I primarily ride on the road, but am getting more and more into gravel rides and have signed up for some big events in the North East (e.g. Rooted VT, VT Overland, Farmers Daughter & D2R2). I've gone through a few gravel bikes over the past few years but finally settled on the Cutthroat. I'm 6'5" and the 60cm frame is huge...it's like it was built for me. I'm sticking with 1x and need alot of range, since I'm not a lightweight 😅 and most of the rides I'll do have alot of climbing.
It came with Apex and mech brakes...that had to go. I installed GRX 800 shifters/calipers, 1x XT cranks, a GRX 812 derailleur with Goatlink, and a 9-46 eThirteen cassette. I initially wanted to go with a SRAM eTap mullet but parts were too hard to come by. I ended up finding the parts for a SRAM build just a few days ago and bought them on impulse (brand new, can return to vendor if needed).
Here's my dilemma....I know the GRX group should be solid and it works well. The 46 cog is noisy, but that could be a chain line issue (yes I know it's 4T above rated capacity). I could probably get a Garbaruk cage and smooth out the shifting a bit.
I have this annoying voice in the back of my head saying I should go SRAM and sell the GRX parts. It should shift cleanly since the SRAM AXS stuff plays well together, and the idea of having a wireless dropper seems really appealing. While I know some folks don't need a dropper on gravel, I'm so tall that it would really help with confidence when descending!
I have Di2 on my road bike since I hate worrying about the front derailleur, but this is my first experience with 1x. I can afford either set up, but don't want to throw away money. Di2 isn't worth it for me on the Cutthroat because routing the wires is a pain and it ends up being more expensive that SRAM for my current set up. This is a big year for me (turning 40 and have huge goals), so I want the best equipment I can get since I'm training 12-14 hours per week and really want to crush these rides.
Questions (thanks for sticking with me this far)....
1) Will SRAM AXS shift better/worse/the same as a well set up GRX group? 2) Will the hydro brakes be comparable in performance? Love my Shimano brakes on the road
Secret third option: https://archercomponents.com/collections/shifters-and-remotes/products/d1x-trail-with-gravel-dbr (they also make a remote that works with any levers). I've got one of these with an e13 cassette. It was easy to set up, relatively cheap for electronic shifting, shifts flawlessly, and the TRP Hylex RS brakes are amazing. You can also use whatever cassette and derailleur you want with it, which is very cool. Downsides--you'd have to come up with some other way to do a dropper (maybe the SRAM can work with a blip you can hack into the left lever? No idea), and shifting up while in the drops takes a bit of contortion. But I think it's a great system.
AXS by a mile. It's faster than mechanical and super accurate. I have 11 speed di2 and two AXS bikes and AXS isn't giving up anything compared to the 11 speed di2 bike either.
dangle wrote:AXS by a mile. It's faster than mechanical and super accurate. I have 11 speed di2 and two AXS bikes and AXS isn't giving up anything compared to the 11 speed di2 bike either.
Fast and accurate shifting is a huge concern...steep climbs are a challenge because I'm a bigger guy, so a missed shift or the wrong gear can stop me in my tracks. It's happened several times on an older bike I had with 2x mech GRX.
I agree with the others about the AXS choice. Our gravel tandem has Red AXS levers and an X01 Eagle 12s rear derailleur with a 38t front and an e13 9-50 cassette. No need for a road or goat link with the AXS eagle rear derailleurs. FWIW, We’re running the TRP Hyd Road calipers with 203 rotors so can’t comment on full Sram hydros.
We have never missed a shift hauling 350+ pounds up any grade we’ve ridden.
I agree with the others about the AXS choice. Our gravel tandem has Red AXS levers and an X0 Eagle 12s rear derailleur with a 38t front and an e13 9-50 cassette.
First off, that bike looks amazing and must be a ridiculous amount of fun!!!!
How do you like the eThirteen cassette with the AXS set up? I've been thinking about using one since I have some REI dividends that would cover it, vs $400 out if pocket for an X01 cassette. I thought about the cheaper GX, but based on some reviews it seems the X01 would last long enough to justify the extra expense.
Indeed it is incredibly fun to ride. I really like the eThirteen cassette. It’s about 50 grams heavier than the X01, but I prefer odd number gears 9,11,13,15 etc to evens since every other bike I own has odds. Whatever you decide, use the Eagle 12 speed chain.
Yes, get a dropper. I don't have my XPLR dropped yet, since they're so backordered, but at least my wireless blips just came in! I had a (wired) KS integra on my previous "rowdy" gravel bike and that was an absolute revelation.
I love my SRAM AAXS Rival/GX eagle mullet. The shifting is crisp and quick. I don't imagine I'll build another mechanical drivetrain bike after this.
pushstart wrote:Yes, get a dropper. I don't have my XPLR dropped yet, since they're so backordered, but at least my wireless blips just came in! I had a (wired) KS integra on my previous "rowdy" gravel bike and that was an absolute revelation.
I love my SRAM AAXS Rival/GX eagle mullet. The shifting is crisp and quick. I don't imagine I'll build another mechanical drivetrain bike after this.
Those blips look awesome!
Thanks pushstart and everyone else for the advice. I ended up going with Force AXS HRD levers/calipers, GX Eagle derailleur, and X01 10-50 cassette. Now I just need to figure out what size chainring I need.
