Ekar or Chorus

[Grifter23]

I have a mix of Chorus 48/32 cable 12pd/Ekar rear derailleur/SRAM 10/44 cassette for bikepacking. And yes everything works fine mixing 12/13 spd. I am using 12 spd Chorus chain. The shifting does feel stiffer than with the Chorus rear derailleur. And the front Chorus derailleur says it can’t take a tire bigger than 35mm. I have 43mm but everything is really tight between the tire and cage. I think it depends on the build. The Ekar cups on the bottom bracket have a plastic sealed cup between the bearing caps. It seals out the water. The Chorus does not. I had rust dust on the cranks when I pulled them apart. So I will put in the Ekar bearing caps when I get a chance.

If I was just doing gravel riding I would stick to Ekar. But if you’re bikepacking the Ekar will not have low enough gearing. You would need to change out the front crank to either a 34 or 32. Or you will be pushing more than you need. The new GT is getting closer with the 10-46. But it’s not low enough in my option.