SRam GX AXs

I see SRAM is releasing GX AXs stuff. That means you can set up a gravel bike with electronic shifting, for slightly less money now. Here’s to hoping they will release a lower level drop bar AXs hydro brake/shift lever to go with that.

They actually lowered the entire Force AXS line recently. Quarq PM went from 600 to 450, the shifters+calipers are now 325 opposed to 500. There's rumors they may release a Rival AXS though. I would guess we would hear about this in the next month if it's going to happen since Sea Otter would normally be now.

JWB475 wrote:I just have no need for a 10 to 50 tooth cassette.  I already find the jumps in my 9 to 39 tooth 11 speed cassette to be a bit annoying.  If SRAM made a narrower range 12 speed cassette I would be way more interested in it.

yes, agreed, I wrote as much in the Campy Ekar thread.

I run 11 speed , 11-46(=10-42) and the range is good enough. More would be nice, but the first thing I would like is adding that 12th cog into the same 10-42 range, to get smaller, more even gaps.

starnge with the booming gravel market, SRAM haven’t released a 12 speed 10-42 cassette. XC racers might use it too.

Slim wrote:

yes, agreed, I wrote as much in the Campy Ekar thread.

 

I run 11 speed , 11-46(=10-42) and the range is good enough. More would be nice, but the first thing I would like is adding that 12th cog into the same 10-42 range, to get smaller, more even gaps.

starnge with the booming gravel market, SRAM haven’t released a 12 speed 10-42 cassette. XC racers might use it too.

Gear ranges have more to do with where you ride than anything else. I have a friend in Texas that didn't know what the small chainring was for on his triathlon bike because he never used it....

 

Anyway, a typical gravel ride in my area involves some flat road riding, road climbing and descending 4-10%, a little bit of mountain bike single track, fire road climbing and descending 5-18%, and just a little bit of flat dirt roads. I personally run a 2x for the range, but if I was going to go 1x, I'd want at least a 460% gear range. Right now my 2x setup is 502% and I use every gear.

GX AXS seems like a great move by SRAM.  I'm running 1x42 Force with Eagle X01 AXS RD and Eagle XX1 10-50 cassette and chain and I love the range.  The gear jumps are a little annoying at first, but having also ridden a fixed gear, it's more of a learning/excepting/training exercise than a problem.  I could not make do with the Force 10-33 and I didn't want to shell out more for a 36 when I knew that would not cut it either.  I'm loving the combo, and with GX getting AXS, it's a LOT cheaper. 

Here in the mountains of North Georgia we will take all the range we can get. Jumps in the gears are a fact of life - you get used to them and get stronger. I also ride fixed gear and the large gaps argument seems like a challenge that goes away with enough time and riding.

I'm running Red AXS on the road and Ultegra Di2 on gravel. Wouldn't go back to mechanical. Electronic is set and forget.


-Tim-
SoutheastCyclingRoutes.com

I agree with Slim and hope they soon release a set of Rival or Apex electronic shifters.  

I also agree with TimH, electronic is set it and forget it.  

I don't understand why they don't release a gravel package with brifters and the mtb rear derailleur.  Hopefully that will happen in the next few years.

JWB475 wrote:I just have no need for a 10 to 50 tooth cassette.  I already find the jumps in my 9 to 39 tooth 11 speed cassette to be a bit annoying.  If SRAM made a narrower range 12 speed cassette I would be way more interested in it.

The jumps in the 10x50 12 I don't think are that much different that the 9x39 11 speed.  They just tacked a 50 bailout after the 42 (so for top 11 it would be 10x42 compared to 9x39).  Also Sram does make a 10x36.

JWB475 wrote:I just have no need for a 10 to 50 tooth cassette.  I already find the jumps in my 9 to 39 tooth 11 speed cassette to be a bit annoying.  If SRAM made a narrower range 12 speed cassette I would be way more interested in it.

i totally agree. They need range in between 36t and 50t.

