I’m in the process of building up a Lynskey Ridgeline LT for trail/xc use. I’m hoping to use SRAM 1×11 but have concerns that I may be under geared for longer faster XC based applications. What size chain ring should I go for?… I’m thinking 34 or 36t? I don’t want to compromise climbing ability too much.

And there are some cracking deals available on SRAM 1×11 groupsets… Is the XX1 worth the extra £150 mark up on the X01?

Depends how strong your legs are and how hilly it is where you live/ride?
I run 32 on one bike and 34 on the other, I wouldn’t want to go to a 36, thats too tall for my location and would then turn climbs into walks.
XX1 is lovely, nice bling stuff, but for trail use on my bike that gets a real hammering i have XO1, should be cheaper to replace and I am building up a spares bank already.

Ive taken my 29er on road group rides with a 32t. You can pedal comfortably to about 26/27mph and spin well beyond 30.

What chainring size depends on the terrain you ride and your legs.

And there are some cracking deals available on SRAM 1×11 groupsets… Is the XX1 worth the extra £150 mark up on the X01?

Unless you are into your bling then nope, and further to that there isnt much between XO1 and X1 either (I’ve all three)

My Norco Range came with XX1 and a 30t up front, which works perfectly for me. I can get up anything, and up to easily 25mph plus pedalling is no problem. Possibly on road it might occasionally be a pain, but I spend as little time as possible doing that anyway.

Run a 30T. Works a treat. All depends on how hill it is where you ride really. Have lots of steep climbs in sunny Scotland.

Went through this process a while ago, working out whether XX1 or even X01 was worth it over X1. Careful analysis revealed that the only components that are worth going above X1 for are the cassette and the cranks, if you’re bothered about saving weight. Functionally, X1 seems to work just as well as its more expensive counterparts, and I’m one of those geeks who can really tell the difference between XT and XTR.

Have got X1 on my current work demo bike, and my new bike is going to have primarily X1, with an XX1 crank I picked up cheap and an X01 cassette likewise.

Thanks all… That’s great. I ride all over the place and do enjoy a good 1 in 4 grind, so 30 or 32t sounds bang on.

Think I’ll go x01 in the all black number as it fits in with the all black finish I’m going for… Pics to come in due course

It’ll look crap once it wears though.

I went from 32 to 30 on XO1 and haven’t regretted it. The bike is fine in the Alps and Swinley!

Do it by the numbers

And there are some cracking deals available on SRAM 1×11 groupsets… Is the XX1 worth the extra £150 mark up on the X01?

Yes and no – yes its nicer, but X01 isnt worth the extra over X1. Only the cassette saves you anything like a decent amount of weight – shifters and mech are essentially the same. So best value would be X1 shifter, mech, X01 cassette (for weight/£)

I started off with a 32T and then realised on a few local climbs that I could literally only just make it to the top. So I changed to a 30T as I knew I personally wouldn’t be able to get up anything steep with the 32T.

Even with 30T I’m still getting personal bests on local climbs as you’re almost forced to cycle faster to make it to the top (compared to my old bike which was 3×9, so the lowest granny gear was geared lower). On the other hand I rarely spin out on 30T, when I do it’s never on anything important (the fun parts) as you’d be going too fast at that speed on technical singletrack.

I dropped down to 30T on my new bike with 650B wheels. It gives me the same low gear as a 22T x36 on my 29er. (NB: I am old and fat and only ride once a week.)

Yes and no – yes its nicer, but X01 isnt worth the extra over X1. Only the cassette saves you anything like a decent amount of weight – shifters and mech are essentially the same. So best value would be X1 shifter, mech, X01 cassette (for weight/£)

The question was X01 or XX1, but yes there isn’t much in the shifters or mechs. I would go for the XX1 cassette, regardless of the shifters or mech you choose. The X01 very quickly looks shite and quite a lot of people here seem to be getting better wear out of the XX1 even though they are identical on paper (or at least the SRAM site!). Hardly anything in it money-wise too.

Yes, I agree… I went with the XX1 cassette as it was cheaper than the X01.

My Spesh Enduro came with 32T as standard and I really struggled with it,so I changed to 30T and its now perfect !

Great for the hilly stuff and you can build up some decent speed on the flats and maintain it.

went from 32t to 34t and that includes a lot of peaks riding, I’m happy to use the 42t on the cassette as a normal cog though rather than a “bail out gear”

had a xx1 cassette and a x01 cassette, they wear the same,

finish on the x01 seems fine after a couple of thousand km, obviously its worn but its not bad, its a cassette on the back of a mtb, a bit of wear to the anodising isn’t something to get hung up on,

to the OP, why are you going for straight XX1 and not mixing XTR in like most people have started doing (myself included)

I run both X1 and X01 and both are good – in use I can’t tell the difference between them. Chainring wise, Until recently I was running 30t on my 29er for Dark Peak riding, but have changed to 32t and found that it’s a good compromise for climbing & flatter trails – surprised how quickly the legs adapted (I do 2 or 3 shortish rides a week, but am over 50 and definately not super fit!). Oh, and I’ll still be keeping my 30t handy for trips to Scotland and the Alps.
HTH

The question was X01 or XX1

I think you missed the point 😉