They can be found easily on sale for about $85 USD.
Used a cheap one block 11-36 11speed cassette from AlieXpress during the Transpyrenees bikepacking race: worked well enough for a +1000 km race but not nearly as well as a hyperglide Shimano cassette.
That stem seems so masively overkill in terms of thickness, I would personally feel comfortable with drilling small holes to pass the brake lines. Hambini said it's ok too so go for it!
Those sheared teeth - probably a result of shifting under load. If you're really unlucky, you can bend a steel cog as well (not individual tooth, just a section of the sprocket)
Love your videos. Watched almost all of them and you inspired me to build my own road bike. You are way underrated and I hope Ali Express is paying you for all your recommendations. Funny AH too. Keep up the great work brother
The "Recon One-Piece Cassettes Al 11s 11-28T" should be lighter than the sprocket introduced here. It weighs 117g. However, since all the teeth of sprockets are aluminum, the lifespan will be short.
In the larger gears there is more chain engagement, which reduces the wear in each tooth, that's why it's pretty common to run aluminium chainrings on road bikes and they last for ever.
Shimano have been using aluminium large gears on their XT and XTR mountain bike cassettes for a while so there's no major issues using aluminium itself apart from less durability long term (it's simply a softer metal than steel), it depends on the quality of the alloy and the machining used.
Careful with the drilling. Suggestion to make the whole oval in result so that the cable doesn’t need to be fitted straight but can go diagonally. And use reinforcement around the wholes. Welding would be ideal. Seems like a bit of a stretch.
If its OK by Hambini, its OK by me 😀! Even consider using a stepped ferrule going in to the stem allowing you to downsize the hole and use a thin inner sleeve tube for the inner routing which might also help installation?
Got this cassette in 11-32, but will return it. Shifting is pretty poor on my bike (90's steel frame, Ultegra R8000 groupset, YBN SLA chain), light years behind a Shimano or even a Campagnolo 11s cassette. Maybe it would be better with a Shimano chain and another derailleur hanger's geometry (mine is a bit on the edge of general specifications), but I suspect cog's ramps to be poorly efficient. Quality-wise it doesn't look very good neither, the spring washer on the lock ring is so thin it crumbled when installing the cassette...and it looks like you can tighten it forever, but I did stop to what looks like an acceptable torque by rule of thumb. Some reviews on forums are talking about alloy cogs being even weaker than standard alloy cogs (and it's still far weaker than steel), with occurences of broken teeth. Will try the Goldix / Ztto ful steel cassette 🙂
I always question tampering with bicycle stems. I've seen way too many stem failures and aluminum is very unforgiving when it fails. As noted by previous comments the ability control/steer a bicycle when the handlebars become detached becomes severely limited. If you do elect to press through on this experiment I advise obtaining additional heath/life insurance.
Riro chainset I’ve been using since your review about the race works chainset, and it’s absolutely perfect so far, couple thousand miles on it but I had no idea they did a cassette too 😮
That exact post on ChinerTown witheld me from getting a RIRO cassette. Because at first, I too was mesmerized by it's weight. Very curious to your future findings concerning durability on this one. In the end I went with a Goldix cassette.
These Riro cassettes (products in general) do look really promising. However, I would love to see a XDR cassette that works with "normal" chains (Shimano, KMC, YBN). ZTTO do sell one, however the rivets holding together the aluminium and the steel cogs have bad tollerances, which results in clicking noises ... How about this new Riro cassette? Are the two parts bonded together flawlessly, or do they come loose over time as well?
Sure you can drill it, just be carefull with the heat. Angle the drilled holes slightly. If you take a look at pre-drilled stems, you have plenty material.
Why not use a one-piece-cockpit with fully integrated cables like the "Rose One-Piece-Cockpit Race" (only space for 2 cables, Rose Endurace Cockpit if you need three) or a cheaper Aliexpress-alternative? That way you could fully hide all cables without drilling the aluminum stem and the cables stay serviceable too. If you wanted to recycle the existing parts, I'd consider drilling just one hole in middle of the stem, thus not affecting the structual integrity and using the hole to fit a cover cap like the one used with the abovementioned Rose Cockpit. That way you could fully hide all the cables down to the head tube too.
