Launched as a way to kill the front derailleur once and for all, SRAM Eagle not only made the mountain bike lighter, but also simpler. Which is something beginner riders can appreciate more than anyone. Those same riders are the ones who can really use the most range, too, and now there’s a complete system-engineered Eagle drivetrain for them, too. Coming in as low as $375 for a complete group, it takes away all excuses for not upgrading to a fully modern drivetrain. And the surprising part is, it makes it all work on a standard 11-speed freehub body!
NX Eagle Tech & Design
The new NX Eagle cranks are an updated version of the prior NX and use a forged 6000-series aluminum with their new DUB spindle. It’s a direct mount chainring design, so you can upgrade to other sizes or options.
The crankset will ship with a 32-tooth steel chainring attached, with Boost offset. It gets all the same Eagle tooth profile shaping for solid chain engagement and easy release at the bottom.
The NX Eagle rear derailleur is functionally the same as the others, meaning it’ll also work with the other Eagle cassettes, shifters, etc. The key difference is materials, with plastic sections on the knuckles, but the performance features like an oversized lower pulley and Avid rollamajig cable management are there. As is the clutch and Cage Lock.
The cage is stamped steel, other body parts are alloy, and hardware is stainless steel.
The NX Eagle shifter is essentially the same as the others, with similar downgrades in materials. The lower level shifters also lack the thumb lever’s position adjustment feature.
Not shown, the NX Eagle chain shares the bean-shaped quick link and link shaping features, but runs solid pins.
A standard Eagle cassette
The cassette is the real surprise. By swapping out the other Eagle groups’ 10-tooth cog for a standard 11-tooth one, they can make it fit on a normal splined 10/11 speed freehub body. Meaning, you don’t need an XD driver body to use NX Eagle.
The cassette uses stamped steel cogs for the first 11 cogs, with an alloy 50-tooth to save a bit of weight. That upper cluster is held together with stainless steel rivets and uses a concave shaping on the backside to bring the larger cogs closer to the spokes…same as with the other Eagle cassettes, which is what makes room for 12 cogs in the space designed for 11.
Tooth counts are 11-13-15-17-19-22-25-28-32-36-42-50, putting it just shy of the full 500% range of the others, but still has the big climbing gear we all want. In between the other individual cogs are plastic spacers. Interestingly, they say this is the only Eagle cassette that’s rated for e-MTB use, so it’s stronger than the others. And heavier.
SRAM NX Eagle Pricing & Specs
Individual component pricing is:
- Cranks ($105-121 / €116-135 / £104-120)
- Rear Derailleur ($107 / €119 / £106)
- Cassette ($100 / €110 / £99)
- Shifter ($42 / €38 / £34)
- Chain ($26 / €29 / £26)
All prices include VAT. Crankset pricing is for standard spindle lengths as the lower price, and fat bike versions a bit higher. Complete groups will get a $375/€410 / £365 retail price, excluding bottom bracket. Compare that to GX Eagle at $545, XO1 Eagle at $1,157 and XX1 Eagle for $1,356. The group will start shipping in September. Check this post for our first impressions ride review and actual weights!
