PRESS RELEASE: KMC ChainsWe have released our first cassette design. Available for 10- and 11-speed drivetrains, the REACT cassette features proprietary shifting technology that pairs well with KMC and other chains.
Called Flow Control, the REACT cassette features dual shifting ramps for smooth and steady gear changes. The ramped tooth profiles help lift and lower the chain during corresponding shifts, providing excellent shifting performance. The unique tooth profiles are wider to reduce friction and increase durability. We optimized the cassette design for KMC chains but it will work well with other brands, as well.
Several ranges of cog sizes are available, including an 11-speed 11-50T and 10-speed 11-42T, allowing riders to not only upgrade their worn drivetrain but also increase their gear range over stock offerings. The cog sizes are gradually increased for smoother shifting and precise chain indexing. The REACT cassette is compatible with a Shimano HG freehub body.
REACT Cassette Range Options*10-speed: 11-36T, 11-42T
11-speed: 11-42T, 11-50T
*May require extended derailleur link such as Wolf Tooth GoatLink
MSRP: $65
For more information, go to
KMCchain.us
It does say though that it is made out of high tensile steel. So I'd assume the weight falls into the "we didn't want to talk about it because it's at least as heavy as Deore 11 speed or NX Eagle" category. Which likely means its 600g or more?
Which isn't to say its necessarily a bad thing. $65, and steel, means it should give you a lot of miles per $$$, which is exactly what some people want. Just was somewhat surprised that it wasn't mentioned at all, anywhere.
Let's face it it's not going to weigh a kilo is it. Probably a few grams here or there different to Sram/Shimano.
As mentioned. If it works better then I'm in.
I guess the downvoters are those guys who fap on dangerholm's instagram
10s 11-36 = 431g
10s 11-42 = 532g
11s 11-42 = 561g
11s 11-50 = 742g
Weight matters to some folks, and doesn’t for others.
I for one, am brutally jealous of Dangerholms’ quads, others aren’t.
As long as we’re all happy and smiling at the end of each day, and can all agree to hate weight weenie, beanie wearing roadies (jokes)
11 speed:
- 42T - 801g
- 50T - 973g
10 speed:
- 36T - 659g
- 42T - 761g
SLX/HG81 ~ 360g (upper 5-6 cogs are same as XT version, smallest 4 are definitely heavier)
XT - 334g (actual weight brand spanking new)
XTR - 275g (actual weight with zip tie).
I think the KMC version is made similar to the Shimano Deore or lower grade (HG50) versions where the cog plates are not put on the light carrier arms but are full solid disks.
Oh, thanks for the actual weight data.
FWIW for all the comments asking if I'm a weight weenie, I'm about as far away from that as you can get. For reference, my bike weighs in at about 40lbs (Aluminum framed Banshee Titan, Coil shock, DH tire up front, EXO+ and insert at the rear, 11s Deore drivetrain, steel chainring, Onyx wheels).
However, even I still use weight as a data point for things when I'm purchasing. Clearly it isn't my only criteria, and other times other priorities like durability/performance take precedence. But it is something I consider.
IMO, weight alone isn't a good thing or a bad thing. Its just a thing that you can make decisions on.
At $65, and steel, this will be a great option for people valuing budget and durability.
hyperglide cassettes. You've got to compare what is comparable.
Or ti.
Some people prefer to spin their bikes than to push them uphill, there are a variety of riding. I own both a bike with 11s 10-42 cassette and a 10-52 cassette. The 11s one has a smaller 26t chainring.
Those hard gear thumpers are always the ones your waiting for half way up the climb because yeah...they could climb without those weak granny gears.. for about 15 mins. When the climb is 2700m in 50km, a dinner plate is going to be necessary for the vast majority of avid riders... or you can push or take breaks more... I'd rather just keep riding.
For the record, I have plenty of strength, can sqaut >4 plates, and output >1500W.... none of this matters when fatigue sets in.
The only advantages that 12 speed can have is that you can use a larger chainring for slightly better chain retention and perhaps slightly less chain slap.
6-7 hours ish.
They are usually tiny, and very slender. Not one of them has big, very muscular legs.
Now if you look at track sprinters, they have huge, HUGE quads, as do the road sprinters, to a lesser degree. Those are the gym types in the cycling world. None of them are good climbers. In every stage race, they suffer to get over the mountains in time.
