Sram says that the chain might do that in the stand but should pull into place under tension.
I found two issues with my shop's adjustment that I had to change to get it working properly. I ended up fine tuning the cable tension and reducing the b-tension. It now shifts well. Makes me mad that my shop didn't sort it out. They are good with a lot of things but sram shifting is not one of them.
As far cable tension goes, I find the sram stuff needs a final adjustment while riding. It seems fine in the stand but when you get out riding and things are under tension you can pick up small issues that are difficult to see in the stand. The b tension issue was evident in the mid cluster shifting. The derailleur was just too far away to shift those gears well.
Take a look at this: https://forums.mtbr.com/drivetrain-shifters-derailleurs-cranks/sram-eagle-design-flaw-1052658.html https://forums.mtbr.com/drivetrain-shifters-derailleurs-cranks/gx-eagle-chain-floating-50t-1079138.html
I've ran gx eagle for 3 trouble free seasons. Besides a minor twist of the adjuster at the shifter every once in a while it's worked great. That being said, I wanted to try the new xt 12 speed so I ordered the shifter and derailleur. I'm not sure if it's the shimano shifter and derailleur paired with the sram cassette but I could not get the shifter to upshift correctly in the middle few gears to save my life. Totally frustrated with it so I just swapped back the eagle derailleur and it's all smooth sailing now.
I've ran gx eagle for 3 trouble free seasons. Besides a minor twist of the adjuster at the shifter every once in a while it's worked great. That being said, I wanted to try the new xt 12 speed so I ordered the shifter and derailleur. I'm not sure if it's the shimano shifter and derailleur paired with the sram cassette but I could not get the shifter to upshift correctly in the middle few gears to save my life. Totally frustrated with it so I just swapped back the eagle derailleur and it's all smooth sailing now.
Most of the shifting technology is in the teeth profile on the cassette. Not much point in trying the new shimano stuff without the matching chain and cassette. That’s like trying an e-bike without a battery and saying it’s crap
With ALL of the 12 speed set ups on the market the set up is VERY crucial. The issue you are having is typically caused by a few issues wtacked upon one another. Usually its caused by a VERY slight bent in the derailleur hanger, too much b-tension and slightly too much cable tension. chain length can also play a role.
I have always ridden Shimano drivetrains, but my son and my friends' bikes have variety of SRAM drivetrains. Since I work on a lot of these bikes I know it can be maddening to get a SRAM derailleur to do what it is asked - shift into the correct goddamn gear! I have spent hours dicking around with limit screws, B-tension, cable-housing tension just to get nowhere and thinking I need to replace the cable, the housing, the shifter, the hanger, even the entire derailleur.
BUT, I watched this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ly4wDlMWR9o&t), and followed these instructions, and a bike which I thought only deserved conversion to Shimano, is now shifting great. The only alteration to this guy's procedure I do is the use of the SRAM b-tension guide. I have the guide and tried to use it as intended, but I have had better results by:
- shifting into the largest cog - placing my 8mm allen key between the cog and the top pulley and adjust the b-tension screw so there is about 8mm between the pulley and the larges cog - now shift from the largest cog to the second largest and then back to the largest cog - more than likely there will be hesitation for the chain to go up to the largest cog - increase the gap by tightening the b-tension screw about quarter turn - keep repeating the 3 above steps until you have a quick, crisp, clean shift going into the largest cog.
I have always ridden Shimano drivetrains, but my son and my friends' bikes have variety of SRAM drivetrains. Since I work on a lot of these bikes I know it can be maddening to get a SRAM derailleur to do what it is asked - shift into the correct goddamn gear! I have spent hours dicking around with limit screws, B-tension, cable-housing tension just to get nowhere and thinking I need to replace the cable, the housing, the shifter, the hanger, even the entire derailleur.
BUT, I watched this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ly4wDlMWR9o&t), and followed these instructions, and a bike which I thought only deserved conversion to Shimano, is now shifting great. The only alteration to this guy's procedure I do is the use of the SRAM b-tension guide. I have the guide and tried to use it as intended, but I have had better results by:
- shifting into the largest cog - placing my 8mm allen key between the cog and the top pulley and adjust the b-tension screw so there is about 8mm between the pulley and the larges cog - now shift from the largest cog to the second largest and then back to the largest cog - more than likely there will be hesitation for the chain to go up to the largest cog - increase the gap by tightening the b-tension screw about quarter turn - keep repeating the 3 above steps until you have a quick, crisp, clean shift going into the largest cog.
Couldn’t find that YouTube video you posted. Could you try posting that again? Or just give title of the video and the maker
I have always ridden Shimano drivetrains, but my son and my friends' bikes have variety of SRAM drivetrains. Since I work on a lot of these bikes I know it can be maddening to get a SRAM derailleur to do what it is asked - shift into the correct goddamn gear! I have spent hours dicking around with limit screws, B-tension, cable-housing tension just to get nowhere and thinking I need to replace the cable, the housing, the shifter, the hanger, even the entire derailleur.
BUT, I watched this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ly4wDlMWR9o&t), and followed these instructions, and a bike which I thought only deserved conversion to Shimano, is now shifting great. The only alteration to this guy's procedure I do is the use of the SRAM b-tension guide. I have the guide and tried to use it as intended, but I have had better results by:
- shifting into the largest cog - placing my 8mm allen key between the cog and the top pulley and adjust the b-tension screw so there is about 8mm between the pulley and the larges cog - now shift from the largest cog to the second largest and then back to the largest cog - more than likely there will be hesitation for the chain to go up to the largest cog - increase the gap by tightening the b-tension screw about quarter turn - keep repeating the 3 above steps until you have a quick, crisp, clean shift going into the largest cog.
Couldn’t find that YouTube video you posted. Could you try posting that again? Or just give title of the video and the maker
His link works fine for me but the title of the video is Sram XX1 Eagle Derailleur - My Adjustment Mistakes. Tutorial