Review – SunRace CS MX80 (MX8) 11-46T Cassette for SRAM

SunRace CS MX80 11-46T Cassette for SRAM 1X
If you are running a SRAM Force or Rival 1X drivetrain set-up, then you may well find yourself wishing for a lower gear, especially on bikepacking adventures. The SunRace MX80 / MX8 11-46 tooth cassettes supply two additional low ratio gears than you get on the standard 11-42T SRAM cassette. That is an upgrade worth considering...

On my Kona Sutra LTD build, I was concerned about a lack of low end gear spread for the Tour Divide. Whilst pure grunt will usually get you up most things on an 11-42T cassette, I thought with the cumulative fatigue and long climbs on this 21 day bikepacking route, I might need something lower...

SRAM rate their SRAM Rival and Force 1X rear derailleurs as suitable for a maximum of a 42-tooth cassette—I was keen to see if the SunRace MX80 and MX8 cassette would work with the derailleurs and provide that sought-after lower gear possibility.

You may well not have heard of the SunRace brand, but you likely have heard of Sturmey Archer—the iconic hub gear brand with a long heritage of success and reliability. SunRace is an off-shoot of Sturmey Archer—so their products are designed and built with many years of bicycle drivetrain wisdom.

So, the main question...

Does the SunRace CS MX80 MX8 Cassette work with SRAM Force or Rival rear derailleurs?

Yes. Faultlessly.

The switch from the SRAM 11-42T road cassette to the SunRace cassette was a doddle—simply slide one off and the other on (do not forget you need an extra spacer with the SunRace cassette on the 11-speed road free-hub body, as it is an 11-speed MTB cassette).

A little tightening of the B-tension screw, and the chain shifts effortlessly through the gear spread on the wider ratio cassette. I did not even need to add extra links to the chain.

Out on the trails, the performance continued. The SunRace cassette delivered smooth and silent shifting, even in challenging wet and muddy conditions. The additional gearing spread of the wider ratio cassette was also very noticeable—providing a greater 'get out of jail' gear for those steeper or fatigued climbs.

The SunRace MX80 cassette uses stainless steel for all but the largest two sprockets, which are made from a lighter aluminium alloy. It has an all-in weight of 464 grams—which is 75 grams lighter than the stock SRAM PG-1130 11-42 cassette. The MX8 is a lower cost option, and uses stainless cogs for all but the largest sprocket—it has a weight of 485 grams (still less than the SRAM model).

I have yet to test the lifetime durability of the SunRace cassette, but the build quality is impressive, and I have no reason to believe that it will not last just as long as a SRAM 11-speed cassette.

To sum up, the SunRace MX80 (and MX8) cassette offers a very worthwhile upgrade for a gravel bike, bikepacking bike, mountain bike, or cyclocross bike running a 1X drivetrain. The upgrade provides a lower gear for those tough moments, and the cassette is fully compatible with SRAM Rival and Force rear derailleurs. This is a great tweak to most 1X gear set-ups.

>> Shop the SunRace MX8 11-46T Cassette here <<

SunRace CS MX80 11-46T Cassette for SRAM 1X

SunRace provided Lifeinthesaddle.cc with a cassette for test and review


Comments

  1. Not sure what bike you have, but it does not work faultlessly at all with my bike and a long cage rival derailleur. It somehow works, shifting is far from perfect and can't get it set to shift smoothly up and down. I don't recommend buying 46t, stick to 42t. Also no idea how you can still have b-screw left. Whatever maybe you are a bike professional or just lucky with your bike.

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    Replies
    1. flip your b screw around and screw it in from the other side

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  2. For me this does not work.i can't make it work to shift properly up and down. Also there is no b-screw left for me. No idea how you made it work. I cannot recommend this setup.i have a rival 1 long cage.

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    Replies
    1. flip your b screw upside down and screw it in from the other side

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  3. I'm about to replace my 11-42T cassette with this 11-46T Sunrace. What is the extra spacer that I will need? I'm new to the complexities of mixing MTB and road cassettes.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Andrew, do you have an 11 speed road freehub on your rear wheel? If so, you need a 2mm 11spd to 10spd cassette spacer.

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    5. Thanks for the reply. I've read a few articles about using an 11-46T cassette with the Rival derailleur and this is the first mention of a spacer I've seen and was worried I was missing something. Looks like the wheel set I've ordered comes with one.

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    6. Thanks for the help. Finally ordered (and received) new wheels and the cassette. Installed everything. I had to seek out this post to confirm that I needed the spacer. Looking at the cassette and the install, it didn't seem wrong with it installed but it didn't seem right either. While I haven't indexed the gears yet, everything looks great. It's definitely not too large of a cassette for the Rival. The B-screw is not even close to maxxed out. Anyhow... thanks for posting your thoughts and experience with this combination.

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  4. Hi all.

    Nice report above. I have the MX8 11-42T cassette and have been running it with SRAM Force1 RD with no problems for over 2 years now. I actually have 2, one on my gravel wheel set and one on my carbon road wheel set. I can switch between these 2 wheel sets with next to no adjustments (minor drop out adjustment as the rotor on the road set is slightly out of true).

    I am currently building a new touring wheel set and will be using the MX8 11-42T on this to. My question is this. When buying the rear hub, what driver body do I need to run this cassette? Will a Sram XD work? Or do I need a Sram/Shimano 8,9,10,11 driver? Wtf is HG and MS and where so they fit into the mix. 🤯

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi all.

    Nice report above. I have the MX8 11-42T cassette and have been running it with SRAM Force1 RD with no problems for over 2 years now. I actually have 2, one on my gravel wheel set and one on my carbon road wheel set. I can switch between these 2 wheel sets with next to no adjustments (minor drop out adjustment as the rotor on the road set is slightly out of true).

    I am currently building a new touring wheel set and will be using the MX8 11-42T on this to. My question is this. When buying the rear hub, what driver body do I need to run this cassette? Will a Sram XD work? Or do I need a Sram/Shimano 8,9,10,11 driver? Wtf is HG and MS and where so they fit into the mix. 🤯

    ReplyDelete
  6. has anyone made the 11-46T cassette work with a Shimano 8 speed derailleur? Simply does not reach the 46T sprocket and just makes the 40T sprocket even with a short extender installed. Running a 34T 1 X up front.Any advice would be appreciated.

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  7. have you tested this with the apex 1x? and what kind of space is needed, I don't get it (sorry, I'm a noob). I have a BMC URS Apex 1x

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  8. have you tested this with the apex 1x? and what kind of space is needed, I don't get it (sorry, I'm a noob). I have a BMC URS Apex 1x

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    Replies
    1. I'm using apex 1x with a 11-46 cassette. No problems at all. Shifts smoothly up and down.

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