Eurobike: SRAM’s New X5 Groupset

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Eurobike: SRAM today officially launched its new X5 groupset, which is good news for those on a budget – and it’s also good news if you run one of it’s swankier X9 or X0 groupsets and wince every time you have to take your bike out in the mud, because you’ll be able to get X5 cassettes for a fraction of the cost and use them all winter long without fear of financial ruin…

X5 cassette: Still pretty light and hollow, only not hand-hewn from precious things and less likely to make you cry in the mud.

Anyway, back to the main story: SRAM’s X5 group now comes in 2×10 and includes ‘all the ratios’ that the other, higher up groups have: namely, 26×39, 28×42 and the newly introduced 24×38 and 22×36, all with an 11-36T cassette out back.

Basic, but pretty low profile and workmanlike

Rear mech and cassette from the front. Well, the side...

SRAM X5 front double 2x10 chainset and one of the many front mechs.

There will be the usual bike-mechanic-confusing range of front mechs (something like 47 different versions last time we looked) and some good-feeling, solid shifters.

Expect to see X5 coming out late this autumn, so October/November time. No prices as yet, but we can confidently say ‘a lot less than XX’

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Chipps Chippendale

Singletrackworld's Editor At Large

With 23 years as Editor of Singletrack World Magazine, Chipps is the longest-running mountain bike magazine editor in the world. He started in the bike trade in 1990 and became a full time mountain bike journalist at the start of 1994. Over the last 30 years as a bike writer and photographer, he has seen mountain bike culture flourish, strengthen and diversify and bike technology go from rigid steel frames to fully suspended carbon fibre (and sometimes back to rigid steel as well.)

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Comments (13)

    no_eyed_dearno_eyed_dear August 30, 2011 at 6:07 pm

    Oohh… gawld… it’s like a sad-sad thing that’s had all the life and joy completely sucked out of it. Biking like a chore, made miserable. Liking the look of what looks like an alloy spider on the cassette though! Shame it’s 10spd only..

    sambobsambob August 30, 2011 at 6:35 pm

    Alloy spider cassette looks good for hope hubs and the 2×10 chainset could be very tempting if it’s cheap.

    dirtbiker100dirtbiker100 August 30, 2011 at 6:53 pm

    10 speed, no gear window on the shifter, alloy carrier with 11-36T. i’m actually tempted by this stuff.

    angryratioangryratio August 30, 2011 at 9:40 pm

    Looks like i seriously good groupset.. for people grounded in reality with mud and stuff it’s ideal.

    PJM1974PJM1974 August 30, 2011 at 10:38 pm

    SRAM has some serious catching up to do in this sector of the market, Deore is extremely good these days. Moreover, SRAM is falling behind on cost too.

    svendersvender August 31, 2011 at 10:46 am

    Here are some X5 prices for you:

    Rear mech £49.99
    Chainset £112.99
    10spd Shifter £33.99
    Cassette £64.99

    svendersvender August 31, 2011 at 10:51 am

    whoops that Shifter was the Euro price. It’s actually £29.99
    Bargain.

    oliverd1981oliverd1981 August 31, 2011 at 3:14 pm

    will the shifters and rear mech be X9 or Shimano compatible I wonder…

    svendersvender August 31, 2011 at 4:52 pm

    Not Shimano compatible due to the different amount of cable pull used. X5 will be compatible with the other SRAM 2×10 groupsets though.

    ramalamaramalama August 31, 2011 at 5:36 pm

    ive always preferred shimano products

    PaulyPauly August 31, 2011 at 6:10 pm

    11/36 cassette retails for £49.99.

    jimificationjimification August 31, 2011 at 6:18 pm

    Will be really happy if that X5 11-36 cassette is a decent weight. The SLX one I have weighs a flipping ton but there’s no way I’m paying £150 – £200 for an XX / XTR Cassette that’s going to need replacing every six months.

    1961Bikie1961Bikie September 1, 2011 at 3:05 pm

    Yr right jimification, you won’t be paying £150 to £200 for XX cassettes, £220 plus more like. Surprised to see that XTR 10 can be had for less than £200 by quite a bit in places. IMHO SRAM really need to have a look at their pricing for aftermarket. XO and XX are both more expensive than XTR and even X9 seems to sit between XT and XTR in cost terms.

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