Hey Luke, big 🥖🥖🥖🥖 fan here. Thanks for your videos! I see a Sensah hrd srx on Ali, but almost no purchases and conflicting information about the casette capacity of the associated new gravel derailleur. Could you test that groupset? I am looking to build a gravel and travel bike , that has a large range of gears (need the granny gear for uphill with luggage and a fast enough gear for commuting), hydraulic disc brakes and doesn't break the bank.... Thanks for your videos 🥖🥖🥖!
if you do go ahead and drill it to pass the hoses internally, cut off the screw threads that extend into the stem. these will be rubbing against the hoses maybe and cause wear. Feeling around the interior for any sharp edges would be prudent as well.
drilling into the stem would be easy to do. I think de-burring and rounding the inside surface of the holes would be difficult. I'd be concerned about a sharp edge cutting into the hydraulic line over time. It's in an area where you won't be looking frequently so could go un-noticed until leakage started.
Luke and Hambini reinvent drillium. You could try hacksawing halfway through your stem just for laughs. I'd say no to both. I'd prioritize mechanically efficiency of your braking system. If it's cable, forget the sharp curves.
personally I wouldn't drill holes on the edges of the stem as with it being a box shape, thats likely where most of the forces are going. Might be better in the middle IF you HAD to do it
Despite the weight....it costs quite a bit more than an 105/ultegra cassette, which is really good enough in most instances. Not sure the weight saving justifies the extra cost in this case
The smallest alloy cogs wear first. Also shifting suffers because they make the alloy cogs a smidge wider to mitigate wear and thus shifting performance suffers. If you've ever had issues shifting between the smallest cogs this will be a problem because you have to index based on the biggest alloy cogs to get adequate performance. That indexing will conflict with an optimal indexing when looking only at the small end. So you have to compromise and not get optimal shifting on either end of the cassette.
The risk versus the gain in drilling holes in a load bearing box section is too high imo. Ask peak torque! Do you think that the Aluminium cassette parts have had a DLC applied (diamond like costing)? That would help with durability, but I expect that its a relatively expensive operation.
Modifying the aluminum stem probably won't hurt anything, just be sure to de-bur the holes to eliminate rubbing, or use some inserts (aka guides) with bigger holes. 🥖
Bought a ztto cassette a few months ago..Superlight and looks bling. But…. After a few rides the 3 long thin screws that hold it together started coming loose and started rubbing on the freehub body, causing the cranks to not be able to spin when not pedaling. Tightened them up but they’re so small you can’t really torque them up properly. Nice for the amateur cyclist but won’t hold up to every day use.
Also appreciate your efforts reviewing this stuff. Mine was excellent in workstand. Different story under my wattage bazooka load when out riding. Ride on and 🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖 on!
yup, you'll compromise the strength of the stem if you drill next to the steerer tube. You can test it by putting 4x or 5x the expected weight and see what happens, all my stems could probably handle 300lbs being gently set on to them. use a test base (2x4's upside down fork) and use a old steel steering tube/fork. Engineer the test platform so if you don't have weights, use your body weight and garbage bags filled with water, and only fall an inch, not 36. I'd like to see the test! Actually, I've been thinking, your handle bar will probably fail before that stem. Just stay close to the center, away from the corners or edge.🥐🥐
Drill that stem. More likely than not, will be fine. Obviously, don't start drilling 20 holes in it. Fwiw, I retired one of these alu and steel k7 after 5-8k km, the alu cogs started skipping. If you live on the flat and don't do hard low torque high power efforts, and wax your chain, I think you can get incredible life out of these k7. I've just installed one of the these full steel monobloc. Paid 70 EUR for it. I'm still adjusting my RD for it as the spacing is a tiny bit different.
Monoblock cassettes may sound nice idea but that takes away flexibility to replace individual sprockets or assemmble your own cassette with adjusted gearing. So you trade lightness of cassette for adjustability and maintenance. Oh, virtues of modern tech.....
I wouldn't drill the stem or the carbon handlebar. The stem is probably less concerning, but I would have to think there is a significant risk that drilling the carbon (especially so close to the stem) could lead to a structural failure. If that catches you on a descent or in a group of people, you're not going to have a good time.
Is there not a rear facing hole at the center of the clamping area of the handlebar + a corresponding hole in the stem, allowing the hose/cable to route w/o drilling. if these exist, why not go the full internal route?
My experience with a lightweight one piece aliexpress cassette. The shifting was not as crisp as shimano's. And after a year or 2, one of the smaller cogs broke. I went back to shimano cassette and better peace of mind. I did not feel any improvement while using it nor felt heavy when going back to shimano.
