New SRAM GX Eagle Transmission Review: Trickle-Down Tech

[@milesarbour2210]

Thanks for the detailed rundown, Neil. All these new drivetrains, standards, and specs can get confusing!

[@jackhargreaves1911]

For riders without a team and dedicated mechanics (99.999% of us!), reliability, repair-ability, and ease of servicing are the most important factors.

[@JitinMisra]

With that in mind, what do you recommend ?

[@alethearobinson8132]

Always like to see the new toys. However this Luddite will stick to old school mech. Got a road bike with Di2. After 6 months sold that group and put on Ultegra group, no electronics. Nothing against electronics, just my preference.

[@rafaeldegiacomoaraujo8778]

All cool tech. But doesn't stop me thinking that sram is just pushing more stuff out which can flood the market or make more waste. I wish they kept it steady and simple with higher quality components.

[@rogerhart612]

I'm it has its place and buyer . Also pricey. I'll stick to my old school derailleur. No batteries need to be included. Thanks for the review.

[@stevesracingbits]

Just got this kit in the sale for £679 in the uk so for that its worth trying not fitted it yet but as soon as my new freewheel hub arrives it will be going on

[@cyrusf.4039]

It's unfortunate that you get labeled as a luddite if you lob some criticism at some of the new tech that gets foisted on you as the next "must have" item. I'm certainly sensing that more riders are questioning the relevance and cost of this tech and are looking for sensible, reliable, affordable stuff that is relevant and compatible with their values and experiences. I love a lot of the advancements made in the last 10 yrs or so but I'd also be thrilled to see the industry broaden compatibility between model or brands and more efforts made to simplify repairs and reduce obsolescence . Advances in this area seem to have been few and far between.

[@JakeLuke308]

Not at all, any of us Luddite's should be proud to to be labeled as such.

[@chuckyfox9284]

The Sram wireless groupset have become an incredible value. I am building a new gravel bike and probably going to go with sram rival shifters/braks (300€) and a Rival XPLR deraileur (200€) + 2 Batteries and a charger (120€). I was gonna go with GRX 812, but it comes out at pretty much the same price, slighly heavier and non electronic.

[@hartshorn95]

I've got xplr my friend uses gx, kinda wish i had gx .... Just an opinion

[@mxracerguy]

great info. thanks

[@MarioXcore1]

I wanna hear more about that SST

[@BIKEPACKINGcom]

Soon!

[@Es26208]

Mine shifts so incredibly slow compared to this. What could be the problem? It takes literally 5-6 seconds to go from the highest to lowest gear?

[@steve101968]

Can the new gx transmission go on any bike or does it have to be one that has space for the sram universal hanger?

[@BIKEPACKINGcom]

Needs to have the SRAM UDH.

[@slowwerthensnot]

It will be interesting if udh or Shimano’s hanger less stuff will stick around. Personally not into the iPhone’ication of bicycles

[@deanemberley2333]

Yet it’s happening and will only become more advanced

[@diegoalvarado1771]

Did they fix that horrendous plastic preload adjuster on their cranks? Kinda wish they improved the 29mm spindle so you could easily use NTN bearings in your BB. Stuck with enduro bearings for the moment.

[@reidh]

I prefer the visual design of this GX drivetrain without the polished finish. Nice!

[@tonet_and]

Thanks a lot for the detailed and honest video, appreciate it! I just got a bit "shocked" with the spacers on the bottom bracket, as I never heard/read any infos about them being needed. How did you find out that you needed them / how wide they should be? Any SRAM tool to find out? Thanks again ;)

[@sergioferminmtb]

this link will help you www.sram.com/globalassets/document-hierarchy/compatibility-map/mtb/dub-mtb-bottom-bracket-compatibility-chart.pdf

[@CRGT666]

About the spacers on the crankset, doesn’t it mess with the chain line? I have that problem. I used a 2mm spacer on the drive side and a 5mm on the non drive side, but even with that setup, the chain line is all messed up. I only have the crank though, and with a non Eagle chain is noisy, you cant notice when riding but you know is there.

