[Closed] GX Eagle, 2 rides in- it's not good news

Can't help with the problem, but:

site:singletrackworld.com/forum GX Eagle

in Google should help you find the thread you want.

Spoke to my LBS and they've had zero problems with GX Eagle customers. Maybe you just have too much power?

GX eagle has been fine, NX rear mech however is another story!

"Spoke to my LBS and they’ve had zero problems with GX Eagle customers. Maybe you just have too much power?"

Not sure how that fills jockey wheels with mud. The chain I'm putting down to a freak incident.

I had EXACTLY the same issue with the jockey wheels too. Absolutely not remotely up to the job. Repacked mine with grease but clearly something to keep an eye on.

SRAM jockey wheel bearings have a long history of doing that.

Anyone pressed them out and fitted better ones?

There was a post a few weeks ago which linked to a process to do it. I think the fitted bearings have a retaining lip both sides which you'll have to be careful of.

Or just buy some jockey wheels from somewhere with an actual design and test program.

<span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">NX rear mech however is another story!</span>

whats happened to it? My Apex (identical iirc) is doing a remarkable job in the conditions it’s seen so far

I've snapped a brand new chain, less than 500m from setting off at Coed y brenin.
That was the same, didn't snap at the link, just a normal pin, and it was a 9 spd.
Might just have been a dodgy one?

Gt85 the drivetrain and wipe then re-lube the chain and wipe.

I wouldn't ever spray gt85 on any drivetrain bits, especially if the jockey wheels use bearings.

I get your point, although drying chains and relubing them without it in my experience results in rusty chains. It's a water dispersant and I use it as such.

I don't just use the gt85, I use that after washing to disperse the water. Then re-lube.

I can't see the gt85 filled the jockey wheels with mud, and it's not repeated use of it. it was one ride and one wash.

Interesting another person above has had the same issue with their jockey wheels.

Anyone found any decent aftermarket 12t/14t narrow wide jockey wheels?

Lots of threads recently about SRAM jockey wheels, it seems that certain conditions/factors (mostly CX conditions i.e. lots of pedalling and lots of sticky mud) just seem to destroy SRAM jockey wheel bearings.

I replaced the bearings in mine (SRAM can g.t.f. if they think I'm paying £43 for new jockey wheels...) but the new bearings seized pretty quickly too. I think it's just cartridge bearings that aren't up to the task.

Have since purchased the NX/Apex jockey wheels, only £11 and run on bushings, but otherwise appear identical.

<span style="color: #444444; font-size: 12px; background-color: #eeeeee;">I don’t just use the gt85, I use that after washing to disperse the water. Then re-lube.</span>

I do this, but then use a degreaser before applying the lube.

How do you make sure there is no degreaser left in the rollers?

Its entirely your fault for buying SRAM. it is unequivocally crap. a huge range is its only redeeming feature and even that isn't the be all and end all. and its usually OEM stuff from CRC which is generally even worse.

SRAM chains used to be great, but recent experiences of mine have seen them only last 4-5 wet rides before they are as baggy as a wet pair of boxer shorts.. I've had mechs fail in a single ride, cassettes shatter and then freeze to the stupid XD freehub etc etc.

Stick to Shimano, its a touch heavier, a touch less range, but it just works, day in day out.

chain: might be bad luck / production quality issue

1x12 SRAM: not sure if this is only bad luck any more. Many bikers don't have problems. But too many bikers with similar problems what you describe.

Too sad.

Possible: huge marketing hype to sell green bananas to the bikers? Not sure yet.

I wouldn’t ever spray gt85 on any drivetrain bits

I KNEW someone would say that! As soon as I read "Gt85 the chain"... I've been doing this since the 90s and only ever snapped 1 chain (a misaligned SS) and have never had to replaced jockey wheels. Only ever had Shimano rear mechs though, so I'd say I wouldn't ever use a SRAM rear mech.

so I’d say I wouldn’t ever use a SRAM rear mech

I'd say that too 🙂

Chain snapping is pure bad luck.

SRAM jockey wheels have always been crap though, some of them can be replaced with Shimano ones if you want to upgrade..... 🙂

yup sram looks like cracking value on complete bikes for a reason.....

they will have to really up their game before it graces my bike again , a majority of the issues we have an group rides are sram related.....

I haven't ridden my GX Eagle enough to comment yet, although it is a little less smooth than X1 1x11.

I will say that the X1 I had previously is the best drivetrain I've ever owned. I'd always hated SRAM up until that too.

Now I can put out a decent wattage, I’m often considered by peers as the sprinter of the group

read this and immediately wondered if this was the new dtf troll account 🙂

Yeh that bit doesn't read how it was intended. I was basically saying I'm not Chris Hoy, so snapping a chain 2 rides in is new to me.