Hey up Luke.....would it be ok to ask a quick question? Ive got a dura ace (di2) groupset (9150...or 9140 - whichever the rim break version was) and im looking at a disc frame from velobuild with fully integrated cabling. My question is - will i have a nightmare with cable actuated hydraulic brakes? I know the cable routing doesn't sometimes play nice with cables. Just seems a shame to chuck the groupset in a cupboard.....and i'll be buggered if im forking out for dura ace di2 hydraulic shifters and calipers!! 🙃 Any advice greatly appreciated......Mike 🙂
I think aluminium has some merit on larger sprocket as the load gets distributed across more teeth and especially if its not used as often. It would alsi decrease weight penaifor larher ranges as the largest pnes would be made of a lighter material. That being said no HG groves makes me skeptical for shifting performance in real world conditions
Sounds like a lot of work to drill holes and then worry about the cables being slowly chewed away… I’d leave it as you won’t see the underside of the stem when you are on the bike 🤷🏻♂️
I'd just drill a single hole, tap it and mirror the guide thats on the front of the stem? that way you can keep it neat and not have the faff of threading it through
as a welder with machining experience I think you would be ok drilling two holes if you use this as a road bike not a gravel bike. you are pretty light I would probably not do this myself as I am a heavyweight
Just learned my lesson with the Ztto. Won’t be buying stuff like this again. Buy cheap buy twice. It shifted like dog doo doo. Swapped to 105 and shifted fine.
@@Evaso_CC Completely agree, tried running the cassette with DA9000. Didn't like it (and all components were new). I swapped to a R7000 cassette and had zero issues immediately. Best things I've got from Ali Express are my Elite wheels.
Got 2 11s SPEDAO cassettes from ali for a total of 60 eu. 11-28: 190g / 11-32: 230g. Still have to test them out but for the price was a no brainer, plus all steel
I've got one of those on the way too. They look to be a rip-off of the SROAD ones, which have disappeared for some reason. Maybe patent infringement or something? It's a shame there's no 10 speed option though
I like my SRAM red cassette, but it is ridiculously expensive. I tried Chinese alternatives before under the name RECON. But the shifting was terrible! And the 11T slipped right out the box. So I’m a little suspicious of Chinese brand stuff, the price is great but normally there is a reason for that. 🤷🏻♂️ No I personally wouldn’t drill the stem. It might be fine. But it’s not worth the risk, stems are 1 things you don’t mess with. There are plenty of other things you can drill on a bike, but components that directly support your weight should never be tampered with.
i'd go with "dreadful idea". i've had the experience of a stem snapping, an aluminium one none the less, not on my list of things to do again. you would be better off sourcing some of the 3D printed adapters that can adapt a specialized like stem to a traditional round steerer. look at the ones for Aethos or Allez Sprint as an example.
arent there headet units that allow the cable to run internal? It would only be exposed between handlebar tape and beginning of the headset unit. i have a feeling that drilling would give you a hard time and the cables would probably be damaged every other day
If it doubt drill holes 👌when bmx was life , we use to drill holes in everything , wheels the lot 🤣 and they were fine , did rhe same sort of thing with my 80s racer to internal route the brake cable in the frame works a treat
As @Yjk48433 said Luke Please don't drill the stem. It's supporting you. The torsional strength will be lowered and it could snap or crack while riding along. Especially with the giant sink holes we have as pot holes in this country.
Don't drill the stem. You'd be better dilling the bar and making a small slot with a dremmel to feed hoses straight into the stem. So long as your slot doesn't go past the clamping points of the stem you will be fine as the bar is supported on either side of the slot.
Aluminum? Drill away. Only thing is I was able to ruin ultegra 2x11 mechanical shifting by trying to route cables through the bars. So much friction from all the tight turns that it worked ok while new, but after 500 miles every shift would hang and sometimes i had to lightly nudge the rear derailleur with my foot while riding to get it down the cassette. I call it cursed cable routing, and once i fixed it (routed under the bars instead of through them) the shifting was better than ever.
How can I tell on Aliexpress what the length is on the RIRO crankset? The teeth are clear but I don't really see the length options. Ah they are all 170mm and the options are just the various teeth.
