Why I Wouldn't Buy SRAM XPLR | Sram Gravel 1x12 Groupset
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- čas přidán 9. 08. 2021
- In this video I explain why the new SRAM XPLR falls short in its pursuit to derail Campy Ekar from the throne of 1x gravel groupsets. Check it out and let me know what you think.
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For everyone else who doesn’t care about cadence, these gaps don’t matter much. Gravel is a slower pace, the closer climbing gears and midrange are great!
Yes that is true but if that is the case then just go with the SRAM Eagle 10-50 that they have already. The jumps are very similar between both cassettes. For example, the 42-50 is 16% while the 38-44 is 14% so it isn't much of a difference there. They actually have 4 gears that are identical spacing between both cassettes in the middle of the range. Here are the two cassettes side but side
10-44: 10-11-13-15- 17-19-21-24-28-32-38-44
10-50: 10-12-14-16- 18-21-24-28-32-36-42-50
You can see the main difference is the 1 tooth jump between the 10 to 11 on the 10-44 cassette which in my opinion isn't enough change between just running the Eagle cassette. The difference between both is so small and you aren't worried about cadence just go Eagle.
Great input, I appreciate the comment because I think you are right that this cassette is just that, a cassette for casual gravel riding, not racing or speed. Knowing Sram, they will make an AXS SPD GRVL groupset soon :)
@@BlackWaterCyclist I agree just stick with Eagle
Hi end:
XPLR: 10-11-13-15-17-19
How much time are you going to be switching between the top two gears to benefit from a small 1T gap?
Eagle: 10-12-14-16-18
12 thru 18T is actually closer gapping than 11 thru 17T.
XPLR: The 19T does give an additional gear and closer mid cassette range. Sort of.
Both: 21-24-28-32 That’s a third of the cassette with identical gapping.
Low end:
XPLR: 32-38-44 this really(!!) should’ve been a 37T, 32-38 is a significant gap to not be a ‘bail-out’ gear jump.
Eagle: 32-36-42-52
Actually much better gapping and a proper ‘bail-out’ gear.
I’ll stick with Eagle as having 10 good useable gears in the middle, with an ‘overdrive’ and ‘bail-out’ option. XPLR seems to have 10 good gears then a massive jump and a kind of here’s-a-bit-more-just-incase-gear tacked on the end to make it a 12sp.
@@mf0u3021 You my friend are exactly right. I appreciate the details here!
@@BlackWaterCyclist you’re overthinking it! Go ride!
@@KruiserIV I think it makes a sweet MTB cassette. I'm about to put out a video on a 1x14 wireless set up that is much better spacing than the XPLR stuff. Sorry I sound so down in the video, I was just expecting something a little more than a modified SRAM eagle cassette.
The Force XPLR group is one of the best groups I’ve ever used. Period. It fills a hole and suits the needs of many riders. SRAM didn’t make it on accident.
I can’t wait for CZcamsr hyperbole to die out.
I know you are heavily invested in an expensive piece of bike equipment so you need to make yourself feel like it's the bomb dot com and I think AXS stuff is amazing but it's just sram milking the money as long as they can before coming out with a 13 speed version.
I’m with you - for road and gravel in one bike this XPLR Rival groupset is perfect. I have had all combinations of 2X and 1X on road and mtb. For a do it all bike, this cassette is a godsend and the best of both worlds.
Sorry to comment on an old post, but I fully agree with you. I have AXS and changed over to a mullet setup with a 10-50. It is awesome! It is very rare on gravel that I feel between gears even with that.
Don't you think SRAM used the data collected from the axs website to determine the optimal area of the block to make jumps the least...and conversely the most?
And I don't think it's a response to ekar ....just not even in the same conversation as far as market share ...
Yeah it really is just a small modification to the AXS Eagle mullet set up but they keep advertising better small gear jumps for road and wider larger cogs for gravel. Only problem is the jumps at the smaller end of the cassette are larger percentage wise than the eagle Axs cassette (except for the 10 to 11t). But you are right, it is basically a little closer geared MTB cassette, not an Ekar competitor.
