So finally bit the bullet and spoke the my LBS about ordering an XX1 set up. I was a bit hesitant initially as no-one i ride with or know has it yet but after doing a LOT of reading up it seems to be the way to go for me.

So tell me your stories please. Good and more importantly bad. 🙂

I hate sram. But I have xx1. It’s good. Really good. Shifting is light and crisp. And although the initial cost of a cassette is bad, they are really hard wearing! Change your chain regularly and you’ll be fine.

I hate sram. But I have xx1. It’s good. Really good. Shifting is light and crisp

100% this.

I bought my current Epic over a different bike as it had Shimano rather than SRAM, such is my dislike of SRAM kit.
The XX1 is fantastic in every way except for price, the only thing missing that Shimano has is that you can’t use the shift lever in both directions like on my old XTR’s.

Yep, i have xtr shifters at the moment and i love both the double shifting and the way you can use them in both directions. But hey ho. im sure ill soon get over that.

What chainring sizes are you guys using, in thinking 32t, i ride in Scotland mostly with some cheeky long steep hills.

OP, are you a pro racer?
If not will you feel better coming .5 seconds quicker (maybe) for an eye watering amount of money?

OP, are you a pro racer?
If not will you feel better coming .5 seconds quicker (maybe) for an eye watering amount of money?

The annoying voice of reason. Cost is relative.

mac, you’ll love it… i too am someone who had his foot firmly in the Shimano camp, however, XX1 is simply sublime. i’ve got it on my hartail with a 32T chainring, and when my full sus is due for a refresh it’ll be to XO1 (to save a few pennys)… i’m a total SRAM convert as a result of using this.

ok you can only click down once at a time, but it’s so light, precise and generally lovely to change it’s really not an issue, your thumb kinda bounces off the shift, trigger fashion (if you’ve ever fired a gun!), in a way that it simply doesn’t with a Shimano shifter…

iolo, do you have to be a pro to actually use this product line? 😕 if you can afford it, then go for it 8)

Iolo, I understand what you are saying but does it matter if he is pro or not? If the op chooses to buy the kit and it makes the op enjoy their ride better, feel better about their bike surely that is the only concern?

Just saying like

I’m not saying you have to be a pro racer. What I’m saying is if you are that kit is normally provided FOC on your bike.
What I am saying is will changing from high end to shimano to high end SRAM make the financial outlay worth it?
EDIT: and if the OP can afford it that’s fine. Good luck to him.

Mine is on it’s way too!

Out of interest where’s everyone buying it from. Cheapest I’ve seen is starbike?

iolo – Member
I’m not saying you have to be a pro racer. What I’m saying is if you are that kit is normally provided FOC on your bike.
What I am saying is will changing from high end to shimano to high end SRAM make the financial outlay worth it?
EDIT: and if the OP can afford it that’s fine. Good luck to him.

I get exactly where you are coming from and it is a bit hit financially but at the moment i can afford it, and i want it 😀 so im going to give it a bash.

Some things are worth it TBH and after a lot of thought i thing this is one of them. But i may be proven very wrong 🙂

£250 for a cassette.

If you can afford it why not, good luck to you .

I am still holding back on converting my hardtail to 10 speed after recently buying three nine speed HG50 cassettes for £14 each.

why so much love for shimano? is total failure to operate properly in muddy conditions and never ending cable changing and adjusting a positive thing now.
sram might feel a bit agricultural but once its fitted and set it stays that way without constant fettleing and pampering.

Simpler easier shifting nothing to do with speed. Nothing to do with being pro racer.

No front mech no front shifter no front cable and all the faf that entails – should balance out some of the cost and I expect it will come down in price.

Still about shifting for me

I’ve got X01 not flush enough for XX1 and i’m surprised how good it is after avoiding SRAM for years. Also means I clean the bike much more religiously now and maintain the drivetrain much better given it’s not £50 for a cassette and chain….

Only real bugbear is as mentioned above I miss shimano’s 2 way release but i’ve got used to it after a few months. (Oh, and the cost of the bits…) I even like the brakes! They do make a racket though in the wet.

34t front which is good and no worse than the 32/11-36 I used to run 1×10 but I might go down to a 32 to give the knees a break.

Yep, meant to say what draws me to xx1 is the simplicity and the gold star long term reviews.

No front mech, no front shifter, single chainring. Sounds like a dream, just a damn expensive one 🙂

Why do people come on here and tell people they don’t need to spend £1000 on drivetrain because they aren’t pro racers?

So what, if you can’t afford it or justify it, no need to tell everyone else not to buy it.

Annoys me when people get jealous because others have money,

I love my XX1. I run 1 x 9spd on my hardtail as that’s the bike I ride in the local bike wrecking forest. But for the mountains the XX1 on my big bike has been almost faultless and worth the risk as I too was not a SRAM fan.
The gear spread I find perfect for where I have ridden and I love having only one shifter. Greasing the clutch thing was easy when it dried out and started clunking and that has been my issue.

Why do people come on here and tell people they don’t need to spend £1000 on drivetrain because they aren’t pro racers?
So what, if you can’t afford it or justify it, no need to tell everyone else not to buy it.
Annoys me when people get jealous because others have money,

Nobody did? You just made that up all on your own.

messiah, what chainring are u liking for the mountains?

I’ve got the clutch clunk. I do like the simplicity and snappy shifting though,but the crank arms are fragile so I’ve fitted the race face crank protectors.

Why do people come on here and tell people they don’t need to spend £1000 on drivetrain because they aren’t pro racers?