I don't think couple holes in stem would cause any problem but I would check how this stem will look with standard spacers because it may look like shit. :P
Just don't say it's shite 😅 just got mine in the mail today 😊 Got inspired by your last video on the lightweight cassette and then there it was...a 160g 11-32 beauty waiting for me to buy😅
I would drill it. A lot of the material is there and physically does nothing. They've just left it because it costs time and hence money to remove it. The metal is 4-5mm thick and I'd be surprised if drilling two 5mm holes made a massive difference - just don't go to the corners. Also preheat the metal in the oven to 60C before you do it, it will reduce the risk of a crack from drilling that you can't see. I appreciate a lot of commentators will be risk averse but this is a TH-cam channel and people are tuning in to either see you hurt yourself, make an expensive mistake or end up in Accident and Emergency! Best of Luck
LOL, well said. I‘d say „drill it“, too, but because I like watching your stuff not for the sake of seeing you hurt yourself, I‘d say just make sure you regularly inspect those holes. If no cracks are starting to form, you‘ll be fine. That thing isn‘t just going to brake from one moment to another.
these china stuff is safe if u drive a bike no faster than 15kph and wearing a bullet-prof west with a motorcycle helmet.. i can not believe that people trust this guy with 0 technical knowledge .. it like watching a cocomelon episode and saying "Yes that's a proper thing for my kids"...
If Hambini says “drill it” who are we to question!? Drill baby, Drill! 😅
Will straight drilled holes work or should they be drilled at an angle to avoid damage to the cable housing? The latter would make it considerably more difficult, even with some clever use of a Dremel.
like the bat signal going up, two parts of the trifecta. Drilling and stem. just need a hairdresser to complete.
Very concerned that you didn't confirm your name is still Luke....🥖🥖
Same here
Call 911
It obviously isn't since he didn't say so
Imposter!!!
The "big bike" (as in "big pharma") finally caught him and made a pretty convincing bio-robot. We should be on high alert and lookout for unnatural behaviour 🙈
Let's throw baguettes at him: if he responds, it's still Luke 🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖
In the 70s and 80s, my dad was a major 'recycler". He often went to the local garbage dump and brought things home to tinker with.
He brought a car wheel home one time, but the holes for the lugs weren't right for the car He wanted to put it on (my car).
So he redrilled it. Do you know what happened?
It formed cracks between the newly drilled holes and collapsed while I was driving. No one was hurt, but my father, who had a PhD and a masters too in another discipline, learned a valuable lesson.
Luke, don't be like my dad!
I agree. Don't follow Hambini's advice. The Stem is a critical item
Been running the Riro cassette for 5 months now, over 5000km distance and 50000m elevation. Teeth wear looks good, no issues as of yet. Can recommend.
Can't recommend shifting Performance sucks
Not worth 10£
Maybe ITS also because of the Shadow Link of Shimano ultegra
Luke, we like you. Please don't drill your stem, especially near the clamping area. That's where all your weight rests on the steerer tube. I do see that stem looks pretty chunky on the inside, but I wouldn't risk my teeth hiding that much of cable.
I have to agree, where you're considering drilling are both essential to the structural integrity of the stem. For the sake of your teeth, don't do it!
The spot Luke's pointing at is far enough from the clamping zones. High end stems even have webbing where normally a tube is. Rather, consider how cleanly the hole is drilled and deburred - that might start cracking.
Agreed. Please don't drill holes in your stem, steerer, or handlebars. I think you only mentioned the stem, but I kind of want to cover every base I can.
How would he 🥖 without teeth
It's hard to know if that alloy stem has been heat-treated, but most cast alloy parts need machining while the alloy is still soft and malleable, before final heat-treatment to guarantee the strength and stiffness needed for things like tapped screw threads. Machining something that's been heat-treated can have wildly different effects depending on the type of heat-treatment the alloy has had, so it's a gamble that might go one of several ways, a few of them being undesirable. 🥖🥖Rather than trying to drill the stem, why not 3D-print something that covers up all the mess under the stem, replacing the existing plastic aero wedges where the bar meets the stem clamp? 🥖🥖
I got the same cassette, and so far no issues in 4000km, working well even with a di2 Shimano. As for the drilling, I'd be wary of drilling so close to the handlebar clamp, since it's going to be a loaded zone. Rather I'd 3d print a cover which attachs underneath and covers off the cables
I wouldn't risk my safety for minor appearances. There'd be no appreciable gain moving the hoses. Take a pass drilling the stem. My two cents. Great content, keep it coming.
Looks matter and the bend angle of the housing will actually improve
I am 100kg, I have a feeling I will never need a lightweight bike, haha
Agreed
You might be pleasantly surprised how a 7KG bike feels like. I had a 7.8kg bike and weight weenied it to 7KG. The feel is like night and day. Try it.
@@Runner9264placebo
@@Runner9264Yes exactly. Trying to ride on a lightweight bike provides a completely different feeling than before. I definitely recommend to try riding a lightweight bike.
