Taking the X-Dome technology from its XX component line, SRAM has debuted the XG999 9-speed cassette.
Set to release in mid-March, the XG999 is very light at 175g for the 11-32… a full 100g from their PG-990 cassette and about 50g lighter than a comparable Shimano XTR cassette. Like the XX model, all but the largest and smallest cog are milled from a single piece of billet steel, forming a dome shape. The large cog is a replaceable press-fit aluminum gear, and the smallest keeps it real with steel.
Because it’s mostly steel, SRAM claims it’ll be more durable, too, making it the obvious choice for all us weight weenies that are still on 9-speed bikes (ie. most of us). Well, obvious if you can plunk down $300 and don’t need the extra range that a 34-tooth cog would provide.
Bikeradar quoted SRAM’s U.S. road products manager Mike Zellman as saying “our best technologies consistently find their way across our product platforms.” And that March release date comes just before Sea Otter, where SRAM is known to launch most of their new goodies for the year, so our hunch is we’ll see something like this on the road side before too long. Funny, just the other day we were just wondering how they were going to improve RED now that Force is so similar…
More pics after the break…
