I need to choose between GX Eagle or XT on my new bike. At 46 I need all the help I can get climbing on the long tarmac fire roads in my local trails.

GX Eagle was a no brainer until I read the thread about problem jockey wheels. Can I achieve a decent climbing set up with the XT?

Eagle every time for me, not had any issues with my (admittedly XX1) set.

XT has been totally reliable for me and it’s all cheaper to maintain / buy even with the pricer 46t cassette.

Would like a 50t though, I found commuting this week that 32/11 is still very low on the flat.

GX Eagle was a no brainer until I read the thread about problem jockey wheels.

Quite simple…

DON’T JETWASH your bike after every ride! And a bit of lube once in a while goes a long way…

Just over 12 months into Eagle X01 ownership here myself, and a lot of winter miles in that too. Aside from a few teething troubles getting the cable tension spot on (it is slightly more picky over setup than 11spd as you might imagine, but nothing to worry about), it has since been nothing but bliss! That range is phenomenal, a real get out of jail free card at the bottom end, and a useful top gear too.

And the price of it… It shames shimano XT quite frankly!

“At 46 I need all the help I can get climbing ”

You’re joking, right?

GX Eagle was a no brainer until I read the thread about problem jockey wheels

Read the threads(s) about XT dropping the chain when back pedalling.

HTH

mber
“At 46 I need all the help I can get climbing ”

You’re joking, right?

Depends what size front ring he has, no?

I assumed 46 was the size of his chainring.

Both of my bikes have a 1×11 XT setup here. I’m extremely happy with it, gearchanges are crisp and replacement cassettes are affordable.

I’m currently running 11/42 at the back, next time round it’ll be 11/46.

ime experience budget sram is not as reliable as budget cheaper shomano

trade off between extra range & robustness (ive not used GX tho)

I’d probably take a punt on eagle in your position.

Read the threads(s) about XT dropping the chain when back pedalling.

HTH

Yeah after a couple of complete back turns but let’s face it you should be pedalling for forward momentum 😯

I would genuinely echo what PJM has mentioned.
I was a bit sceptical bout my new bike coming with 11-42T as they give an option for 11-46T but it’s what was fitted already so cba and am liking giving it a try.

Next time I might be thinkng/looking at a larger range cassette.

No dilemma, Eagle all the way. The 37-46 jump is horrific, and the 11 cog doesn’t really help things.

Son’s bike has M8000 1×11 and it’s more or less flawless. After reading the GX Eagle horror thread, I have no regrets.

46 was a reference to my age.

Looking like Eagle then as I can spec a 170mm crank arm length.

The 37-46 jump is horrific

Eagle all the way, mainly because of this (but not only). You can work around the above by using a Sunrace cassette which has more sensible ratios, but I have an Eagle (not GX) and the 10-50 is just absolutely spot on throughout the whole range. I have a 1×11 XT setup on the other bike it’s a long way off being something I think has really been properly thought through.

XT with a Sunrace 11-46 or 50 casette should give you all the gears that you need . As another alternative you could run 11 speed Sram with a Sunrace 11-46 or 11-50 to give you a bit more range and allow you to keep a shimano freehub if that”s what you have or like . Personally I find Sram 10-42 GX shifters , mech and casette works brilliantly and gives me all the range I need , just , and isn’t too expensive nor does it have the back pedalling chain dropping down the block issues that Shimano has . Same applies to Sram XO , XX groupsets .

nor does it have the back pedalling chain dropping down the block issues that Shimano has

And just on this I’ve done a lot of miles on an XT 11-46 1x system and it’s never, ever done this. I’ve read about it, but I really can’t say I understand it, unless it’s careless chain line setup (my 2x did get shimmed slightly to compensate).

EDIT : (and can someone point me at the Eagle horror story thread?)

Would fitting the Sunrace cassette to a SRAM 11 speed set up require anything more than the Sunrace cassette?

Yes, a new Shimano-compatible freehub. The one used by SRAM (XD) only works with their 11 and 12 speed cassettes.

Thanks

Running 11 speed XT shifters and long cage mech and a sunrace 11-50 cassette. No back peddling issues. Everything has worked flawlessly so far.

To me the benefits were that I could keep the existing freehub and the overall cost was a fair bit cheaper than sram GX. Also consumables like cassette and chain are going to be cheaper for ongoing up keep. The range is almost the same as eagle. Depending on your chainring size you could decided if you ‘lose’ that bit from the top or bottom of the range but either way it should be more than enough for the vast majority of people. With the eagle gx mech issues I’ve seen reported here since, it feels like a dodged bullet as I was heading towards GX eagle until I found out about the sunrace cassette and did the maths.

always XT for me. latest bike came with 11-40 so have added a one-up 45T expander. gear change is dreamy and no back pedal issues here.

I’ve been one of the more vocal sufferers of the XT back-pedal issue and I’ve now solved it with a SunRace cassette. I’m a happy camper again back-pedalling as much as I like or not at all, it just works now. Same chain line (49 ish), same chain ring, same Cinch crank… same make chain, same bike.

So for me XT M8000 shifter, medium mech, RaceFace Crank + OneUp 30T Oval and SunRace 11-46 and you’ve got an 11-40T range in ten gears as normal (as I’ve lived with since April) with a 46T bail out gear that’s way more useful than I would have ever imagined. Everything is nice and cheap to replace.