Yeah dont bother with anything but lighter tires and rims, the rest wont make any difference
Just saw those on ali yesterday and thought "hopefully Luke will make a video about them" and here we are😄
FSA makes a stem that will do what you want. The FSA SMR. There are two of them. One has a cover than goes under the stem that the cables go through. They can be found easily on sale for about $85 USD.
Used a cheap one block 11-36 11speed cassette from AlieXpress during the Transpyrenees bikepacking race: worked well enough for a +1000 km race but not nearly as well as a hyperglide Shimano cassette.
Link please
@@Ninja_Revenge it was the Goldix ultralight 11 speed cassette 11-36.
@@Ninja_Revenge TH-cam doesn’t accept links sadly.
That stem seems so masively overkill in terms of thickness, I would personally feel comfortable with drilling small holes to pass the brake lines. Hambini said it's ok too so go for it!
The fact you bothered to ask if drilling the stem/bar was a good idea should tell you that it isn't.
That makes no sense.
Those sheared teeth - probably a result of shifting under load. If you're really unlucky, you can bend a steel cog as well (not individual tooth, just a section of the sprocket)
The OG. Oxonian Gangster! A true inspiration when it comes to customizing these bikes. I love this channel.🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖
SRAM XG cassette largest cog is aluminum. Gotta say i just installed the mono block cassette, excellent shifting.
I dont know on drilling the stem. Would be worried about micro fractures from the drilling, plus the holes might be abrasive on the cables? 🥖🥖🥖
Just drill them similarly to have manufacturers drill them. No need to leave the edges sharp
Love your videos. Watched almost all of them and you inspired me to build my own road bike. You are way underrated and I hope Ali Express is paying you for all your recommendations. Funny AH too. Keep up the great work brother
I just remembered the Neutron Cassette that China Cycling reviewed at the Shanghai Bike Show. Riro had the same material construction as a neutron.
The "Recon One-Piece Cassettes Al 11s 11-28T" should be lighter than the sprocket introduced here.
It weighs 117g.
However, since all the teeth of sprockets are aluminum, the lifespan will be short.
In the larger gears there is more chain engagement, which reduces the wear in each tooth, that's why it's pretty common to run aluminium chainrings on road bikes and they last for ever.
Hey, SRAM used to sell missing teeth direct from the factory as a feature!
Shimano have been using aluminium large gears on their XT and XTR mountain bike cassettes for a while so there's no major issues using aluminium itself apart from less durability long term (it's simply a softer metal than steel), it depends on the quality of the alloy and the machining used.
Careful with the drilling. Suggestion to make the whole oval in result so that the cable doesn’t need to be fitted straight but can go diagonally. And use reinforcement around the wholes. Welding would be ideal. Seems like a bit of a stretch.
If its OK by Hambini, its OK by me 😀!
Even consider using a stepped ferrule going in to the stem allowing you to downsize the hole and use a thin inner sleeve tube for the inner routing which might also help installation?
Got this cassette in 11-32, but will return it.
Shifting is pretty poor on my bike (90's steel frame, Ultegra R8000 groupset, YBN SLA chain), light years behind a Shimano or even a Campagnolo 11s cassette.
Maybe it would be better with a Shimano chain and another derailleur hanger's geometry (mine is a bit on the edge of general specifications), but I suspect cog's ramps to be poorly efficient.
Quality-wise it doesn't look very good neither, the spring washer on the lock ring is so thin it crumbled when installing the cassette...and it looks like you can tighten it forever, but I did stop to what looks like an acceptable torque by rule of thumb. Some reviews on forums are talking about alloy cogs being even weaker than standard alloy cogs (and it's still far weaker than steel), with occurences of broken teeth.
Will try the Goldix / Ztto ful steel cassette 🙂
I always question tampering with bicycle stems. I've seen way too many stem failures and aluminum is very unforgiving when it fails. As noted by previous comments the ability control/steer a bicycle when the handlebars become detached becomes severely limited. If you do elect to press through on this experiment I advise obtaining additional heath/life insurance.
Riro chainset I’ve been using since your review about the race works chainset, and it’s absolutely perfect so far, couple thousand miles on it but I had no idea they did a cassette too 😮
That exact post on ChinerTown witheld me from getting a RIRO cassette. Because at first, I too was mesmerized by it's weight. Very curious to your future findings concerning durability on this one. In the end I went with a Goldix cassette.
These Riro cassettes (products in general) do look really promising. However, I would love to see a XDR cassette that works with "normal" chains (Shimano, KMC, YBN).
ZTTO do sell one, however the rivets holding together the aluminium and the steel cogs have bad tollerances, which results in clicking noises ...