My current Ultegra cassette goes 11-13, not really a big deal, but yeah I get what you’re saying. But if you’re going to make a “too little too late” video it should really be about SHIMANO who is still using 11 speed on their top level groupsets!
Mark, great point! I really should bash Shimano as well LOL. My expectations of Sram is to make a great 1x system since they started the whole 1x movement. I would love to see Shimano do a sweet 1x13 set up with their new stuff but I am not holding my breath.
Preach! I kind of get the impression this channel is more anti-SRAM, though I could be wrong.
hi @blackwatercyclist based on your experience, is 10-44t with 40t being faster on road/gravel road? my bicycle is 11-42 with crank 48-32T. until now, I'm still thinking to upgrade 10-44t with 40T. I love speed and climbing. but on the other side, the road is mixing between smooth road, wavy, and plot holes.
My thoughts exactly. I use 1x on the road. (currently shimano 11 speed with ethirteen 9-34 cassette). I'm looking at both of these for my next road bike. A difficult decision since I can't test either group set. So, how do you find the EKAR shifting quality & reliability?
My other consideration is that all my current wheels have XDR hubs. I don't know if I need new wheels for the N3W hub, or if my existing wheels can be converted.
Hi Aaron, I have not been able to test the Ekar groupset yet but I have talked to a fellow CZcamsr about it and he is a die hard 2x guy and he tried to buy the review bike with Ekar on it. So that tells you how good it is. Honestly, I bet the reliability is very good with it being campy and all the reviews say the shift quality is spot on.
Yes you will need the newer N3W freehub from Campy. If you have Dt Swiss , then you can find them easier than others. I have Novatec hubs and they have the license but have not produced them yet. I actually had someone machine a regular campy freehub down so I could run the Ekar Cassette on my Novatec hubs.
I am about to release a 1x14 wireless video tomorrow or the next day and it may influence your decision as well. Not saying you will go 1x14 but it will show you some other options you can do.
If I was building a dedicated gravel bike I would just go with the Eagle cassette for maximum range. But this new XPLR 10-44 could be the answer for a Sram wireless 1x road setup. I'm currently running a Shimano compact 2x 50/34 with 11-34 cassette and before XPLR the nearest I could get with a stock Sram 1x setup was 10-36 with a 38T chainring, which is a compromise at both ends. Now with XPLR I could run 10-44 with a 44T chainring, retaining my current 1:1 climbing gear and a very close top gear. I'm really not that fussy about gaps, but range is very important for my local road riding terrain. The Ekar 13 ratio setup is even better (42T with 9-42 cassette) but I would prefer a wireless setup ideally.
Hi Peter, I am actually going to messing with a 14 speed wireless system soon that I will do a video on. Should be interesting. Trying to get all the parts in for it so hopefully have it ready in the next 2 weeks.
@@BlackWaterCyclist Sounds cool. I look forward to seeing that.
44-10 is a huge gear. Especially on a gravel bike.
I like to be fast on the flats too, how does this compare to the GRX 600?
What about the smoothness of the shifting? I hear that the XPLR derailer is smoother and quicker...
I'm sure Sram will say it is smoother and it very well could be but it doesn't matter how smooth it is if the gear jumps aren't ideal.
The XPLR rear mech puts every other rear mech I’ve ever used to shame. I’ve used Dura Ace (non-Di2) along with Ultegra, Rival… this XPLR group is unmatched.
Shifts like butter, the chain is silent, 42/44 is all the low-end I need in the mountains, and I can keep up with the pack in the small ring. What’s not to like?
I’m swapping my eagle drivetrain to xplr this week love eagle on my mtb but I prefer how my force axs 2x groad bike climbs. I have a hard time finding the best climbing gear with eagle so I’m hoping the xplr is the answer for my 1x gravel bike.
XPLR is cheaper than EKAR. And I really like better coverage at mid-range, I'm not using two lower sporockets on my rival 1 (11-13) and seldom going down as 15 so those ranges from Ekar would be not existent for me. What is a bummer is a high range - expecting 46, with current setup (42 at front and max range 42 at back) I have no motivation to buy new groupset, simple switch to 38 at front will be enough.