[@ericmcfarlin4272]

Wonder if you can run a dynamo front hub to charge the battery?

[@NkB984]

Not directly. You can use a dynamo to charge a power bank that can handle the current fluctuations and then use that to charge the battery (you would need a spare if you want to do that while riding).

[@JakeLuke308]

Is it wrong to believe that the replaceable derailleur hanger was invented to keep us from either breaking/ bending our frame or tearing our new $1100 derailleur off our bikes? Does this new transmission have a cheap and replaceable mount onto the rear triangle? If not I'm not seeing the benefit outside of faster shifting.

[@robfox1789]

From seeing another video on this, the derailleur's essentially held in place by the thru axle, which is robust and replaceable compared to even the frame mount point for a derailleur normally.

[@JakeLuke308]

@@robfox1789 Valid point

[@cyco3285]

Could I use an xplr cassette with the new t type flat top chain?

[@Andrew.Drennan]

also lets hear more about that sexy sst you got there.

[@gf2172]

After going to internal gears , rohloff and/or pinion, this stuff feels like the Stone Age.

[@HarryKuloh]

Yes but those two other technologies can't handle the ruggedness of modern mountain biking

[@MiciahChamberlain]

When you remove your rear wheel do you have to remove the derailleur as well or does it stay in place like a regular derailleur?

[@BIKEPACKINGcom]

Once its set up, no need to remove or loosen it up. That is unless you swap out the chain ring.

[@MiciahChamberlain]

@@BIKEPACKINGcom does the gx have the feature of the xx where the jockey wheel spins freely if something gets caught in it?

[@TD05SSLegacy]

Your bars look pretty wide. Don’t you have shoulder issues?

[@BIKEPACKINGcom]

800mm bars are pretty standard on bikes these days, I really like the overall length, anything shorter feels pretty narrow to me. So no, I dont have shoulder issues.

[@Sportsman85]

Looking to join your subscription and saw it says on your site, by joining the Bikepacking Collective you’ll have the opportunity to get each issue in the mail (anywhere in the world) and read the complete collection first-all in the full glory of print! If I pay the $68, do I get all the previous journals in print format? I would love to have the entire collection.

[@michaelhayward7572]

Lost me when the word battery was mentioned...

[@BIKEPACKINGcom]

Thanks for watching for nearly 4 minutes!

[@michaelhayward7572]

@@BIKEPACKINGcom lol. Took me that long to realize you were talking about electronic shifting...duh. Bicycles/electronics - # just say no.

[@deanemberley2333]

@@michaelhayward7572yet many people are running electronics and they are perfectly fine. You truly are stupid if you watched 4 mins

[@skeda4680]

You show the weight of the crank with bash guard and note that the weight is higher because of the bash guard but didn't bother to show us without the bashguard.. I know it is an easy google search but if you are trying to be informative, be more informative.

[@mhilde7744]

What bike is that on, Neil?

[@BIKEPACKINGcom]

Reeb SST. Review coming this summer.

[@notpablo8369]

​@@BIKEPACKINGcomthanks for the infoooooo

[@mhilde7744]

​@@BIKEPACKINGcomI thought so! Can't wait for the review!!!

[@alexstromberg7696]

it's worth it because you can shift under power. hate soft padeling

[@Andrew.Drennan]

must not have been selling many of the full price ones. that was a quick trickle down

[@BIKEPACKINGcom]

This was years in the making and was the plan all along from my understanding.

[@fooboomoo]

​@@BIKEPACKINGcomglad to see it trickle down so fast

[@saynotothegreatreset]

Unfortunately, these products are not for poor riders and heavier than older eagle generations and very unsustainable. Who the hell goes on multidays trip with battery set up ?