The 46T is astonishing on muddy / rocky / technical climbs. It’s like having a new motor. You can control the power delivery that much better and prevent spin outs. I’ve been loving the more difficult climbs on mine so far.

The shift to the 46T on SunRace is absolutely seamless. Plus it’s a much more sensible 40 to 46T jump.

If anything at all it’s shifting back down that’s not 100% on it but I suspect my 3 year old cable housing is probably in dire need of replacement.

the 11-40 and 11-42 XT cassettes did drop the chain when back pedalling as they were not 1 x specific, the 11-46 is and doesn’t drop the chain.

XT everytime, purely for the fact you won’t need a new wheel when the cassette wears out. SRAMS XD system is rubbish if not greased properly from the factory and usually ends up in pieces and unable to get it off the freehub. not to mention the cost of the cassettes…

plus, double upshifts… single upshifts across 12 gears is just horrid.

@daver27 seriously you’re saying Shimano selling a Single XT Ring up front and selling 11-40 and 11-42 cassettes that won’t back-pedal because they were designed for 2x? Really? I wouldn’t be surprised though.

The 11-46 I found in Llandegla shop on the Yeti has been the only Shimano 1x in a shop I’ve found that did back-pedal on a 1x setup. You might be right.

What a mess Shimano have made then.

SunRace…. brilliant 🙂

Could the backpedal issue be due to non-OEM chains i.e. KMC which usually come on new bikes?

When I first went 1 X 11 (full XT groupset i.e. rear mech, shifter, cassette, chain) I had no backpedal issues using my old Deore 3 X 9 cranks and a Hope N/W ring. To clarify, this was with an XT cassette and an XT / Ultegra chain.

When I used a KMX chain on this setup I had the backpedalling issues for the first 50 miles or so, then everything bedded down.

Coincidence?

Back when I was 1×10 with XT 11-36 and had a Shimano chain it fell off if you breathed near it. Ever since I’ve used SRAM chains which did stay on with the 10s stuff.

On 11s I’ve been buying SRAM NX chains and had a few X1 chains too. They’ve still fallen off all the M8000 series stuff. Until I put the SunRace on and now it stays on with a brand new NX chain.

I’ve put a new chain ring on now and it still works since it was all fresh drive train. Another OneUp 30T Oval Cinch. Old one looked very worn – N/W bits had no edges – fitted March 2017 done 1500km.

I’m impressed with the SunRace though. The tooth profiles look very much like the Shimano ones but there must be a difference. It’s at the shift ramps that the chain would fall off on Shimano cassettes.

Suffered through 3 Shimano 11s cassettes so I’m not buying another just to “try it” and see if they fixed it and I don’t like the ratios on their 46T one.

Personally, If I was looking at 10sp then I’d seriously consider Shimano, but if I was looking at more than that right now I’d go with a mix and match of X1 or XO1 shifter and mech depending how flush I felt and a GX 1150 cassette. If I was feeling poorer I’d go GX 11 all the way although the shifter feel really does let the group down. I’m staying away from Eagle for another year while I wait to see if they amend the cassette. I’m not interested in Shimano any more until they add a 10T top.

The cassette grease thing is seriously old news. After the first batch of warranties, SRAM have been supplying them pre-greased. If individual owners/shops/bike mfrs ignore assembly instructions that’s not a design fault… As always though, SRAM tends to suffer from needing different procedures to Shimano and this not happening 😉

what’s the difference between a “1x-specific” cassette and a 2x one ?

Could the backpedal issue be due to non-OEM chains i.e. KMC which usually come on new bikes?

My 1x 11-46 has pretty much always had a KMC chain on there and never saw the issue myself.

what’s the difference between a “1x-specific” cassette and a 2x one ?

I wondered this too.

Thanks for starting this thread, I was considering the same! As a result I’m going xt, no way am I paying 130 for a cassette, which would require a new free hub body too.

On the back pedal issue, I have thus on my current 1x setup of sunrace cassette and absolute black oval chain ring. Spent an hour looking into it on the stand and I noticed the chain line is very severe in the 42 t, Just checked AB’s specs and they recommend a 48.5mm (current is 51mm). The reduction would solve the issue in my mind.

Gx eagle groupset is £300 on CRC at the mo, if that changes anything…

Looking like a 1 X 11 X01 / X1 set up with E 13 cassette and race face cranks at the mo but if it falls through I’m going GX Eagle.

If I run a 30t or 28t front ring with the 11 Speed cassette 11-42t how far away from the 12 speed 11-50 with a 32t ring would I be?

I’m guessing close at the high and low ends but not quite as many middle options?

One-upped XT 10-45 for me with 32t ring.
FSA k-force chain, no backpedalling issue..
Wife has 30t:10-47 XT on OEM chain, no backpedalling either. Infact I don’t think I’ve seen any issues.. although I’ve not seen any eagle jocky wheel issues either 😉
Certainly more versatility with the 10t cluster, but adds lots to the cassette cost.

Gx eagle groupset is £300 on CRC at the mo, if that changes anything…

this everyday of the week

Was going GX now sticking with XT.

So what did you decide on in the end?

First ride on my new xt 11-46, with nx chain, it’s gonna be muddy too, will report back with backpedalling horror stories later !?!