I have very mixed feelings about the new Sram XX1 group that will be available soon. All of my comments should be taken with a grain of salt as we haven't actually even seen the group, that being said it is now being shown in distributers catalogs (so we shouldn't expect much to change in the next couple months from what we've seen).
-I think it is awesome that a component manufactuer (and a big one at that), set about making a 1x10 (or in this case 1x11) group, so that instead of having to try and retrofit a 2 or 3x10 set-ups and make them work as 1x.
-What I think is most impressive is that they came up with a way to make it work without a chain guide in the front. Sure it's cool that this will save a few grams, but the bigger benefit is that if you drop a chain you don't have to fight with a chain guide to get the chain back on. Yes, a chain guide is supposed to prevent you from dropping a chain, but it doesn't work 100% of the time, and when the chain does get dropped it is a PAIN to put it back on.
-They were smart to offer it both as a grip shifter option and a trigger shifter, giving people the choice of what they want.
-By going to a 10-42 cassette (and multiple chain ring sizes) just about anyone regardless of type of riding, steepness and number of hills, wheel size, can run a 1x set-up without have to sacrifice top end speed or low end climbing gears (an issue that many endurance riders/racers and those riding in the mountains).
Now for the part where I sound like the old man yelling "get off my lawn:"
-What's the deal with them calling it XX1?. . . XXI in Roman numerals is 21 . . . not 11. Why not call it Xi, I understand they wouldn't want to call it X1, since that would indicate it was below their other groups (X3, X4, X5, etc).
-Was there really a need to go to 11 speeds, couldn't they make a 10-42 cassette with 10 speeds? Yes I know that would mean losing a step along the way, but is that really that big of a loss. Now people are going to have to deal with free-hub compatability since the 11 speed cassette won't fit on a 10 speed rear hub.
-Why are they only releasing one cassette size? I use a 11-34 cassette this year, and didn't once run out of gears on either end. So by going to the 10-42 cassette I wouldn't use the 10, 36, and 42 tooth cogs. So essentially I'd be going from 10 usable gears to 8 (out of 11). This doesn't really seem like an improvement for me. I know for sure I'm not the only one this would apply to, as most of our racers also used 1x10 set ups with either a 11-34 or 11-36. Why not make 10-42, 10-36, and 10-32 cassettes? This would give people the option to get a cassette that matches their needs.
-Or if they don't want to make several 11 speed options, just stick with 10 speed cassettes, even if that means they couldn't put a 10 tooth cog on the outside. Wouldn't a 11-42 or 11-44 be a big enough range, especially since they have a wide range of interchangable chainrings?
-They've also created another standard for bolt pattern on chainrings 76mm, so it'll be hard to use their chainrings (which I think is the biggest advantage development of the new group) with anything other than their XX1 cranks.
Overall I think the XX1 group is a good development, but I wish that they had done some small things differently.
Here are some articles on the Sram XX1 group:
Sram
BikeRadar
Bike Magazine
BikeRumor
Shortly after posting this BikeRadar posted a new article on the development of the XX1 group.
-I think it is awesome that a component manufactuer (and a big one at that), set about making a 1x10 (or in this case 1x11) group, so that instead of having to try and retrofit a 2 or 3x10 set-ups and make them work as 1x.
-What I think is most impressive is that they came up with a way to make it work without a chain guide in the front. Sure it's cool that this will save a few grams, but the bigger benefit is that if you drop a chain you don't have to fight with a chain guide to get the chain back on. Yes, a chain guide is supposed to prevent you from dropping a chain, but it doesn't work 100% of the time, and when the chain does get dropped it is a PAIN to put it back on.
-They were smart to offer it both as a grip shifter option and a trigger shifter, giving people the choice of what they want.
-By going to a 10-42 cassette (and multiple chain ring sizes) just about anyone regardless of type of riding, steepness and number of hills, wheel size, can run a 1x set-up without have to sacrifice top end speed or low end climbing gears (an issue that many endurance riders/racers and those riding in the mountains).
Now for the part where I sound like the old man yelling "get off my lawn:"
-What's the deal with them calling it XX1?. . . XXI in Roman numerals is 21 . . . not 11. Why not call it Xi, I understand they wouldn't want to call it X1, since that would indicate it was below their other groups (X3, X4, X5, etc).
-Was there really a need to go to 11 speeds, couldn't they make a 10-42 cassette with 10 speeds? Yes I know that would mean losing a step along the way, but is that really that big of a loss. Now people are going to have to deal with free-hub compatability since the 11 speed cassette won't fit on a 10 speed rear hub.
-Why are they only releasing one cassette size? I use a 11-34 cassette this year, and didn't once run out of gears on either end. So by going to the 10-42 cassette I wouldn't use the 10, 36, and 42 tooth cogs. So essentially I'd be going from 10 usable gears to 8 (out of 11). This doesn't really seem like an improvement for me. I know for sure I'm not the only one this would apply to, as most of our racers also used 1x10 set ups with either a 11-34 or 11-36. Why not make 10-42, 10-36, and 10-32 cassettes? This would give people the option to get a cassette that matches their needs.
-Or if they don't want to make several 11 speed options, just stick with 10 speed cassettes, even if that means they couldn't put a 10 tooth cog on the outside. Wouldn't a 11-42 or 11-44 be a big enough range, especially since they have a wide range of interchangable chainrings?
-They've also created another standard for bolt pattern on chainrings 76mm, so it'll be hard to use their chainrings (which I think is the biggest advantage development of the new group) with anything other than their XX1 cranks.
Overall I think the XX1 group is a good development, but I wish that they had done some small things differently.
Here are some articles on the Sram XX1 group:
Sram
BikeRadar
Bike Magazine
BikeRumor
Shortly after posting this BikeRadar posted a new article on the development of the XX1 group.
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