Yeah I was going to say that it really depends on what size chainring you are running up front. I appreciate your input here.
hi ok so the story
i had ridden, 2 x orbea, D50 5200 miles a year and M20 e-bikes for over 7200 miles 16 months, 28 miles a day all year round
D50 had tiagra, M20 had ultegra group sets, also bought a Scott e addict 20, Sram rival, did 1500 miles, but it went back to manufactures due to many issues
so currently riding a BMC Roadmachine one x amp two with TQ motor and Sram rival XPLR system in 2 months, 650 miles
all the bikes including this one all tarmac road use, some road not so good, no gravel,
i did not use the small chainring on any of the e bike you don't need too
climb 8 hills a day, some 10 % gradient
so here is my view
The XPLR performs perfectly well against the others, its different bigger mechanical jump between gears, because of the one bye chainring
it goes up hills the same, same on the flat and downhill all the same
simpler as its a one by system,
the BMC is 15kg a bit heaver than the Scott but there is a reason for this
i am doing the same routes in all weather conditions
the XPLR has good range of suitable gears, i can go at 28 miles an hour on the flat as i could on the Scott and orbea
not bad for a 15 kg bike, the motor in Uk cuts out at 15.5 mph
so the rest is up to me
i take your point about missing gears and is interesting, but in real world riding i have no issues at all with this group set
i think my comparison is a good one, as the routes are the same in all weather conditions and all e-bikes with lots of miles of riding
i think a great group set
I think you make a good point in your video; 10-44 cassette doesn’t add something new to the table, looking at the current other options.
If you want only 440% range on a 1x and do high speed time trail like gravel racing; Ekar is the better option. (Or even the “old” Force Wide 10-36 cassette; maybe with smaller front ring)
And if you do MTB like gravel adventures with big range and/or want Wireless shifting; you better go for Mullet-Eagle
I run 42 front with 11-50 Eagle in the back on my gravel bike; basically the 10-44 cassette without the 10t but with a 50t;
It has all the range I need, on fast Tarmac I never go faster than 40-42km/h so I don’t need that heavier gearing; but on long off road climbs 42-50 sometimes doesn’t even feel light enough ;)
And for the riding I do I never have issues with the gaps.
That is exactly my thought. I think the 11-50 you are running is a better option than the XPLR cassette. Thanks for your input.
i run 1x eagle on my gravel bike. i dont know why i would choose this over an eagle cassette unless i wasnt planning to do much proper off road riding.
That is exactly my thought Simon. Just stay with the Eagle.
If your not planning on doing much off-roading you could also consider the good old 10-36 wide cassette..
I could climb the Alps with a 2*11 with 34-28 as a lightest gear; so on the road 42-36 (or 40-36) is all you need; off-road you need the
Anybody know if the cassette works with traditional, non flat top chains?
I actually tried a flat top chain with an Eagle chain and it worked great for me but not sure the long term wear it would have. So yeah it would be best with a flat top chain.
One of the main differences I see is $. It already isn't cheap, and GX Eagle is more expensive and so is the cassette. If you were swapping out a drivetrain or derailleur maybe, but if you're buying bike, it is doubtful to have the mullet option, unless you're'building from the frame up.
Yes that is true as far as the price! Great point there!
I don't get it it: Why isn't possible to combine the new derailleur and a front derailleur?
It has to do with where the upper pulley is located. With a cassette that has a huge amount of range, the jumps between the larger cogs ramp up taller so the upper pulley needs to be pulled down further to make the clearance. The way they do this is make the cage more like a rocker that teeters where it connects to the derailleur so when you shift, the chain will pull the upper pulley lower since it teeters on the derailleur instead of the upper pulley being fixed in one location like 2x rear derailleurs. The chain length is imperative to keep the upper pulley in the right location so if you go shifting the front chainring, it all of a sudden makes the chain much longer and would result in the upper pulley cramming into your cassette. You could get the Garbaruk long cage for the regular AXS rear cassette to clear up to the 44T with no issues and then run a 2x12 with 10-44 rear cassette. That would be massive range.