How about this new Riro cassette? Are the two parts bonded together flawlessly, or do they come loose over time as well?
Sure you can drill it, just be carefull with the heat.
Angle the drilled holes slightly.
If you take a look at pre-drilled stems, you have plenty material.
Please, a detailed video of crankset. Thank you
Why not use a one-piece-cockpit with fully integrated cables like the "Rose One-Piece-Cockpit Race" (only space for 2 cables, Rose Endurace Cockpit if you need three) or a cheaper Aliexpress-alternative? That way you could fully hide all cables without drilling the aluminum stem and the cables stay serviceable too.
If you wanted to recycle the existing parts, I'd consider drilling just one hole in middle of the stem, thus not affecting the structual integrity and using the hole to fit a cover cap like the one used with the abovementioned Rose Cockpit. That way you could fully hide all the cables down to the head tube too.
Hey Luke, big 🥖🥖🥖🥖 fan here. Thanks for your videos! I see a Sensah hrd srx on Ali, but almost no purchases and conflicting information about the casette capacity of the associated new gravel derailleur. Could you test that groupset?
I am looking to build a gravel and travel bike , that has a large range of gears (need the granny gear for uphill with luggage and a fast enough gear for commuting), hydraulic disc brakes and doesn't break the bank....
Thanks for your videos 🥖🥖🥖!
if you do go ahead and drill it to pass the hoses internally, cut off the screw threads that extend into the stem. these will be rubbing against the hoses maybe and cause wear. Feeling around the interior for any sharp edges would be prudent as well.
I think my biggest concern is the splines, or should i say lack of splines, and the effect they would have on biting into the hub.
drilling into the stem would be easy to do. I think de-burring and rounding the inside surface of the holes would be difficult. I'd be concerned about a sharp edge cutting into the hydraulic line over time. It's in an area where you won't be looking frequently so could go un-noticed until leakage started.
Luke and Hambini reinvent drillium. You could try hacksawing halfway through your stem just for laughs. I'd say no to both. I'd prioritize mechanically efficiency of your braking system. If it's cable, forget the sharp curves.
Waiting for new reviews on road frames such as
1. Hygge model s
2. Spcycle
3. Onirii
personally I wouldn't drill holes on the edges of the stem as with it being a box shape, thats likely where most of the forces are going. Might be better in the middle IF you HAD to do it
Despite the weight....it costs quite a bit more than an 105/ultegra cassette, which is really good enough in most instances. Not sure the weight saving justifies the extra cost in this case
The smallest alloy cogs wear first. Also shifting suffers because they make the alloy cogs a smidge wider to mitigate wear and thus shifting performance suffers. If you've ever had issues shifting between the smallest cogs this will be a problem because you have to index based on the biggest alloy cogs to get adequate performance. That indexing will conflict with an optimal indexing when looking only at the small end. So you have to compromise and not get optimal shifting on either end of the cassette.
That stem is looks very thick, I would have zero worries drilling that one
you remind me of Rik Mayall by the way you gesticulate, and that's a compliment.
The risk versus the gain in drilling holes in a load bearing box section is too high imo. Ask peak torque!
Do you think that the Aluminium cassette parts have had a DLC applied (diamond like costing)? That would help with durability, but I expect that its a relatively expensive operation.
Modifying the aluminum stem probably won't hurt anything, just be sure to de-bur the holes to eliminate rubbing, or use some inserts (aka guides) with bigger holes. 🥖
Bought a ztto cassette a few months ago..Superlight and looks bling. But…. After a few rides the 3 long thin screws that hold it together started coming loose and started rubbing on the freehub body, causing the cranks to not be able to spin when not pedaling. Tightened them up but they’re so small you can’t really torque them up properly. Nice for the amateur cyclist but won’t hold up to every day use.
Permanent loctite.
Also appreciate your efforts reviewing this stuff. Mine was excellent in workstand. Different story under my wattage bazooka load when out riding.
Ride on and 🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖 on!
yup, you'll compromise the strength of the stem if you drill next to the steerer tube. You can test it by putting 4x or 5x the expected weight and see what happens, all my stems could probably handle 300lbs being gently set on to them. use a test base (2x4's upside down fork) and use a old steel steering tube/fork. Engineer the test platform so if you don't have weights, use your body weight and garbage bags filled with water, and only fall an inch, not 36. I'd like to see the test! Actually, I've been thinking, your handle bar will probably fail before that stem. Just stay close to the center, away from the corners or edge.🥐🥐
Send it!! What's the worst that can happen? (please ride with a Go Pro every time on the bike) 😉
can you review a cheap senda cleats shoes?
