I was riding codes on my old bike and I got used to them but I never enjoyed them so I went back to Shimanos on the current rig and I remembered why I love them so much. It is essential to know what is on your bike and what the cassette youre upgrading to will require. This is why both houses have opted not to go below 10T. And, which, then, would I put on my bike? The grip shift allows you to travel through your entire range of gears in a single motion, so theres that. There is a third manufacturer, Campagnolo, but they make up a tiny percent of the mountain-biking components market in North America. With the introduction of their Eagle line, SRAMs options for riders have almost doubled. For example, the Shimano rear derailleur weighed 144g less than the SRAM, but that is to be expected when you consider that the latter is also carrying the weight of the removable battery, motor, gearbox, Overload Clutch and Roller Bearing Clutch. Tercera Division G9. These drivetrains offered a 500% gear range, eliminating the need for 2x front chainrings. To answer those needs, SRAM rolled out its second generation of the Level Ultimate disc brake (also known as the B1 version) for 2020. The rear derailleur has an adjustable clutch and is cheaper to replace if it all goes wrong. VerticalScope Inc., 111 Peter Street, Suite 600, Toronto, Ontario, M5V 2H1, Canada. The XT's are plenty powerful for an XC bike too though. ** First, a note on mountain biking jargon: All of the components listed below as part of the drivetrain collection are known as the groupset, groupo/gruppo, or group. So, with the help of both leg power and some electrical assistance, we took them to the top of some of the South Wests steepest slopes and pointed our bikes downhill to see how these 12 stoppers coped. Time for a bit of a history lesson. Thanks! Theyre not far off that of the quad-piston G2, though the delivery of power is more linear. SRAM G2 Ultimate disc brakes detail This Ultimate level G2 is the top-end option in the range, so comes with pretty much every bell and whistle available: rainbow-coloured hardwear, lever. Shimano does not use carbon fiber on their crank arms. Mine came with the Power Organic pads. The chainring uses Shimanos Dynamic Chain Engagement for chain retention to deliver smoother pedaling along uneven terrain. The paddle used to shift feels different when you push it forwards compared to when you push it up to complete the shift. At $380 for the 5-piece kit, the SRAM NX Eagle is a value-forward setup that has basically the same technology that every other SRAM group has all the way up to the XX1. In its launch year, the Level ended up crossing the line for Olympic Gold in both the Womens and Mens cross-country races a dream come true for the marketing department at SRAM. Thanks! With no significant difference between the chain and cassette on the AXS and, Previous XTR groups had Hyperglide technology, helping the shifting into easier gears when under power, but this generation XTR sees the introduction of Hyperglide Plus, which. The actual shift of the chain up and down the cassette under power is excellent, thanks in part to the Hyperglide Plus engineering applied to the cassette and chain. I'm also considering the XTR's or the MT8 SL's to lighten up the brake system from my M8000's. SRAMs wireless AXS system is fantastic. Located under, Though the World Cup race circuitis popular as ever to watch and follow, it seems that, After the dust cleared at Sea Otter this year, the folks at GT were kind enough, We caught up with Chris Conroy and Steve Hoogendoorn, the owners of Yeti Cycles, to talk, Founded in Sweden in 1973, the Craft brand is known throughout the world for their technicalbase, ADVERTISINGCONTACT USCOOKIE POLICYPRIVACYLEGAL, MAGAZINE I have the G2 Ultimates on my light trail bike, very powerful with both the power pads and now full organic(205lb kitted up rider weight, 180/160 centerline X rotors). I too really like the Magura MT8 Next brakes. Ill also mention here that theres a good amount of clearance between the rotors and pads to begin with, and in terms of aligning the callipers, Ive found the twin-piston Levels to be easier to setup than their quad-piston siblings. The 10-51t cassette does require Shimanos Micro Spline freehub, so keep that in mind when making the upgrade or switch. What is more interesting to analyze is the distribution, which is different between the two groups. If we look at the curves of the ratio (right table) of the SRAM 10-50T and that of the XTR 10-51T we notice how the startpoint(12th cog)is the same, to show how the difference between 50 and 51 is absolutely negligible. So weve conducted a side-by-side comparison of the cross-over components that feature in both groupsets itd be rude not to. Theres no pad contact adjustment, and you also wont find any leverage-altering linkages like the SwingLink used in the G2/Codes, or the Servowave link used in Shimano brakes. While Shimano may be slower to innovate, they have been around for a long time. Its far from impossible, though, and having such a versatile clamp means getting the lever in the right place is nice and easy. One of SRAMs most notable influences was the reintroduction of the 112 drivetrain to mountain biking. World Cup XC race courses are getting faster and more technical, and the latest generation of XC bikes are reflecting this. This tech helps with the tooth positioning on the cog to make shifting smoother and more efficient. And clean up with alcohol. However, its overshadowed by its more powerful sibling, which has better stopping power, a slightly more positive feel at the bar and doesnt weigh that much more. Meanwhile, Shimanos