Anyone running SRAM XX1 yet?

if so, how’s it going? Care to give a little review,

Anyone know/can speculate if there’ll be a cheapskate version in the future?

not riden with it yet bt riden with shimano top xtr shadow plus with the clutch switch i just loved it have a look at xtr its a bit cheaper aswel on some sites
=]

had a go on one of the new 2014 spesh enduro’s….

looks effing awful with that big cassette but looked ok on the 29’ers….mech was massive as well..

To ride it felt no different to a normal set up, but it needed a full (up an bottom) chain guide for our trails in Molini, Italy, chain came off even with a top guide..

If the gear ratios on the cassette could be lower and thus a shortcage mech then it would be better……but i will stick with my 36/33 in the marntime as there is nothing my way I cant get up.

2014, already!?

Surprised you had problems with the chain coming off, considering folk have been racing enduros with a top only guide, and the consensus was that was predominantly as a peace of mind exercise.

not riden with it yet bt riden with shimano top xtr shadow plus with the clutch switch i just loved it have a look at xtr its a bit cheaper aswel on some sites

Shame it’s an entirely different set up!

Interesting to read something completely non-fawning though nasher 😆

I’d love to give XX1 a proper whirl where I live but I’m not going to pay £1200 until it has some history and real world reviewage.

Hell… I’m to stingy to go 10 speed when my old 9 speed stuff is still working just fine 😉

Completely lost interested in XX1 after hearing the Sram guy say that you “might” get away without using a chainguide in “some” situations.

Plenty of riders using it at the Olympic XC race with no guide. Obviously nowhere near as hardcore as the stuff people ride here, but I didn’t see a dropped chain.

Likewise Jerome Clementz has won some notable enduros without one (but as above does still use one at times).

I’m certainly interested to try it, my concern is more whether it still works once the ring gets a bit worn – if nasher tried a demo bike perhaps that’s the answer.

although I love the idea, getting tied into £300 cassettes puts me off.
ok for dry races but until they bring out an everyday option I’ll have to wait

I also had a quick pootle on it on a Specialized 29er.

Still don’t like SRAM shifters, and rear cassette didn’t look quite so rediculous on a 29er, although it made the 32T front ring look silly instead.

Guy who was riding it said it didn’t really work without a chainguide, mupltiple lost chains.

Like the idea, would prefer it with something compatable with a normal freehub & made by Shimano however. Don’t think it seems to offer enough of a benefit (if any?) over 1×10 to change everything over 🙂

Aye, when I ran XX I used to cut short muddy rides not because it wasn’t fun, but because I couldn’t afford a new transmission!

Sure a cheaper version will follow. I doubt it, but as they’ve not patented the design you could see a Shimano version.

Not ridden it, but did see it up close at Finale.

Looks very, very nice – BUT how much benefit does it bring to the normal (i.e. not Jerome Clementz) enduro racer?

I raced all season on Truvativ Descendants with a 36t ring and 11-36 cassette. First half of the season was X9 short cage mech & X9 shifter, second half was Zee clutch mech and XT iSpec shifter.

For the money and based on my personal experiences this season, I would recommend having a 34 and 36 tooth chainring available for race days, an 11-36 10 speed cassette and either a Saint or Zee rear mech to have the advantage of the clutch (better than the SRAM clutch IMO) and also the fact that the Shadow mech is more tucked out of the way (I saw more SRAM mechs ripped off than Shimano this season – I can only conclude this is down to them sticking out more).

Spend the money you save on some sessions with a good trainer and you’ll see a lot more overall benefit.

Just my views of course……..

Only seen what has been the mee-ja, so no really world experience. IMO it’s one of those things that I’m not going to sell a kidney for (I’d need to..), nor will I be overly bothered when the inevitable cheap(er) version comes out but if I was in the market for a brand new bike, it’d be a feature that might sway me.

With the bike press carping on and on about unsprung weight over the years, it is interesting to see ever-expanding rear cassettes. How does hub+new derailleur+massive cassette compare in weight to an alfine/rohloff hub? (plus or minus a tensioner)

Vastly lighter. The cassette is still XTR weight.

On a race bike Rohloff=boat anchor.

Zoiks, just had a google of it all: circa 1kg lighter than latest alfine. 😯 I wonder how much weight they can keep off the 260g cassette when they make it more affordable?

Still, if you chose alfine over xx1, after the race season we have had you would have £400 more in your pocket, and you’d be carrying about 300g less in mud and at the end of each race. 😆

The only addition XX1 has over any other clutch mech is that it has a different profile to the teeth on the chainring…….do people really think thats enough to keep you chain on compared to a bog standard chainring?

In most situations a top guide will be fine…but as I found out the chain still came off.

you can of course use the XX1 cranks with a 10spd chain?

Well it seems so, as that’s the USP. It certainly seems to work on ‘virgin’ groupsets, it’s how quickly that wears off I’d be interested in.

Still, if you chose alfine over xx1, after the race season we have had you would have £400 more in your pocket, and you’d be carrying about 300g less in mud and at the end of each race.

Or choose XT, save the money over XX1 and still save weight over an Alfine… Hub gears have a place. That place is not on a race bike.

midlandstrailquestgraham to the thread please 😉

You mean Graham who’s found more success since racing SS? Possibly not the greatest proponent.

I stand by my comment, hub gears on a race bike do not belong!

I can see the appeal, but not for chain retention or even weight savings. For me, the larger range would allow me to get away with only having one front ring. (I hardly ever shift into the granny on my current 2×10 setup, but I do need it on occasion, so wouldn’t get away with 1×10.) Things have got a bit cluttered on the left-hand side of my bars since buying a Reverb a few months ago, so losing the front shifter would be great.