I think SRAM recently released the mechanical version of SRAM Apex XPLR (vs SRAM Apex AXS XPLR).
This could allow a mechanical 12 speed at a much lower price than campagnolo's 13 speed.
However, 13 speed is probably the sweet spot for versatility.
How long ‘til everyone’s talking 3x in gravel and almost back to road cassette tooth counts?
haha, yeah all the tech is just swinging back around again. Only difference I see is now the production material is much better than the 1990s so a lot of things back then could be much better today.
Marin offers a cheaper gravel/bikepacking bike that's 3x9. I prefer the 2x, but who knows. I like the paint scheme colors, just not wild about the gearing.
loving my 11-46t rotor cassette with my eagle...
The rotor cassettes are awesome! I had an 11-52 I used and really liked it but I sold the Rotor 1x13 hydraulic group so I included the rotor cassette.
@@BlackWaterCyclist work perfectly apart from shifting to the 11th thats not smooth 100% of the time but have ordered a kmc chain to see if that fixes it
I have an 11-42 11 speed in one of my bikes and it’s ok, it’s only ONE jump That actually annoys me… but that’s on an Apex drivetrain. If I’m gonna spend AXS money on a drivetrain, I would prefer not to deal with such things. For gravel I guess I’d be fine but for road I’d prefer Ekar
I could not agree more with you here. For me, I use my gravel bike on road and dirt, I would go with the EKar set up as well. I am actually playing around with a wireless 14 speed set up that I hope to have operational in about a month.
@@BlackWaterCyclist OK, I’m listening… hahaha
Hopefully there will be a video on that in the not so distant future?
@@RicardoRocha-lg1xo Yeah I have almost everything for it. I hope to have the cassette and freehub in the next week and then I hope to get it built up and present it in a video. I would say I should have it in about 2 weeks if things go smoothly.
@@BlackWaterCyclist awesome!!
100% agree. The 11-13 jump is in a really bad spot. At speeds fast enough to be in that gear range, 18% is a big ask
Yes I agree and honestly the Eagle 10-50 they already have isn't much of a difference between this cassette.
I think it's a 16% jump, correct?
@@christianverry4878 13/11 = 1.18, seemingly 18%. 11/13 = .846, or seemingly 15.6%. I just used the first equation. I think the various gearing calculators online do too, but could be wrong.
I had noticed the same thing when I saw the specs. I wouldn't get the 10-33 or 10-36 cassette with a 34t single chain ring. All the hears I need.
It would have been great to see them do something different but we will just have to wait and see.
i'm using 10s 11-34 with 2T gaps from 11 to 23. this is really not a worry for me
For most it is not an issue, especially at slower speeds. It becomes more of an issue for fast group rides but some like yourself can adapt better to the jumps.
14T isn't a speed in itself, speed is dependent on chainring size. a 10-44 cassette with a 48T chainring can go over 40 on downs while still being easy enough on even super steep hills.
Yes I have a 14 speed wireless setup I am now using that has the tight spacing and more range than the XPLR. I am actually a Sram fan but just not happy with their decisions on their latest groups. They are doing what Shimano did in the past that allowed Sram to compete. Tiny "improvements" to cash in as much as possible instead of making something that is better than what is offered. I think the XPLR cassette is good for many out there but it just doesnt do enough in my opinion.
1x is on all my MTBs but I’ll stick with 2x GRX on my gravel bike.
Yeah 2x is honestly fine for gravel because the 1x design has yet to be fully utilized because the major benefit of a 1x system is to be able to have shorter chainstays with larger tire clearance but all gravel bikes are made to accommodate a front derailleur so they have the long chainstays. So the benefit is not necessarily in the groupset but in the frame design.
It an option , no one is forcing anyone to buy it. But it gives choices. I think I would probably use the XPLR groupset.
