Since 2012, SRAM has been beating the 1×11 drum with the introduction of their then top-shelf XX1 1×11 drivetrain Now, this year, they have upped the ante with 1×12 with their XX1 Eagle kit. While I must admit very few of those have been super-fast, pedally trails, I never once felt like I’d run out of gears at higher speeds and still managed to climb some pretty steep pitches even after numerous miles in my legs.After one hard ride I did need to re-tighten the cranks’ pre-load ring after I felt a little bit of play in them, but since doing that at the side of the trail, things have remained totally problem free.While my ride experience has been positive so far, are there any downsides? Just a year after XX1 and X01 Eagle debuted, GX Eagle started popping up on bikes and in stores. Since 2012, SRAM has been beating the 1×11 drum with the introduction of their then top-shelf XX1 1×11 drivetrain Now, this year, they have upped the ante with 1×12 with their XX1 Eagle kit. We’ve had the SRAM GX Eagle … You can call this kit "budget" but when it comes to hitting the trail, you'll be laughing your way to that next KOM. GX Eagle would be 12 quid dearer with discount or 13 without. For comparison, at $495, SRAM Eagle GX is less than half the price of the Eagle X01 group ($1,155) and almost a third of the $1,355 price tag of Eagle XX1. Maybe the whole groupset is more competitive, but you need to be a fanboy of All-Sram to swallow it … Interestingly, it’s also available as an e-MTB specific option, which only allows single shifts with each push of the lever paddle.Thanks! As the proliferation of 1×11 drivetrains has expanded, so has the affordability. GX Eagle is your partner for all rides, all the time, all day. Sure, the shifting isn’t quite as crisp as XO1 Eagle, but it’s less than half the price.
It’s designed to be lightweight, reliable and suitable for all trail types. Yes, and that means it will play nicely with other Eagle components. 27.5+ bike, I was completely satisfied with the 32t chainring and 10-32t cassette. Of course, as the the purveyors of 1x drivetrains, SRAM is leading the charge and the affordable GX kit knocks it out of the park with stellar function at an affordable price.SRAM differs from the competition in that, for the most part, the components remain the same as you go down the line, but carbon and titanium bits are progressively swapped out with alloy or steel.
The tooth profile is very complex but has proved both very durable and totally rock solid in terms of chain retention. It also runs very quietly and I’ve yet to suffer any chainsuck.This is our long-term review of the SRAM GX Eagle drivetrain. SRAM’s new NX Eagle drivetrain isn’t simply a copy and paste job of its pricier counterparts though. That’s because it’s designed to fit onto a regular splined number (just like the 11-speed 11-42t NX cassette), which means that if you do bite the bullet and upgrade your drivetrain, you’ll not need to fork out on a new freehub body on top of all that.Like the GX Eagle shifter, the new NX Eagle shifter isn’t as fancy in terms of construction if you compare it to the likes of the X01 or XX1 equivalents and, just like the GX, the larger shifter paddle pivots on a bushing rather than a bearing.Sign up to receive our newsletter!This includes the straight parallelogram design dubbed X-Horizon, the Type 3 Roller Clutch Bearing, which helps keep your chain from flapping around, and Cage Lock, the neat little button that holds the derailleur cage in the extended position to make rear-wheel removal that bit easier.The ring itself is a stamped steel affair, available in 30, 32 and 34t sizes and features SRAM’s latest ‘shark fin’ teeth profiling, which is claimed to improve how load is distributed to the chain, chain retention, mud and trail debris shedding, as well as reduce chain noise.While the new NX Eagle drivetrain might look almost identical to SRAM’s more expensive Eagle components (if you read SRAM’s marketing blurb, you’ll see it shares many of the same technologies too), there are a number of subtle and not so subtle differences once you delve deeper.Aside from adding a touch more tension to the gear cable after it had stretched from new, I’ve had no issues with the gears skipping or jumping when under power or during rather heavy-handed, last-minute shifts under load. It uses the same 50t alloy ring as its more expensive counterparts, but rather than the expensive machined X-Dome technology found on high-end versions, GX makes do with stamped and riveted sprockets. Shifting is reliable, fast and predictable and the ergonomics just plain work.