I do a ton of climbing, so I probably wouldn't put a cassette with aluminum cogs on. They've very common on mountain bikes, though.
You'll be totally fine drilling there Should be plenty far away from the clamping area and that stem is chunky as hell
I don't see a problem using the stem/hb combo just a designed. The minimal optical improvement is not worth eventually ruining health and/or stem.
Isn´t aero on the way out, anyway?? Rgr
@@borano2031 My guess is that the aero benefit by routing inside rather than underneath the stem is negligible (~1W).
@@tomalbert3299 Correct. That routing only causes problems. Cervelo, Cannondale... Rgr
Got an Ltto cassette once, Shifting was not terrible, but just bad enough for me to go back to Sram /Shimano.
Interesting options, unfortunately there aren’t 10s options. I’ve been searching for this kind of cassette but they are commonly 11s/12s 🤕
Drill that stem. More likely than not, will be fine. Obviously, don't start drilling 20 holes in it.
Fwiw, I retired one of these alu and steel k7 after 5-8k km, the alu cogs started skipping. If you live on the flat and don't do hard low torque high power efforts, and wax your chain, I think you can get incredible life out of these k7.
I've just installed one of the these full steel monobloc. Paid 70 EUR for it. I'm still adjusting my RD for it as the spacing is a tiny bit different.
🥖🥖🥖May I suggest to convert that Trifox to a 1x and not worry about that FD mount coming loose anymore. Save yourself the headache haha.🥖🥖🥖
The riro looks good quality and the crank like SRAM.
Instead of drilling the holes you should try 3D printing a small fairing to cover the cables and help route them.
Yeah, I'm no engineer Luke, but I really wouldn't drill into the stem. It's aluminium, so it would probably work, but it's not worth the risk.
New build hype lets goo, i wonder what it will be
I bet for Carbon mtb frame build with aero dropbars :v
first gear and last was a pain to setup with sensah hrd shifter and 105 rd on that riro cassette
Monoblock cassettes may sound nice idea but that takes away flexibility to replace individual sprockets or assemmble your own cassette with adjusted gearing. So you trade lightness of cassette for adjustability and maintenance. Oh, virtues of modern tech.....
I wouldn't drill the stem or the carbon handlebar. The stem is probably less concerning, but I would have to think there is a significant risk that drilling the carbon (especially so close to the stem) could lead to a structural failure. If that catches you on a descent or in a group of people, you're not going to have a good time.
Id never pay more than £60 for my cassettes. Great video bro
Rotor makes a similar looking 11 speed 11-28 cassette, which weighs 135g. It is a bit more expensive though, £360 :P
Is there not a rear facing hole at the center of the clamping area of the handlebar + a corresponding hole in the stem, allowing the hose/cable to route w/o drilling. if these exist, why not go the full internal route?
My experience with a lightweight one piece aliexpress cassette. The shifting was not as crisp as shimano's. And after a year or 2, one of the smaller cogs broke. I went back to shimano cassette and better peace of mind. I did not feel any improvement while using it nor felt heavy when going back to shimano.
Hey up Luke.....would it be ok to ask a quick question? Ive got a dura ace (di2) groupset (9150...or 9140 - whichever the rim break version was) and im looking at a disc frame from velobuild with fully integrated cabling. My question is - will i have a nightmare with cable actuated hydraulic brakes? I know the cable routing doesn't sometimes play nice with cables. Just seems a shame to chuck the groupset in a cupboard.....and i'll be buggered if im forking out for dura ace di2 hydraulic shifters and calipers!! 🙃 Any advice greatly appreciated......Mike 🙂
Personally wouldn't drill holes in a stem but why not just get a stem that works properly without all the hassle?
Put some holes on that steam. Hahahah
I would be more concerned about the carbon cutting the tubes over time. Might want to use some grommet inserts if you do that.
I think aluminium has some merit on larger sprocket as the load gets distributed across more teeth and especially if its not used as often. It would alsi decrease weight penaifor larher ranges as the largest pnes would be made of a lighter material.
That being said no HG groves makes me skeptical for shifting performance in real world conditions
Sounds like a lot of work to drill holes and then worry about the cables being slowly chewed away… I’d leave it as you won’t see the underside of the stem when you are on the bike 🤷🏻♂️
I'd just drill a single hole, tap it and mirror the guide thats on the front of the stem? that way you can keep it neat and not have the faff of threading it through
as a welder with machining experience I think you would be ok drilling two holes if you use this as a road bike not a gravel bike. you are pretty light I would probably not do this myself as I am a heavyweight
Hi sir,!! do you think this would work with a Eagle GX 12 speed rear derailler!!!?
