Does anyone have any experience of the SRAM 1 x 11 road gears? The reason I ask is I’m using SRAM GX gears on my gravel bike but the derailleur’s a bit clanky-clunky. I use it for mixed road, bridleway & gravel tracks (think CX Sportive only without 400 other people on the same route). I think the problem is the strong clutch spring on the SRAM 1x MTB derailleurs (necessary offroad of course). I’m wondering if I could instead use an Apex or Rival 1x derailleur. The big question is, will they work with an MTB (X01) shifter? The gravel bike has straight bars & I like it that way.

SRAM MTB and road were interchangeable. However I bet there was something that didn’t match. I know some SRAM was set for shimano shifters.
Helpful? Nope

well, the cassettes certainly are… the 10-42 jobbie is the same across the board, so therefore the derailleurs should be…. shouldn’t they?

the above is all theoretical you understand!

Have a force 1×11 road set up. Shifting is a little clunky compared to shimano.
Rear mech has a clutch though so guessing the mech is similar to what you curently have.
Older 2x road set ups I have are considerably smoother shifting. But the cassettes on my road set ups are much smaller range.

. I’m wondering if I could instead use an Apex or Rival 1x derailleur. The big question is, will they work with an MTB (X01) shifter? The gravel bike has straight bars & I like it that way.

No. SRAM 1×11 MTB and 1×11 road have different pull ratios. You could use a 10-speed derailleur, either road or MTB (10 speed are both same ratio) but they’re not rated to 42T rear. So really it’s just the 11-speed MTB derailleurs that are available to you, unless you’re willing to use a shiftmate or similar to convert the pull ratio on a 1×11 road der.

sixpotbelly – thanx, i thought that might be the case. i’m learning to hate sram. their mtb stuff seems really pricey compared with road, but isn’t well made at all. i’ve had 2 (2!) x01 twist shifters fall apart on me. the gx shifter i have now is better, but the gx derailleur is very slow & clunky compared with road gears, so i was hoping the (affordable) rival might fit the bill, x01 & xx1 derailleurs being way beyond my budget. maybe i should just give up cycling & take up something cheaper, like golf or fine wines… 🙁