[@BIKEPACKINGcom]

bikepacking.com/gear/sram-axs-review/

[@halamagrep9727]

I accidentally canceled my subscription and I dont get an answer from you on any platform

[@seanflorian4653]

Neat for racing, not really any application for bikepacking. Can't have a dead battery leaving you with a single speed in the middle of nowhere. Can't have a derailleur getting busted because some idiot decided to take a step backwards and remove the derailleur hanger. Frankly I don't understand why this is being covered on a bikepacking channel, this is a racing product.

[@jonathonmcmillan9410]

This stuff was all over the Tour Divide. Way more than I expected, anyway.

[@deanemberley2333]

Carry a spare battery. Pretty simple I don’t understand why you are complaining. Many things are battery powered.

[@WordupG]

Gotta love all the luddites complaining about improvements to bike technology. If they had it their way, we’d all still be on 3x9 speed with rim brakes, because it’s perfectly adequate. There are still plenty of good mechanical groups available. If you don’t like this tech that improves shifting, installation, and maintenance frequency, just buy something else. No need to stop the advancement or innovation. I’m eager to see what complaints will still hold up once these drivetrains have built in dynamos and charge themselves without batteries.

[@cyrusf.4039]

Do you really think that critical comments about some new tech are intended to stop innovation? It may improve the tech by making it more relevant, or more applicable or more available. Tech advances (or changes at least) because of criticism. And not all change is an improvement.

[@HarryKuloh]

The t type solves some problems, and creates other problems. It is not the panacea. I am grateful i do not have to recharge my groupset's battery every 2 times i ride. In fact, i never have to recharge because my transmission is mechanical. That is a major problem. Not a solution.

[@WordupG]

@@HarryKuloh Yes, but are you one those complaining that it even exists, as an affront to all sensibilities?

[@jmdrstv]

Guilty of hating on the early versions of AXS. Now riding a bike with XO transmission paired with Force brifters and the lack of hangers and limit screws etc is a huge improvement IMHO. Batteries last a long time and I charge them at the beginning of each month for routine and it’s been fine. I used to always carry a spare hanger. Now I carry a spare battery. Also had to a bit of trickery to get my previous GRX brifters to operate the dropper on my Cutty. On this bike just pair with the AXS dropper and off we go. And if I need to yank the post for travel no cables. So after years of resisting I’m all in and so far very happy.

[@deanemberley2333]

@@HarryKulohit’s no issue at all. You are just complaining for the sake of it. I carry a spare battery and yet in 3 years I’ve never needed. Go cry someplace else cup vake

[@johnykryll]

A lot of so called 'reviews' are clearly a SRAM sponsored video. Wondering if your review is sponsored also as you have lots of Pros but no Cons?

[@BIKEPACKINGcom]

We do not engage in sponsored reviews, and our aim is to provide honest and unbiased opinions. could it be possible that the product's performance outweighs its drawbacks? We did address the cons in our video, and if you haven't watched it, I'll spell them out for you here: PROS $500 cheaper than X0 Transmission and offers virtually the same level of performance Easy to install and tune Reliable, crisp, accurate shifting offers a best-in-class performance The lack of a derailleur hanger offers insurance and peace of mind SRAM enables repairs and a longer lifespan with replaceable small parts CONS Weight is a con overall with any Transmission system Expensive compared to mechanical drivetrains It’s a good idea to carry extra batteries, which is a downside because it’s an added expense The slight the delay in shifting with the new cassette mapping could be considered a con to some, although it’s easy to get used to

[@johnykryll]

@@BIKEPACKINGcom Thanks for the response. What you didn't mention and a definite Con is the lack of mix and match. For example, you couldn't mix Shimano with SRAM.

[@mojaavantura]

@@BIKEPACKINGcom If it's not SRAM sponsored review, how come all the big youtube mtb channels have released the GX transmission video all on the same day? If not on the same hour?

[@johnparedes5670]

Ridiculous

[@TiagoMorbusSa]

eff iphones, I couldn't care less, but are you seriously gonna throw shade at it when EVERY brand releases a new bike model for every model every year?

[@arcoulant87]

The old saying Look mum no hands look mum no teeth, well the new one is Look mum no rear mech hanger look mum broken rear triangle. Not sold on this.