CRB have sent me a new chain out FOC, I always get first rate customer service from those guys. Happy with that.

I'm trying to find some decent aftermarket jockey wheels... Anyone got any suggestions. There's one polish company doing some.

Uberbike have 12t jockeys that seem ok.  Older 10sp SRAM stuff the jockeys were totally Swappable with stuff designed for Shimano, but the 11sp and I think 12sp is using 12t and narrow/wide in the jockeys.  I’ve seen a few threads wondering if that matters, but I’ve never seen anyone post saying they’ve done it and it still works as well.

Chain breaking early is just your bathtub failure curve, it's not indicative of an overall weakness but a production fault in that particular link.

Surprised nobody else's said it but if you hate it that much, I'll buy it off you. Could trade a full expanded shimano 10 speed setup 😉 Totally genuine btw

While I love the idea of SRAM Eagle (or even 11 speed SRAM stuff), I've been put off with stories about XD freehubs shearing if the cassette is slightly overtightened and reports that shifting doesn't stay sweet for very long. Certainly, my experiences with 9 and 10 speed SRAM drivetrains have been less than encouraging, so I've stripped out the SRAM drivetrains on both of my bikes and have replaced with XT. While my 11 speed XT setups don't have quite the same gearing range, I can live with the extra tooth on my 11t cog and the extra gram count.

The almost constant dripfeed of new standards from SRAM are steering me towards alternative products too.

Some great sweeping statements going on below....

Its entirely your fault for buying SRAM. it is unequivocally crap. a huge range is its only redeeming feature and even that isn’t the be all and end all. and its usually OEM stuff from CRC which is generally even worse.
Says one rider?! Another rider - ME- says SRAM is fantastic. That's a mix of X9, X0 starting in 2004, on to XX1 and X01 11sp and now on XX1 eagle. Surel you want a large range in your gears?? As for OE, the only downgrades I've ever seen is meach using alu cages as opposed to carbon. I very much doubt they run OE and non-OE production lines...

SRAM chains used to be great, but recent experiences of mine have seen them only last 4-5 wet rides before they are as baggy as a wet pair of boxer shorts.. I’ve had mechs fail in a single ride, cassettes shatter and then freeze to the stupid XD freehub etc etc.
One SRAM chain snapped on me in 10+years of use. Previous to that 1 Shimano chain snapped....in 10years of use. Cassettes shattering - please share more details of this. As for jockey wheels, never any issues. XD freehub issues - none, but then I've always followed installation instructions.

Stick to Shimano, its a touch heavier, a touch less range, but it just works, day in day out.
Not my experience working on friends Shimano 11sp set-up's and trying to fix gear issues - I would never return to Shimano now based on my personal experience.

SRAM stuff isn’t Shimano. Generally people prefer one or the other.  Which is fine, not everyone likes the very positive SRAM shift or the smoother Shimano equivalent.  Tastes on shifter ergonomics differ.   By the time ‘standards’ get dragged in though ... :rolleyes:

My current 6, unequivocally crap, SRAM drivetrains have been faultless. The eldest 2 being 4 years old, ridden in all conditions.

Maybe I’ve just been lucky. 6 times in a row.

<p style="margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: #eeeeee; line-height: 1.2em; color: #444444;">My current 6, unequivocally crap, SRAM drivetrains have been faultless. The eldest 2 being 4 years old, ridden in all conditions.</p>

<p style="margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: #eeeeee; line-height: 1.2em; color: #444444;">Maybe I’ve just been lucky. 6 times in a row</p>
This ^^

Its the old adage, that when things go wrong or break people shout abut it but you never hear of the thousands that it works perfectly for.

Grrr cannot edit my post to tidy it up.

Basically I agree with Tom Howard

<p style="margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: #eeeeee; line-height: 1.2em; color: #444444;">My current 6, unequivocally crap, SRAM drivetrains have been faultless. The eldest 2 being 4 years old, ridden in all conditions.</p>
<p style="margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: #eeeeee; line-height: 1.2em; color: #444444;">Maybe I’ve just been lucky. 6 times in a row.</p>

Same as my Shimano setups. Totally faultless over decades of use.

My 11 speed GX stuff seems to be lasting really well - the jockey wheels are are bit graunchy after two years and a very wet, shitty summer but they're spin just fine and have never seized.

I seem to get much better life out of my GX cassette and XX1 chain than a riding buddy manages with his M8000 and he rides less than me.

So far I can't really fault it. I ran Shimano 10 speed because the clutches were more effective even though I hated the shifters.

I bought gx eagle and ride in swinley grime paste . Chain snapped in a few months max and when i went to remove the rear mech it fell to bits 🙁 riding my hardtail at the moment with shimano 11 speed xt and see how it goes