SRAM's XX mountain bike group

[Greg Johnson]

Hey all,

So what does everyone this of SRAM's first complete MTB groupset? Discuss...

Cheers
Greg Johnson

 

[ElChingon]

Hey all,

So what does everyone this of SRAM's first complete MTB groupset? Discuss...

Cheers
Greg Johnson

What? I'm thinking you are way too excited about it to write about it.

 

[Greg Johnson]

What? I'm thinking you are way too excited about it to write about it.

No. I'm not letting the idea of anything mountain biking into my head at the moment. Only just got the all clear for road riding again, MTB is several months away.

Cheers
Greg Johnson

 

[flinker]

I am excited about this gruppo, hopefully they will make something like xx9 version, with bit more realistic pricing.

I had observed that most of the riding I do is either middle ring or big ring, and only on really extreme slopes or when tired I go for the granny.
But there is quite a lot of chain rub on middle ring in some gear combinations, so I avoid using them, forcing me to do front shifting.

I think that this 2x10 system will appeal to all that spend most of time on road bikes and are used to less front shifting, and if there is necessity to climb from saddle, so what the heck.

Picture a fast descent ending with small climb, you can shift from 39/11 (ratio 3.54) all the way to 39/36 (ratio 1.08) and do that fluently, cog after cog as your speed drops. No juggling of gears around, no need to front shift (always a chance of screwing the chain)

I am bit worried about ground clearance of rear derailleur, as the 36 tooth cog is enormous, and the rear derailleur cage has to be rather long to accommodate such tooth capacity.

I just hope that sram will produce more rugged version for less weight conscious crowd.

 

[Pietro]

I am excited about this gruppo, hopefully they will make something like xx9 version, with bit more realistic pricing.

I had observed that most of the riding I do is either middle ring or big ring, and only on really extreme slopes or when tired I go for the granny.
But there is quite a lot of chain rub on middle ring in some gear combinations, so I avoid using them, forcing me to do front shifting.

I think that this 2x10 system will appeal to all that spend most of time on road bikes and are used to less front shifting, and if there is necessity to climb from saddle, so what the heck.

Picture a fast descent ending with small climb, you can shift from 39/11 (ratio 3.54) all the way to 39/36 (ratio 1.08) and do that fluently, cog after cog as your speed drops. No juggling of gears around, no need to front shift (always a chance of screwing the chain)

I am bit worried about ground clearance of rear derailleur, as the 36 tooth cog is enormous, and the rear derailleur cage has to be rather long to accommodate such tooth capacity.

I just hope that sram will produce more rugged version for less weight conscious crowd.

Biggest issue is the non compatibility of the shifters, derailleurs, etc with anything existing in thesram MTB lineup. Kill a RD, better bring your wallet, same for cogset. They mention application to touring BUT a tourist is going to want a triple, lacking in this group.

 

[flinker]

I guess that is why SRAM is introducing this group for xc racers first> sponsored riders and enthusiasts do not care too much about compatibility with old models.

With some technology jumps you just have to forget the compatibility.

I suppose that touring is exactly one application where ultra light expensive parts doesn't make sense at all. You can get great results with middle level gruppos at fraction of cost. While touring you have one thing that racers don't have - time. You can shift when you want, not when you need.

Or maybe is sram trying to say that there will be more XX based groups in future?

 

[darth_geekboy]

the cassette is the thing, but the chain isn't

just like red, i'm very impressed and a lot more curious about what they did for the lowly cassette. with all that machining on the XX cassette, would it still be as strong and durable as an XT?

and if it does prove so, when will we see it on RED. the current version, with its hollow construction, makes it naturally noisy. additional machining on the RED cassette will not only get rid of that noise, it could conceivably make it lighter. unless they make the dome walls thicker to accommodate all that machining and not compromise on the strength.

the chain is still worrisome however. the pros using RED have all gone back to shimano DA chains--an embarassing turn for sram, naturally. i always thought that SRAM/SACHs chains were one of the most durable chains out there. but the 1090c's are proving otherwise. and i would think mtb use would put more stresses on these chains, hence putting the pressure on MTB pros to use DA instead.

unless SRAM improves their 1090 chains, i'm fairly sure you'll see DA chains still permeating the pro circuit, both road and MTB.

 

[ElChingon]

No. I'm not letting the idea of anything mountain biking into my head at the moment. Only just got the all clear for road riding again, MTB is several months away.

Cheers
Greg Johnson

No, I'm ragging on your grammar.

 

[Greg Johnson]

No, I'm ragging on your grammar.

Bah, don't you hate that! Yet, you still got the point, so life goes on...

Cheers
Greg Johnson

 

[Vegan Dave]

Looks pretty sweet to me.

Here's an idea - instead of 2 rings up front, why not keep three, but use a tighter, road-like cassette? It would require more front-ring shifting overall, but i'm pretty happy with my XT set-up up there..although a 2x10 w/36t in the back is tempting....

How would the chain work with 9sp chainrings in the front? (ie, if i didn't want to swap out my XT cranks?)

For riders with RED or other SRAM road, it makes for some great cyclocross set-ups.

 

[The Gear Movement]

Sweet!

2 x 9 rocks
2 x 10... even better!!! hopefully the chain holds up though... skinny chain + mountain biking = ???

But I love 2 rings - a 29 tooth mid/small ring is ideal for most conditions.

thegearmovement.com

 

[SLObrush]

Saw this group today, sans full carbon fork. Pretty slick. I'm pretty excited to see 10 come into the mountain market, hello scary fast race rigs!

 

[Pietro]

Saw this group today, sans full carbon fork. Pretty slick. I'm pretty excited to see 10 come into the mountain market, hello scary fast race rigs!

So 10s, with decreased clearance and in the dirt will make rigs scary fast. I didn't know one cog was so magical. I guess we need to ask Travis Brown about his 2 by 8 rig and how scary fast he was(is).

 

[Suntour]

Hey all,

So what does everyone this of SRAM's first complete MTB groupset? Discuss...

Cheers
Greg Johnson

The frontderailleur is the most complicated part of the bicycle. 3 rings comes from a time that engineers couldn't make a bigger upshifting of 10 teeth in the front. Today they can, so 2 rings in front is logic. Shimano "as monopolist in drivetrain" will have to react. This will make shifting less complicated for everybody.

Greetings