You are right and I actually applaud Sram for giving us more choices but I also believe they are just going through this progression slowly to eek out as much money as they can. They will next release a 12 speed closer to the Ekar and then they will make one better for climbing and then they will finally release 13 speed to make all the 12 speed stuff obsolete. They are just milking the market honestly. I am about to put together a 14 speed wireless set up that will be future proof.
Seeing as wireless AXS 1x "mullet" builds (MTB rear mech and a road crankset operated with drop bar brifters) are possible - I'm not sure where xplr comes in
I have a custom S and S coupled Ti monstercross 700c frame that I set up 1x with a 9-50t 12speed Ethirteen helix cassette, shifted by an X01 rear mech and force Brifters, turned by a force 1x 42t chainring.
Shifting is flawless, yeah - the jumps between cogs are not optimum for road cadence... but that's not what this beast is about.
(Think an unholy union of late 90's XC race bike and modern gravel bike...that fits in a suitcase, and you'll have an idea of what this thing is for)
It's Faster on pavement than an XC MTB, and Faster on dirt than a Gravel bike. Dosen't matter where i have to go for work - the bike can handle anything i can find where I end up.
Singletrack, pavement, gravel - it does it all, and it fits in a 26"x26"x10" case.
The closest "off the shelf" rigs to "Princess FluffyButt" (what i call this abomination) would be a steepened Chamois Hagar or a Moots Baxter with a 100mm XC suspension fork.
That sounds absolutely amazing! I agree with your comments about XPLR. I feel like Sram is just making another group to sell that doesn't really address anything different and just has a different label as a "gravel" group. Just run Eagle and its essentially the same as XPLR.
@@BlackWaterCyclist
Gotta admit though... the xplr dropper/suspension seatpost seems PERFECT for FluffyButt. Right now it has a redshift suspension post. (Which is really good if you need a cushy seatpost if you havent tried one by the way) But i have an axs xplr seatpost on order.
Being able to drop the seat from "road tall" and rigid to "single track medium" with a bit of cush built in, and down to "75mm slammed" for the gnarliest stuff all on the fly courtesy of AXS just by using the two shift paddles on my brifters (currently that two paddle input is doing nothing) does sound like it makes some sense. And since its a travel rig - the less cables I have to route and split with couplers... the better. FluffyButt is a 27.2 seat post - so it works out.
Spot on! I'm just sad the Zipp 101 XPLR does fit the Ekar.
Is it because they do not have the N3W freehub body for it?
@@BlackWaterCyclist maybe it was on purpose? 😂
@@wss327 LOL I am sure it was. I was wondering if there was a Zipp Campy freehub that would work on it. You can find some machine shops to shorten the freehub and rethread it but it maybe tough to find a shop to do it.
@@BlackWaterCyclist I will stick with Ekar on my next gravel build in September and will just settle for a more standard wheel set.
I just want 2x GRX groupset
GRX is great but the 11-34 cassette makes zero sense. Here is a video where I compare cassettes between the new XPLR with others out there. czcams.com/video/_pQdEFGbYhI/video.html
You oversimplify this issue - for me the SRAM is better as I don’t need the higher gears, but I do need more lower gears (with less gaps between them) for climbing. It all depends on how you ride. I do less pavement and flat riding and more dirt climbing so I want gearing that shades more towards MTB gearing. And Campy is grossly overpriced.
So why not just go with a Sram Eagle 10-50 cassette? I actually do a comparison between both cassettes here: czcams.com/video/_pQdEFGbYhI/video.html
@@BlackWaterCyclist My gravel bike setup is a 2X and I have a 36T small ring and 46T big ring so I get the gear range, especially the lower gears, I need with a 11-42 cassette. As an aside, I set it up using a wolf tooth rear derailleur hanger extender and GRX rear derailleur. Shifting is about 95% precise since I have exceed mfr limits of cog/RD, but was a less expensive setup than replacing the entire drive train, and the GRX RD is definitely optional. I got it for the clutch to control chain slap but the original RD (Shimano 105) worked well enough.