Because being arch and implying that everyone other than you is a bit misguided is the stw way.

I’m going to go XX1 in the new year. Can’t wait after today’s 4000ft of climbing in 15miles… 34:36 was a bit tall!

Shame king still don’t have a hub available

Got xo 1 and loving it after 4 rides, really snappy and quick, great gear range for me, love not having a front mech. I went for 30t as still building my fitness and strength…

I’ve just got my new bike with XO1 and it’s nice to have the range on the back, but I’ve also been running 1×10 XO on my 30lb enduro with a 36T chain ring and a 36-11 cassette. The only difference for me is being able to spin in an easy gear with the XO1. I wouldn’t change my whole drive train just to get a 42 cog on the cassette.
I ride up some big hills here in S.Wales and I can see the XO1 making me a bit lazy rather than grinding my big gear on my enduro.

Question to the 1 x 11 users.
If coming from a double 24/36 – 11/36
What front gearing would I need 30/32 ? to the 42 rear to give a similar ratio to the 24 front 36 rear for climbing

30

Thanks

ok, order is going in at the end of the week, but i need to know if anyone is using a gripshift and if so how they find it. Im just daydreaming here of a completely clutter free bar 🙂

Shame king still don’t have a hub available

This.

Any news/rumour of when?

Im just daydreaming here of a completely clutter free bar

No, you’re just freeing up the space on your bars for the remote droper post lever, the front fork lockout lever, the rear shock lever… 😆

Not that fussed about getting a lower gear (as I is dead fit like) but I can’t fit anything bigger than a 32 on either of my bikes which ends up being a bit spinny at times. The 10t would be handy but not as handy (or cheap) as the 9 and 10t Canfield/Capreo set up. Going to be an expensive new year 😕

mactheknife – Member
ok, order is going in at the end of the week, but i need to know if anyone is using a gripshift and if so how they find it. Im just daydreaming here of a completely clutter free bar

POSTED 47 MINUTES AGO # REPORT-POST

Looking on the MTBR forums it seems that quite a few people have had issues with the Gripshift. A mate of mine is using it and has had no issues at all with it, he thinks it’s fantastic!

I’m currently running a trigger shifter but I’m seriously considering getting a Gripshift unit to try.

I’ve got GripShift and Triggers at the moment 😛

Pros and cons to both as I am sure anyone has used both is aware.

Grip choice and brake lever positioning negatives vs able to change lots of gears in one positive, although I find the GripShift a bit vague and less snappy a shift.

I prefer the triggers on balance.

I hate sram. But I have xx1. It’s good. Really good. Shifting is light and crisp.

I’ll third that 😀

I wanted to go with the grip shifters but so many people have been having issues and I didn’t fancy being without a working drivetrain while waiting for replacements which might then break again.

Fortunately the trigger shifter is really nice. Initially I missed the two way finger release but now don’t notice. With a small matchmaker clamp on to Shimano brakes the bar is quite clutter free too which is always good.

The main bad point (which hasn’t really materialised in to anything too bad so far) is the wider cassette challenges the chainline of my frame, especially when in the biggest cog. The chain looks a bit strained but it seems to work ok. No option to move the ring inboard either as I don’t have the clearance between the ring and chainstay. I guess what frame you have makes quite a big difference here

I think i will go with the trigger for now and keep an eye on how the write ups go for the grip shift. 🙂

The trigger shift on X0 and X01 is one of the highlights. Friend of mine tried my X0 set up after riding XTR for years and was bowled over at the quick shift and snappy response. That said the 2×10 X0 set up was a freakin nightmare with problems galore so the advantages went un appreciated. With the more simple X01 set up the advantages can shine through.

Changing to X01 after going from a 2×10 with a 39t big ring up front I found the 34t the X01 initially came with lacking in granny with too many spare gears at the other end. Changed the front ring to a 32t and I’d say its perfect now.

So, don’t be put off by previous Sram stories the simplified 11 speed gets over all that, don’t bother with the grip shift (already smells of previous Sram problems) cus the triggers are amazing, 32t ring or less up front and, save yourself some money and go X01 instead of XX1…. It’s the same thing but cheaper.

I was thinking about going X01 in the new year on my 2011 Pitch. Reading some of the comments in this thread I’m wondering about the rear hub. My understanding was that the casette would sit on a standard 135mm hub.

Is that not the case?

I bought through BikeDiscount and there was a £50 difference between XX1 and X01 at the time (not sure if it still the case). Being a tart I got XX1 😕

Another tip I got from the helpful folk here at STW is to ditch the “quick” (aka permanent) link that comes with the SRAM chain for a 10spd KMC quick link to aid with getting the chain off regularly and giving the chain/ cassette a good scrub to prolong the life of that expensive chunk of steel.

Something else I forgot, is that I really like the cage lock feature of the mech, although I do feel it’ll take someone’s fingers one day.

The only part of XX1 I really dislike is the chain which doesn’t seem to have improved as much as the SRAM cassettes, mechs and shifters have. The chain had already gotten small patches of rust on the outer plates even before the end of my first 60km ride (admittedly very wet and muddy). Doesn’t effect anything but looks a bit cack. You can’t say I abused it maintenance-wise as it happened before the end of the ride and was properly lubed before! As soon as the SRAM chain is dead I’ll go back to a KMC X-10SL for £20 on ebay I think

Oh, and the new cassette driver is a good bit of kit too. Everything worked nicely as my old freehub was due new bearings anyway.