As said above, it wouldn’t be an upgrade I’d ever consider, but if buying a new bike and the technology had trickled down to, say, X7 or X9 level, it would be a feature I’d potentially like to have.

I am amazed at how anyone could get away with no granny ring. Clearly you lot are half my weight and twice as fit…

As for 1×11? Looks nice, complete red herring.

Intrigued by XX1 and look forward to trying it.
Everyone I know who has ridden it raves about it and only has positive things to say.

Real world range seems to be fairly good, although having a few chainrings available might be best to cover different terrain options. It won’t suit everyone and SRAM themselves say that too, but for certain riders/racers it looks ace.

I am amazed at how anyone could get away with no granny ring. Clearly you lot are half my weight and twice as fit…

Not really. It’s just changing the way you ride- get out the saddle and push the pedals instead of spinning. At the moment I’m running 2×9 with 36/24t rings and am making an effort to avoid the granny. So my lowest gear is 36t front and 34t rear. It’s tough but fairly easily doable once you’re used to it.

I think XX1 looks great, but then I’m not really bothered about if it needs a chain device or not, I’d run one anyway.

Hub gears on a race bike do not belong!

[devil’s advocate] I remember when we all said that about rear suspension and disc brakes. Not so very long ago that some of the most expensive Scott, spesh and trek race bikes (i am specifically remembering listing after the 05 scale and genius rc ‘limited’) had v brakes whilst cheaper heavier ones had discs. Relate gears and their varieties to the progress made in brakes over the last fifteen years. Imagine if alfine 11 (and putting it in the wheel not the frame) is just the past’s pig-iron grimeca cable disc to today’s xtr hydro, and xx1 is like the pinnacle of old top end rim brakes, ie the raceline yellow hs33 or single digit ultimate…

I am a late adopter for pretty much everything but I look forward to the possibility of a lighter, less draggy, less cloggy, more robust and more affordable frame mounted gearbox much more than I look forward to losing my front mech and shifter.

[/devil’s advocate] and 😉

I am a late adopter for pretty much everything but I look forward to the possibility of a lighter, less draggy, less cloggy, more robust and more affordable frame mounted gearbox much more than I look forward to losing my front mech and shifter.

The pinion I would say not too far off..

Yum. It will be ace when they can make that whole system competitive with xtr/Xx on weight and drag. I already think centre of gravity and unsprung mass-wise they are doing rather well.

Watched the mini movie (link)[/url] – seemed an interesting concept I did wonder about the price …

but I’m not going to pay £1200 until it has some history and real world reviewage.

£1,200 !!! For me it’s never

getting tied into £300 cassettes puts me off.

me too, totally

That’s just what XTR/XX costs though, it’s not any more expensive!

I find my cassettes last ages now I’m running 1×9 as they just don’t see the same wear as with multiple front rings. Change the chain frequently and it will be a long time before you trash that expensive cassette… the £250 rear mech might not last if your unlucky though 🙄

I’m wonderign what shimano will come up with, they’ve kept a normal diameter freehub for DA9000, but it wouldnt be the first time they’ve brought out a new standard for DA then dropped it 4 years later.

Would 10-9t sprockets be usefull on a road bike? You could drop to a 31-42t on the front and get the same ratio as 39-52 to 11 and save weight and probably imporve front shifting with the smaller jump?

I reckon we’re still 5-10 years before a pinion style box becomes a consideration between XT/X9/pinnion on reasnobly priced (well, £2k-£3k) bikes. Mechs and cassettes are just too efficient even if they do wear out (and the UK must be in a minority riding bikes in such crap conditons?).

I find my cassettes last ages now I’m running 1×9 as they just don’t see the same wear as with multiple front rings. Change the chain frequently and it will be a long time before you trash that expensive cassette… the £250 rear mech might not last if your unlucky though

I trashed 3 SRAM mechs this summer, and for that reason I’m out untill Shimano make one!

You can pick up the XX1 groupset for under £900 from the German mail order websites now. Not too bad at that price, although as others have said I would live in fear of smashing the rear mech!

I wonder how compatible the front rings are.

If you pair the chainset up with 10-speed with a clutch, you might get many of the benefits.

(I would just go with a small chainring and lose a high gear)

njee20 – Member
That’s just what XTR/XX costs though, it’s not any more expensive!

Understood (I don’t buy that either), it’s just when I saw the video is struck me as a simpler and possibly more cost effective solution which is what was appealing.

If Shimano did an 11 speed 11-42 block for a standard freehub that would be great, 38t ring, sorted.

If you pair the chainset up with 10-speed with a clutch, you might get many of the benefits.

Indeed you will, except the wide cassette.

Would 10-9t sprockets be usefull on a road bike? You could drop to a 31-42t on the front and get the same ratio as 39-52 to 11 and save weight and probably imporve front shifting with the smaller jump?

Smaller sprockets are less efficient, so 42/9 is actually less efficient than 53/11 (assuming same ratios, I’ve not worked it out), I suspect that would be quite noticeable on the road.

I think that system is interesting but i don’t struggle racing my 29er on a single 11-36 and 35t front ring.Not for all day rides but when i only have to smash it up a hill 5 times its not an issue.
Having spoken to my friend at sram i should be able to try some out soon and i will report back.
Bruce

njee20 – Member
I stand by my comment, hub gears on a race bike do not belong!

I won the Guernsey Veterans XC using an Alfine 4 years ago!

Aside from any efficiency disadvantages, 9 tooth sprockets would wear horrendously quickly when used off road.

I bet you would have won by more with a standard setup 🙂

I won the Guernsey Veterans XC using an Alfine 4 years ago!

And just think how much more you’d have won by with proper gears 🙂

Or none at all even!