long-awaited XTR 12-speed mechanical groupset properly arrived, just before the company announced cheaper XT and SLX 12-speed groups. G2 Ultimate. Theyve also lasted very well, with plenty of meat left on the pads. Shimano, formula, or magura. Shimano has three subsets of mountain bike groupsets: Downhill, Daily Drivers, and Mountain Biking. Hes also worked out that shaving your legs saves 8 watts, while testing aerodynamics in a wind tunnel. We also needed to work out just how powerful the brakes are, and how resistant to heat build-up. A forum community dedicated to Mountain Bike owners and enthusiasts. Thedifferencein fact of that single tooth on the 50T isabsolutely minimaland almost irrelevant in use. Well, there are a lot of little pieces of technology working in unison to maximize efficiency, and we still havent even brought up the derailleurs that allow you to move through different gears. Really, everything on this drivetrain is as good as technology will allow it to be. This is because the higher-end components are made of more expensive components and more refined, time-consuming manufacturing. However, when you study the numbers for each component, there are some pretty standout differences that fall in favour for either brand. Only three parts of the drivetrain are sold aftermarket cranks, derailleur, and shifters. . The Daily Driver range is called Tourney and is made for commuting or flat trails, not something youd want to take up a Forest Service Road (FSR) or into the bush. This likely helps a touch with weight, but the combined 610g for front and rear brakes is nothing to write home about. While relatively expensive, some affordable options are sneaking into the market (check out the SRAM GX AXS upgrade package). Theyve also been impressively stable on longer descents, and Ive had zero issues with fade. Having not yet had the opportunity to try the new XTR we can not in fact provide any feedback from the field, but we believe that the considerations made are very useful to understand the major differences between XTR 12 speed and SRAM Eagle. Shimano also had to create a new freehub to fit the larger cassette sizes. So until the 113 comes out, this is as good as it gets. Their new freehub Micro Spline uses a 23-spline interface and will work with a selection of their 11- and 12-speed cassettes. SRAM X01 Eagle AXS: so, which is lighter? Some of the drawbacks of the low-cost SX gruppo are that the cranks are a three-piece set, which is heavier and not as durable or stiff as the NX and above gruppos that are two-piece. $194. Here is a friendly chart so you can quickly compare the weight and cost of each major groupset in the Shimano lineup. Tom Marvin is a technical editor at BikeRadar.com and MBUK magazine. SRAM does offer a lower-priced option in the new Level TLM brake, which utilises exactly the same two-piece calliper as the Ultimate, albeit with a cheaper alloy lever blade. The chainring for the XX1 comes with a large range of teeth from 28-40t, offering the rider lots of options to fit their riding style. The company was founded in 1921 by Shozaburo Shimano to produce freewheels for bicycles. Leaving aside the configurations with a limited range, designed for more competitive use, Shimano and SRAMs broadest solutions today are: The difference is minimal, there is only 1 tooth difference on the largestcog. Already have an account with us? You've been subscribed to our newsletter. I ride Pisgah chunky DH and some park downhill and haven't had fade issues. While it does make sure you are getting precisely what you want, it does not offer an easier way to buy a groupset. The cassette does not use the new and improved ratio but has an 11-50t range. The AXS system for mountain bikes was introduced in 2019. ABOUT Forebet presents mathematical football predictions generated by computer algorithm on the basis of statistics. But now its time to put the numbers aside. Personalization is quick and intuitive. If you are looking to get XTRs 12-speed cassette, you will have to upgrade to Shimanos Micro Spline freehub to accommodate the larger cassette. Then theres plenty more to check out on Flow Mountain Bike, including all ourlatest news storiesandproduct reviews. SRAM G2 Ultimate: $280 & weighs 242g with 850mm hose; Final Thoughts. In short, the choice will be very limited, at least at first. A forum community dedicated to Mountain Bike owners and enthusiasts. Again, generally speaking, durability improves with price, but it seems to plateau around the midrange options. Having a smaller chainring means having a. Theoretically, fitting a 9-tooth cog would further increase the range. The steel cassette options range from 11-28t to 11-36t and use Shimanos Hyperglide technology. The Fora platform includes forum software by XenForo. With the launch of the 11 speed drivetrains, SRAM introduced a new standard of freewheel body dubbed the X-Drive or XD. I currently ride XTRs and like them. JavaScript is disabled. Thankfully SRAM carried over the sleek carbon fibre lever blades from the previous Level Ultimate, which feel lovely with or without gloves. What do you get as you bump up from the NX to the GX? Previous XTR groups had Hyperglide technology, helping the shifting into easier gears when under power, but this generation XTR sees the introduction of Hyperglide Plus, which has further. The derailleur doesnt use Shimanos Shadow Plus clutch but uses similar technology to reduce the chance of damaging the derailleur on the trail. The SRAM X01 is designed and built for trail and enduro racing, so SRAM beefed up the cranks and the rear derailleur to make them more suited for rougher trails and enduro-style riding.