I’m trying to decide what drive chain to put on a new hardtail. I was going to play it safe with GX Eagle but have been wondering if 12 speed XT (or something else) would be better.
Thanks for any views.

Do you mean chain or drive train?

There’s an article on bikepacking.com about the best bang for buck (or pound) Eagle setup, should be easy to find, but from memory I think it was all GX but with the X01 derailleur. Best check.

I suppose it depends whether you like the Shimano or Sram way of doing things, from your “play it safe” comment it sounds like you lean towards Sram.

I would personnnaly stick with XT11 with a 11~46 Sunrace cassette. Very cheap too if you play your cards right with Wiggle or CRC discounts.

Sorry yes, drive train I’m not sure how I managed to get that wrong twice in one post.

Thanks, I’ll look at backpacking.com.

I don’t favour Sram particularly, up until Eagle appeared I always had Shimano. By play it safe I meant that, for me at least, Eagle is fairly tried and tested.

Thanks for the tip Nick but I’m keen to go 1×12 for the extra range.

What extra range? The sunrace cassette is also available in a 50t which would work with an 11 speed SLX mech.

What extra range?

10t smallest cog

What i came up with and seems to work ok,

MT900 chainset, XT shifter, SLX rear mech and chain, and Sunrace 11-50 cassette.
The cassette is an interim solution until Hope release a microdrive freehub.

It hasn’t had a lot of user yet, but so far so good. Personally i would never touch Sram, but others will disagree.

The shimano 12 speed is a fair bit nicer than 11 speed IMHO. As above but with the shimano HG+ specific 11-51 cassette if you can find it. The MT900 chainset is XT cranks with an XTR ring, if you can’t find an MT900 any more as they’re discontinued, Im sure you will though.

12s SLX mech and shifter are really nice. I have them on an eagle cassette and chain because I already had an xd freehub.

They’re sufficiently better than the 11s stuff on my other bike (in general feel even before you account for range) that I’d consider changing my plan to run the 11s stuff I have into the ground before swapping up.

The Shimano 12 speed I have is really nice, nicer than Sram’s Eagle stuff. I’ve got it running with a Sram GX cassette though and the spacing is just different enough that it doesn’t work properly at the extremes of the cassette- I’d go full Shimano if you can.

I recently went XT shifter and mech, Sram 1275 cassette and KMC x12 chain. Didn’t want to go Sram but Shimano have been dragging their heels on Hope’s microspline, so went Sram cassette.

After riding the XT & XTR 12s and seeing a little of the SLX, I’d suggest that route if at all possible- the shifter ergonomics are (for me) a big step up and the derailleurs are lower profile and seem better made at any given level. You can combo with an Eagle cassette if needed, but SLX or XT cassette is generally going to be cheaper. The design of XD just makes the cassettes expensive: GX runs about double what SLX does, leaving more than enough for most Micro Spline drivers (if available for your wheels).

XX1/X01 cranks are significantly lighter than XTR/XT, but I’m back to metal after my 10st of rage killed a Canadian carbon set.

That’s very helpful. Thanks all.

For the chain, x01 12 speed is only marginally more expensive than GX and has chromed side plates so you don’t get cosmetic rust. Works fine.

GX Eagle on my last bike, full 12-speed XT on this one. The XT is beautifully made, shifts brilliantly and feels a bit more robust than GX Eagle. It’s a little heavier. If the choice was between X01 Eagle and XT, it’d be a much more difficult choice (except XT makes X01 look very expensive). But for me, XT beasts GX every time. (Assume you have a rear hub made by a company that has a Microspline cassette body available?)