SRAM GX Eagle leaves the nest, spreads 1×12 gearing to all mountain bikes

Been pining over the new SRAM Eagle groups but couldn’t justify the cost? Never fear, trickle down tech is here, and the all-new SRAM GX Eagle group comes in at half the price of X01.

Virtually all of the same tech is here, it’s almost entirely a matter of swapping alloy for carbon, tweaking the manufacturing techniques and putting the chainrings through a little less finishing. But the important part -performance- is all here. Shift on down to see the tech…

The GX Eagle crank arms are solid forged 7000-series aluminum, and get different shaping than the GX1 11-speed cranks. The 11-speed models also offer a hollow forged 7075 option, which saves a bit of weight and we’re thinking leaves the door open to OEM mixing and matching down the trail. These, however, seem overbuilt and should appeal to riders that are hard on their equipment but still want the latest shifting tech.

These are available in GXP and BB30 spindles and 165/170/175mm arm lengths. Because they use the standard SRAM direct mount chainring pattern, you could theoretically use any of their cranks with the new chainring:

The GX X-Sync 2 chainrings are cold forged, but lack the additional machining of the higher end groups. The get all the same extensive tooth profile shaping to catch and release the chain quietly and smoothly…and keep it there under hard riding. UPDATE: They will be available in both Boost and Non-Boost chainline options.

The chain is essentially the the same, using Flow Link inner chamfers and smooth shaping for quieter, smoother shifts, but goes with solid pins rather than hollow. The outer plates are nickel plated and inner plates get the black oxide coating. All links receive SRAM’s Hard Chrome coating to extend chain life.

At the back of the bike, there’s a new pinned cassette and GX Eagle derailleur.

The lower 11 cogs are all stamped steel, and the 50-tooth cog is aluminum. All are held together with stainless steel pins.

Mounting is XD Driver only, so you’ll need to get that part if you’re switching from Shimano.

In case there’s any question how much range you have, it’s printed big and bold on the largest cog: 500%. The two largest cogs both get narrow wide tooth profiles, but only on the backside. The outward faces get the normal machined ramps to assist chain movement on and off.

The rear derailleur comes with their Roller Bearing Clutch to keep tension on the chain, working with the tooth profiles to keep the chain on the gears.

Construction is die cast aluminum with stainless steel hardware rather than the carbon fiber and/or forged aluminum parts on the top groups. Pulleys are the same, with the lower one using a wide-narrow tooth profile.

The shifters are housed in an alloy and plastic body, down from the alloy/carbon or full alloy models above it. Functionally, it’s identical and works with their single-clamp Matchmaker system to sit on the brake lever’s perch.

The one tradeoff is there’s no position adjustment for the thumb lever. Other than that and materials, they’ll work just like all the other Eagle shifters. Which brings up an important point: All Eagle components from XX1 down to GX are interchangeable. Mix and match as your budget allows and they’ll play well together.

For the complete tech overview on Eagle chainrings and features, check our launch coverage from XX1/X01 Eagle here.

GX EAGLE PRICING & CLAIMED WEIGHTS

Look for it to hit aftermarket in August 2017, but it’s already available on complete bikes from several brands, with more launching prior to August. The obvious question is, how much cheaper is GX Eagle? For comparison, here’s the breakdown:

In the most expensive configuration, that puts the total for a GX Eagle group at $545, a far cry from the $1,356 for XX1 Eagle and $1,157 for X01 Eagle.

Check out actual weights of GX with comparison to XX1/X01 Eagle groups in our first ride review!

SRAM.com

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