I want a 1x drivetrain for my next road bike. Current bike has 400% range. I want a 10-40 to come out so bad to match it!

bearlyfinish wrote:They actually lowered the entire Force AXS line recently. Quarq PM went from 600 to 450

Weirdly, Quarq doesn’t offer a PM for their 43/30 subcompact 2x crankset. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ 

mike wrote:
The jumps in the 10x50 12 I don't think are that much different that the 9x39 11 speed.  They just tacked a 50 bailout after the 42 (so for top 11 it would be 10x42 compared to 9x39).  Also Sram does make a 10x36.

The SRAM 12-speed 10-50 has exactly the same cog sizes as their 11-speed 10-42, plus that 50 tooth cog. If you’ve ridden the 10-42 you’ll know what to expect with the 10-50.
As for that 12-speed 10-36 road cassette, it requires their proprietary road chain, RD,  and chainrings. You have to drink the koolaid, no franken-chainsets allowed. 

I think Campy nailed it with their EKAR gearing.  Several cassette options and most have 1 tooth jumps for the first 5-6 gears.   Hopefully other manufacturers take notice.  SRAM having a 1 size fits all approach with their cassettes is a mistake IMO.  

I think the SRAM wide subcompact's BCD is too small to fit a power meter into the crank. I'm sure it can be engineered, but I wonder who the market is and what it would cost.

Is there a 1X AXS option somewhere? All I could ever find is a shift lever on both sides.

You still need a shift lever on both sides.  One shifts up in the rear, the other shifts down.

TimH wrote:Here in the mountains of North Georgia we will take all the range we can get. Jumps in the gears are a fact of life - you get used to them and get stronger. I also ride fixed gear and the large gaps argument seems like a challenge that goes away with enough time and riding.

-Tim-
SoutheastCyclingRoutes.com

Indeed, the total gear range you need depends on your terrain, and to a lesser extent your strength and riding style.

How big a deal the gaps between gears are is also quite personal. I consider myself to be in the middel of the road. I never felt the need for the traditional road cassette with their sub 10% gaps, but in the (gravel)roadbike, gaps of 20% or mode do bother me.

if you want large range and small steps, there is still no way around 2x11 (or 2x12).
However if you can accept larger gaps, or a reduced range, 1x becomes an option.

I simply meant that it is strange that SRAM offers a super low range, tight spaced, cassette (10-36), or super large range (500% or even 520% with the new ones), with corresponding huge gaps.

It would seem that there is a market for something in the middle there, something along the lines of 12 speed 10-42. After all, they sell a ton of those in 11 speed, so many people must find that an acceptable range.

One can always assemble a cassette using individual cogs (from Miche or from disassembling other cassettes).  I like about 12% gaps and larger outside cogs which I can get by assembling frankencassettes.  Those might not shift quite as crisply as factory cassettes but they're more than good enough for me.

There's always the ethirteen TRS+. I have a couple of wheelsets with their 11-speed cassette and like them a lot, though sometimes I wish the gaps in the middle were tighter. When they made the 12-speed, they tightened it up (9-10-12-14-16-18-21-24-28-33-39- 46) rather than adding a bigger cog on the bottom, which is exactly what I was hoping for. When I upgrade to 12-speed, that's what I'm going to get.

@Jumbo :
9-46 is about the same range as 10-50, you just have 10% harder gears all over.

bearlyfinish wrote:I think the SRAM wide subcompact's BCD is too small to fit a power meter into the crank. I'm sure it can be engineered, but I wonder who the market is and what it would cost.

LOL, I did *not* expect shade about subcompacts with PMs on this site! 😳

Seriously, I've been happy with my first RX810-2 with 4iiii Precision dual sided pm, enough so that I'm about to FedEx a second GRX crank to them ("factory install"). My gf made noises about wanting one, but her Checkpoint doesn't have chain stay clearance for crankarm-based PMs, instead I've ordered the new (and very expensive!) Garmin SPD pedal PM to test.

So there is demand out there, even if it doesn't fit SRAM's roadie/racer aesthetic for 2x.