SRAM XX1 - Info, Reviews, quirks, avaiability and more

Over the last year, idea of SRAM's new XX1 group has captured the interest of mountain bikers around the world.    Here at Goose Creek  we like to see a solid season on a product line before we go deep and really buy into a new concept.  Our reasoning is that we like to see the bugs worked out on other peoples bikes before we drop the cash into the newest latest and greatest.   As an added perk,  pricing tends to come down after the initial production.    This all assumes that the product takes off,  and I think it is safe to sat that XX1 will be arouind for a while.

With a limited production in 2012 and a continued wait for the 2013 products to hit the market,  the biggest problem with the group right now is availability.   Rear derailleurs and trigger shifters are especially in demand as there is no substitute or compatability between groups.  On the bright side,  hub manufacturers are stepping up to the plate and we are seeing increased availability of drivers that will now allow you to use the specialty XX1 cassette on hubs from DT Swiss, Hope, Stans No Tube, Industry 9 and others.   So lets have a quick look at the group and see what the fuss is about.

Concept:   SRAM's basic idea was to take the simplicity of the 1X (one by) system an eliminate the quirks.   For the past few years we have seen riders go to 1X systems   in order to simplify their bikes and eliminate problems arising from chain suck, and shifting issues.    The primary problem is that with the number of dropped chains riders have started adding bash guards,  chain guides and other trinkets which basically offset the weight savings of eliminating derailleurs, shifters and rings.     The second problem is that by definition you lose gear range on both high and low end.   By using specialty chainrings and cassette,  SRAM solves both issues.

Chainrings:   One of the most crutial aspects of the system is the customized chainring which features variable widths on the rings so that the ring perfectly meshes with the different widths of the wide and narrow links in the chain.   The precision of these rings and slightly longer teeth, allow you to run the system without guards.

Cassette:   With a huge range on this 10-42T cassette you can ride in almost any condition without feeling that you are missing gears.    The biggest obsticle here is that the small 10T cog is too small for standard hubs,  so sram developed a specialty driver that will replace the free hub body on your hub.   

Driver:  Unless you buy a wheel pre-setup for XX1,  you will need to replace your free hub body with a driver.    Drivers are available for a wide range of hubs and more are being added to the list.  As new drivers are added,  the overall cost of the group comes down because you have a wider selection of wheels and a higher chance of simply adapting your current wheels to the system.st

Cost:  Expect a XX1 upgrade to cost you about $1300 at retail pricing.  

Availability:   Right now,  parts are scarce unless your shop has a group in stock,  but we should see SRAM releasing a new batch to the public soon.   Here at Goose Creek we are trying to by up as  much of the XX1 as possible so that we have service parts for our existing customers.  Look for products up on our wesite shortly and if you want to touch and feel,  we should have products in store to look at shortly.