@@mattkavanaugh5623 oh yeah that's a killer gravel gear set up there. I like what you have done with the options that are out there. I'm kinda surprised you need an extender to clear the 42t because I've seen people clear up to a 50t with a Shimano 105 long cage on CZcams. It wasn't ideal obviously but I would think the GRX could clear that 42t with no issues if you screwed the b screw in almost all the way.
@@BlackWaterCyclist I think that my 105 RD was not a long cage, maybe an older model? It's from circa 2015. And I did try the GRX RD without the hanger extender but it wouldn't work, wouldn't clear the top jockey wheel even with the b-screw all of the way in. And since I had the hanger extender on hand from using it with the 105 RD I put it on and it work, although both the RD and FD have to be adjusted just right to work decently; even 1/4 turn of the barrel adjuster can mess up the shifting, especially the FD. I think it's because the system is stretched to its limit to handle the big cassette.
@@BlackWaterCyclist wait…you can put a 10-50 eagle casette on a XPLR axs with 40 or 42 chainring?
Everything is okay with Campy until you start to use it🤣
Then what happens? Goes out of tune
if only campa ekar was good tho... if you love having your chain fall off on rocky terrain, get ekar
An 11-50T cassette gets you almost the same range as 10-44T (454,5% vs 440%). It's a little heavier (cassette and crankset) and maybe the cassette has better spacing for road / gravel.
I'm wondering if in the future they could change the AXS derailleurs firmware to allow 13 gears instead of 12.
Yeah I really agree with you there that an 11-50 is better than the XPLR.
They can easily just update the firmware to make the current set up 13 speed but they will not do that. They will make a whole new system that will replace the current stuff so you will have to buy a whole new groupset. They will milk the market as much as possible. That is what disappoints me about Sram now. I used to be a Sram Fan.
@@BlackWaterCyclist they're all the same
Do buy, it works great. Train a little harder 😇
haha, well I don't really need the extra range but more of my argument is that it really doesn't give you closer gear range so why give up the range for something that isn't really much closer. Now that the XPLR stuff is looking to be cheaper than the MTB option I can see going the XPLR route. I still think they should go ahead and make a 13 speed option that mimics the gear range of EKAR.
A review from the keyboard?
No, just a break down of why Sram missed the mark with this set up from a person who has been riding for 20 years and has tried everything from Sram mechanical, AXS, Di2, Campy, and hacked groups. It is not a review and does not claim to be a review.
the last clip about u using a third party cassette summarizes what this vid is all about 😂
You're right that SRAM couldn't make a proper 1x cassette.
What really annoys me is that SRAM has too many versions for AXS:
- Red, Force, Rival AXS, primarily for road use
- Red, Force, Rival AXS Wide, for gravel and road
- Red, Force, Rival AXS XPLR, for gravel
- Mullet setup with XX1/X01 drivetrain, for gravel
If I'm working at SRAM, I would ditch the Wide groupset and advertise/use less of the mullet in order to streamline the lineup. Right now, I can't really see what SRAM does want to do with their AXS lineup - before the launch of Wide or XPLR, for me it was clear to use the Red/Force AXS for road and mullet for gravel. But now, there are just too many options which confuses the average customer.
You should see it differently, AXS is not a component group, it's the way they communicate, and, as it stands, it all does among different groupsets at different pricepoints.
AXS just means, you can mix and match anything that has AXS printed on it.
@@Rikcey yeah i know
but an average customer would still be confused because there are so many red/force/rival options
- normal version
- wide
- xplr
and everything can be 1x or 2x except for xplr
it‘s a pain to explain to a person who doesn‘t have the overview
@@ntglf467 it really is logical. And more explanatory than long/short cage dura-ace di2.
Normal can't accept a wide range cassette, which Wide can, and XPLR will be better at retaining that 1X chain on the ring because it doesn't have to shift in the front.
Your complaint to me sounds like, "there's so many 4G branded phones". There's a phone for any use case, and they all function on 4G.