Body building is just that, aimed solely at making muscles bigger and/or more defined. I wasn't talking about that.
I was talking at strength training, as are you, judging from you mentioning how many plates you can push. Such training is aimed at getting stronger (duh), and that generally means your muscles will grow in size. As a side effect that is, but still.
The sprinters I mentioned don't do body building (though their thighs put many if not all body builders to shame, but that's an other matter). They do purely functional strength training. And all that strength is certainly *not* helping them get up the hills any faster.
Until I rode it.
SunRace is horrible, e13 shifts with funny noises, SRAM GX wears out fast, and Shimano stays the cheapest and easiest replacable option.
I wonder where the KMC sorts in?
My sunrace cassettes shift almost the same ( just a little slower) than Shimano, or Sram.
And how long a cassette last highly depends on the chain. I can get 10000 km out on even cheap cassettes with good chains.
My gx Sram cassette on my ebike has already 8000 km on it with the second X01 chain.
youtu.be/LlDVpl6m7Hk?si=uYAjn-TuJnEQudTU
That said, machining can absolutely produce features that a stamping cannot, and does so at a higher level of precision. Material properties are worse, but usually you can produce a more optimized shape with less waste (thus the weight savings associated with machining). I'm going to take a leap and guess that the flatness and precision of a gear tooth face plays a critical role in both shifting performance and wear, and a machined gear definitely will have a flatter and more precise face than a stamped one.
The same coatings can be applied in either case, as long as we're talking steel for steel. Which brings up the last and most significant point. Like for like (XTR vs XX1), Shimano uses aluminum for more of their largest cogs, and titanium for their middle (XTR only). SRAM XX1 uses it only for the eagle granny gear. So those middle cogs are definitely going to wear faster. Even 7075 aluminum and 6/4 Ti are nowhere near the hardness and toughness of most steels. XX1 isn't anything exotic - just CroMo - but that's going to wear way better than Ti, let alone Al.
Hope that helps.
The truth is if you could get better results with sheet metal and a hydraulic press nobody would ever waste the time and expense machining parts when stamping is so much faster and cheaper. Luckily all that time and effort hasn’t been wasted as they just last so much longer and shift better as well. Really the only advantage to stamping is it’s cheap at the expense of the consumer.
Case hardening is a surface hardness treatment. If you machined AFTER hardening, not only would you prematurely wear your cutting tools, you would cut through the hardened surface and leave the softer core material exposed as your final wear surface. Zero chance that's what they're actually doing.
If the same pricing policy and customer-friendliness applies for their cassettes as well, count me in.
I compared climbing gears when shopping for a new cassette:
32-37-46 (Shimano 11-46)
36-40-46 (Sunrace CSMX
36-42-46 (Garbaruk 11-46 for HG)
36-42-50 (this new KMC)
KMC has a good sized jump to the 50, but it's still less than Shimano's jump to 46. Shimano phoned it in on that cassette design, big time.
Microshift Advent X G series 11-48t - 424g, $65
Shimano CS-M4100 11-46t - 535g, $60
KMC 11-50t - 742g, $65
Shimano CS-M5100 11-51t - 615g, $75
I like KMC chains, and always like when there are more product choices, but I have a hard time seeing the point of these new cassettes. In general, they have less range, more weight, and the same price. Maybe actual retail prices will be significantly cheaper, but the alternatives are already relatively inexpensive. The 10 speed cassette topping out at 11-42t also looks like a missed opportunity, especially now that CUES 10 speed is going up to 11-48t.
This is pulled from their website: "Derailleur Links reposition your derailleur to provide clearance for larger cassette cogs but they do not increase derailleur capacity. It is critical to find and understand your derailleur’s capacity before attempting to expand its gear range."
Yes I’m sad.
Spare cogs are listed but not in UK stock as far as I can see.
Interesting to see this is also going for wider teeth.
By what measure? They shift like hot garbage.
I've had great longevity out of XTR 11sp chains, granted I've not tried 12sp, but the shift quality with a KMC chain on a Shimano 12sp drivetrain is appalling, it's virtually unrideable in my experience.
Oh an KMC make chains for Shimano
£65 would put it in SLX Sunrace territory, hardly XT or XTR (not a sram fan so I have no knowledge of thier groups)