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Indestructible Alloy Ratio Cable Spool Revives Old SRAM Shifters, Opens Up 12-speeds too!

Ratio alloy Cable Spool, DIY upgrade from 10/11sp to new 12-speed or 13-speeds
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Back at the start of December, Ratio unveiled their new drivetrain universal-fit Aero DM 1x chainrings, but also quietly rolled out a tiny alloy cable spool to bring life back to old SRAM dropbar shifters. And it’s a tiny little widget that’s the perfect example of what Ratio Technology does best.

  • Develop low-cost solutions to extend the life of, or even significantly upgrade, the drivetrain components you already have. So…

What’s a Ratio Cable Spool? Why your SRAM shifter needs it?

Ratio alloy Cable Spool, DIY upgrade from 10/11sp to new 12-speed or 13-speeds, up close
(Photos/Ratio)

Alright, so inside every SRAM 10-speed and 11-speed righthand shifter is a little plastic cable spool. That serves as the connection point between the end of your inner shift cable and the toothed ratchet inside the shifter that controls the indexed shifting of your rear derailleur.

Ratio says, “the most common failure mechanism for a SRAM shifter appears to be the cable pulling through [this] cable spool“. But SRAM doesn’t typically offer this as a service part, so a damaged shifter would most often be trashed.

Ratio alloy Cable Spool, replacement SRAM 10sp/11sp repair, How-To DIY upgrade old shifter to new 12-speed or 13-speed! contents
How-To: out with the red, in with the blue!

A couple of years ago, Ratio made a 3D-printed nylon replacement spool with the double benefit of keeping old shifters on the road AND allowing further upgrades with custom Ratio ratchets. And they routinely sold out.

ratio 12 speed ratchet for sram 11s road shifters

See, Ratio’s 3D-printed steel ratchets allow you to upgrade SRAM 11-speed mechanical shifters.

First, that was an upgrade to Eagle 12sp, then 1x or 2x road 12sp, then Campy Ekar-spaced 13sp, and most recently to road 12sp Shimano cassettes for even cheaper upgrading. That’s a lot of new life for old 11sp shifters.

But even first gen SRAM 10-speed that debuted in 2006 (two years older than Bikerumor!) can get those same upgrades, if you replace their original cable spool & ratchet with Ratio’s new versions.

Ratio alloy Cable Spool, DIY upgrade from 10/11sp to new 12-speed or 13-speeds, detail

Now, Ratio machines this new aluminum version from 6082 alloy in the UK’s Lakes District for extra durability.

And of course good looks. At least for those moments you see it during the DIY upgrade installation. And maybe for the glimpse you might see when changing your shift cables.

Ratio Cable Spool – Pricing & Compatibility

Ratio alloy Cable Spool, replacement SRAM 10sp/11sp repair part OR a DIY upgrade turning old shifter to new 12-speed or 13-speed! contents

The new machined and anodized blue Ratio Cable Spool sells for just £24.50 (~$26 / 24€). That just includes the spool, install bolt & a sticker. Ratchets sold separately.

It will fit inside every 10 and 11-speed version of SRAM’s dropbar road, cyclocross & gravel righthand shifters as a replacement for the stock white or red plastic cable spool if damaged. That’s Red, Force, Rival & Apex. It is compatible with the stock SRAM 11sp ratchet, or… You can also install the alloy Ratio Cable Spool in the oldest (white spool) 10-speed shifters to upgrade them to one of Ratio’s newest 12 or 13-speed ratchets.

Note: 11sp SRAM shifters do NOT need this spool in order to upgrade to 12/13sp. That is, if their red plastic spool is not damaged. Read more here if you need extra clarification.

Get the new spool, upgrade ratchets, derailleur cage upgrades, and 1x chainrings that work with ALL 12 & 13-speed drivetrains – all UK-made and direct from Ratio now at:

RatioTechnology.com

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Exodux
1 month ago

I think what Ratio is doing is awesome!. I was planning on going to go this route with my Sram Force 11 on my gravel bike. Unfortunately, my gravel bike got stolen before I could install the parts. I still think in the future I will buy some older 11 speed shifters and convert them, although I do like the AXS components.

Tomás
Tomás
1 month ago

Do you know if these Ratio thingy would work on Sensah shifters? In other words, could I go from 11 to 12 speeds with this brilliant piece of engineering?

Ingram
Ingram
1 month ago
Reply to  Tomás

Don’t you think a new set of Sensah 12s shifters cost less?

will
will
1 month ago

love what ratio does but the prices of their upgrade kits don’t make sense to me, f.e. the 1×12 upgrade kit for road from 11s shifters with the derailleur costs 270USD without shipping – and you’ll have to put in some elbow grease to modify it and the derailleur is the lowest end (Apex “Eagle”)

A regular apex derailleur cost less than 80USD and a GX eagle, arguably better, is 120usd.. brand new, not weirdly modified. that’s a lot of extra money for a few small 3d printed elements to make it work.

at the end of the day these never make financial sense, you might as well just upgrade to axs or sell the bike and buy a new one really – and it’ll likely be more reliable too.

jack curzon
jack curzon
1 month ago

Maybe these would be useful for ebikes where the large number of teeth can spread the torque? For a regular bike I think it looks over-engineered.

Deputy Dawg
Deputy Dawg
1 month ago

Cool. A bit like an internal version of Wolftooth’s wonderful Tanpan.

Ingram
Ingram
1 month ago

I have a suggestion for Ratio: make a replacement shift peddle bracket that is the achilles heel of SRAM shifters. The shifters may live forever if that part is replaceable!

Robert
Robert
1 month ago

I made a cable spool similar to this one in 1996 .

Jason
Jason
1 month ago
Reply to  Robert

That’s cool. What was the application?

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