What I would love to see is a company make a single groupset that basically covers everything and you change out the front chainring depending on your riding style. The Ekar is pretty close but I dislike the tiny 9t so a 10-50t 14 speed would be sweet!!! I am actually working on a 14 speed set up that I will do a video on soon.
@@BlackWaterCyclist That's kinda hard to do, different use cases demand different gear ranges, so swapping the chainring won't be enough for most cases. And then you'll soon end up with short and long cage derailleurs with and without clutches (no clutch means smoother shifting) and you'll soon find yourself in the same boat as we're in now.
With mixing and matching you can already make specific use case component sets. It just won't bear the same name on all components.
Stay away from this wheel. The tubeless setup really doesn’t work, if you’ve read reviews then you’ll see it’s a known issue. It’s caused by the way the nipples protrude into the rim bed. After trying about 10 different ways to get them setup I finally gave up. Note they didn’t seal the way they were taped from factory either. Zipp will not stand behind their product and I purchased them from Colorado Cyclist who will do nothing to right this. I’ve had to file a claim with PayPal and contact my credit card to go after getting a refund. I’ll never purchase anything from Zipp or Colorado cyclist again.
Reasons not to buy SRAM are their inefficient chain, noisy 10-44 cassette and fastener fetish. The SRAM road cranks use 8 T20 bolts with a 4nm max torque to retain the chainring. What a PITA design choice when everyone else is using 4 or 5 bolts or a lockring. The flat top chain is an unnecessary design choice made to force the consumer into buying complete SRAM drivetrains. The flat top chain is slow. Shimano and Campy make 12 and 13 speed chains that work fine without larger rollers or a flat top. The 10-44 cassette (and Force cassettes in general) have some kind of defect that makes them vibrate. To mask the noise (but not solve the vibrations) SRAM suggests the consumer use wet lube and the SRAM elastomer rings. Wet lube is slower than wax lube and dirty AF in the desert southwest.
dude its gravel. who cares about a 2-3 tooth jump...relaxxxxxx
I'm actually a pretty relaxed dude. It is just disappointing that this is essentially no benefit to the current offering of a Eagle 10-50. I'm actually a SRAM fan but just disappointed with the direction they are going. I appreciate the comment.
I''ve been using 44t chainring with 10-42t SRAM 11s cassette for around 5 years now and it's about time to upgrade my drivetrain.... I don't know what to choose, EKAR or AXS XPLR (all force but red shifters)?
Weight: CAMPAGNOLO -200g
Price: CAMPAGNOLO -$550(AUD) + whatever I get selling my current crankset (Wheels manufacturing BB, force d1 cranks and wolftooth chainring)
Gears: CAMPAGNOLO +1
Gearing: CAMPAGNOLO better range
Reliability: CAMPAGNOLO
Brakes: CAMPAGNOLO Magura design, mineral oil, bigger pistons 22mm vs 21mm
Maintenance costs: SRAM -$68(AUD) for each cassette + 2 chains and no cable needed!
Electronic: SRAM
Wireless: SRAM
Easier to find: SRAM
Easier to service: SRAM (no cable, no new tools needed)
Aftermarket/compatibility: SRAM
So in the end everything comes to the shifting quality... I've never used electronic... is it really worth it?
P.S. I do 95% road and the rest unsealed/gravel roads. I don't do any trails with that bicycle, for that I'd just use the MTB.
Yeah that really is a tough decision. Since you are on the road most of the time, I would lean towards the Campy Ekar. I am actually about to release a video on a 1x14 Wireless groupset (should be tomorrow or the next day) where I use the Ekar Cassette. So that might be an option as well. I have yet to try the Ekar group but I had another CZcamsr who reviewed it who is a die hard 2x guy, said he wanted to keep the review bike that had the Ekar stuff on it so that kinda tells you how good it is. Also the Magura brakes are amazing so you really get the best out of the Ekar in my opinion. If you do not want to run the Proprietary Ekar chainring and crankset, you can actually use a Sram Flat top chain with the Ekar Cassette and run a regular 11/12 speed front chainring. The FlatTop chain is the same width as the Ekar chain but it has more room in the middle of the chain.