New Products: 1×12 for the road – Upgrade kit and cable spool

1×12 Road Upgrade Kit

SRAM have recently made some exciting updates to their road groupsets. 12 speed cassettes and chains are at a lower price point than ever before and the greater gear range provided makes riding a more pleasurable experience. However, you can only access these innovations if you get an electronic wireless groupset. We think this is a shame for a number of reasons:

1. The electronics required are currently expensive. The newly launched ‘mid-range’ Rival™ eTap™ AXS™ group is £1,102 in the 1x configuration. This shouldn’t be the middle of the market. Wouldn’t it be great if more riders could access the benefits?
2. There are a lot of riders who would rather not have batteries on the bike. Whether it’s weight, long bikepacking adventures away from a socket or because mechanical groupsets are easier to troubleshoot and maintain at home, there’s still a place for mechanical actuation.
3. Finally, there’s a sustainability issue: There are many bikes out there with mechanical shifters and derailleurs that work perfectly. Chains and cassettes wear out, but there’s no reason you should need new shifters and derailleurs to access the benefits of 12 speed. Obsolescence (planned or otherwise) has no place in the 21st century.

As there’s still a place for mechanical bikes and SRAM are currently laser-focused on electronic products, we’ve made a solution – our new 1×12 Road Upgrade Kit. If you already have a bike with a SRAM 10 or 11 speed shifters and a 1x-specific derailleur from the Force 1™, Rival 1™ or Apex 1™ groups then all you’ll need is:

• A SRAM 12 speed eTap™ AXS™ cassette from the Red™, Force™ or Rival™ groups
• A SRAM 12 speed eTap™ AXS™ chain from the Red™, Force™ or Rival™ groups
• A chainring compatible with the 1×12 speed eTap™ AXS™ groups
• An XDR™ freehub for your wheel
• Our new 1×12 Road Upgrade kit

In our kit you’ll find:

• Ratio 1×12 Road ratchet, with shift spacing specially designed for AXS™ 12 speed cassettes
• Ratio 12 tooth jockey wheels with stainless Enduro bearings, specifically designed for AXS™ Flattop™ 12 speed chains
• M2.5 screw for shifter ratchet replacement
• Ratio chainstay sticker

To install our kit you need to swap the ratchet in your right hand shifter for our 12 speed version and replace your rear derailleur’s jockey wheels with the set that come in the kit. Then install the SRAM 12 speed parts and you’re off. 12 speed for all!

Cable Spool

Alongside the new upgrade kit comes a small but mighty component – a cable spool for SRAM road shifters. We’ve made this component for two reasons:

1. Our upgrade kits (both the 1×12 Wide and the new 1×12 Road) can now be used with SRAM 10 speed road shifters. SRAM didn’t change much between the 10 speed and 11 speed generations but the ratchet/spool assembly was updated. This meant that the only thing preventing a 12 speed ratchet going into a 10 speed shifter was one small piece of plastic. We’ve fixed that now.
2. To prevent otherwise functional shifters from going in the bin. In the last 12 months we’ve seen a lot of shifters where the original cable spool has broken but the rest of the mechanism is in perfect condition. Previously there was no way of getting a replacement spool and carrying out the straightforward repair. Now there is.

We’re excited by both these products. They make old parts new again and bring performance benefits down to a more accessible price point. The Ratio team are really looking forward to your new builds a reality. 12 speed for all.