Just learned my lesson with the Ztto. Won’t be buying stuff like this again. Buy cheap buy twice. It shifted like dog doo doo. Swapped to 105 and shifted fine.
Ztto tools are good, but so e of the components are questionable
@@Evaso_CC Completely agree, tried running the cassette with DA9000. Didn't like it (and all components were new). I swapped to a R7000 cassette and had zero issues immediately. Best things I've got from Ali Express are my Elite wheels.
Got 2 11s SPEDAO cassettes from ali for a total of 60 eu. 11-28: 190g / 11-32: 230g. Still have to test them out but for the price was a no brainer, plus all steel
I've got one of those on the way too. They look to be a rip-off of the SROAD ones, which have disappeared for some reason. Maybe patent infringement or something? It's a shame there's no 10 speed option though
I like my SRAM red cassette, but it is ridiculously expensive. I tried Chinese alternatives before under the name RECON. But the shifting was terrible! And the 11T slipped right out the box. So I’m a little suspicious of Chinese brand stuff, the price is great but normally there is a reason for that. 🤷🏻♂️
No I personally wouldn’t drill the stem. It might be fine. But it’s not worth the risk, stems are 1 things you don’t mess with. There are plenty of other things you can drill on a bike, but components that directly support your weight should never be tampered with.
Is there any xdr 12s cassettes available to replace SRAM force that doesn’t cost an arm
i'd go with "dreadful idea". i've had the experience of a stem snapping, an aluminium one none the less, not on my list of things to do again. you would be better off sourcing some of the 3D printed adapters that can adapt a specialized like stem to a traditional round steerer. look at the ones for Aethos or Allez Sprint as an example.
arent there headet units that allow the cable to run internal? It would only be exposed between handlebar tape and beginning of the headset unit. i have a feeling that drilling would give you a hard time and the cables would probably be damaged every other day
If it doubt drill holes 👌when bmx was life , we use to drill holes in everything , wheels the lot 🤣 and they were fine , did rhe same sort of thing with my 80s racer to internal route the brake cable in the frame works a treat
Nice work! Do you review any mountain bike components from China?
As @Yjk48433 said Luke Please don't drill the stem. It's supporting you. The torsional strength will be lowered and it could snap or crack while riding along. Especially with the giant sink holes we have as pot holes in this country.
Don't drill the stem. You'd be better dilling the bar and making a small slot with a dremmel to feed hoses straight into the stem. So long as your slot doesn't go past the clamping points of the stem you will be fine as the bar is supported on either side of the slot.
Do you have review on AliExpress Shimano knock off spd-SL pedals?
I’m sure if you ask nicely PT will model the stem drilling in FEA for you 😆
Aluminum? Drill away. Only thing is I was able to ruin ultegra 2x11 mechanical shifting by trying to route cables through the bars. So much friction from all the tight turns that it worked ok while new, but after 500 miles every shift would hang and sometimes i had to lightly nudge the rear derailleur with my foot while riding to get it down the cassette. I call it cursed cable routing, and once i fixed it (routed under the bars instead of through them) the shifting was better than ever.
How can I tell on Aliexpress what the length is on the RIRO crankset? The teeth are clear but I don't really see the length options. Ah they are all 170mm and the options are just the various teeth.
I bought the cassette for my ltwoo build. The groupset never came. Now I'm stuck with an 11 speed cassette. Everything I have is 12 speed
I don't think couple holes in stem would cause any problem but I would check how this stem will look with standard spacers because it may look like shit. :P
I wouldn't drill the stem, no matter how strong it looks. Surely that's how metal fatigue cracks would develop 🤷🏾♂️
🥖 any insight on an Ali crankset compatible with quarq dub 8 bolt power meters? Would love to go down to 165mm without the hefty price tag. 🥖🥖🥖
Nothing wrong with aluminium on the lower gear sprockets. The load is spread over more teeth. Must admit I thought SRAM and Shimano both do this
Why are there almost no 10 speed cassettes on Aliexpress though? Even the heavier stuff is now disappearing. It's easier to get 8 speed stuff!
Just don't say it's shite 😅 just got mine in the mail today 😊 Got inspired by your last video on the lightweight cassette and then there it was...a 160g 11-32 beauty waiting for me to buy😅
I wouldn't drill the stem. Sounds like a crazy idea to me.
What's the matter with the stem that was on the other frame?!