SRAM Eagle 1 x 12 Drivetrain

The SRAM Eagle 1x12 drivetrain has been the talk of the industry since it was released. If 1x11 hasn't got you thinking about getting rid of that outdated 2x front derailleur, then the 1x12, which has a 500% gear range that blows any 2x10 gear range out of the water, should definitely get thinking about switching to the new SRAM Eagle 1x12 drivetrain! The downside to having such a wide gear range with this 1x system is the massive 50t ring in the rear which will take some getting used to since it takes up as much of the rear wheel as a 200mm rotor.

The SRAM Eagle drivetrain has been mistaken as just for those who have a hard time on the climbs and are out of shape, but that’s not exactly it. The Eagle 1x12 was designed to be a wider range of gears for ALL riders and SRAM really pushes riders to select the chainring that best outfits their riding. An example of this would be if you were riding a 32t chainring on your 1x11 10-42, you could run a 36t chainring with the 1x12 10-50 cassette and you will have all the same climbing abilities but the higher gears will be much taller making it so you are less likely to max out on a high-speed downhill descent. There are two different options of the Eagle drivetrains, the XX1 and the X01, XX1 being geared towards the cross-country crowd, whereas the X01 is directed to the more aggressive rider who wants to tackle the technical terrain. 

The SRAM Eagle system was designed to be a much quieter and stronger design when it comes to chain wear. The chain is slightly narrower than the 11-speed chain, and the pins are flush on each side of each link which is what allowed for the extra cog to be added while using the same size driver body. With the wider range cassette SRAM had to make a 12-speed specific derailleur that comes with a 14t lower pulley which it slightly larger than the 11-speed derailleur. The Eagle chainring also has quite the different look than the earlier narrow-wide model. The teeth are much deeper and have a hook to them which is designed to increase the chain retention as well as keep noise to a minimum even when the chainring is worn out! With the more durable design, riders should be able to get more than just a single season out of their ring, which is pretty awesome. The X-Sync 2 chainrings are also compatible with the 11-speed drivetrains and are available in 30t-38t options and are direct mount only.

To say the least, we are pretty excited to get the Eagle drivetrain system in and put it through some abuse to see what all the talk is about. Plus it comes in an anodized gold color… Who doesn't love gold!! The ETA on the SRAM Eagle drivetrain is June 2016 – please contact us with any questions and availability! You can email us at info@worldwidecyclery.com or give us a call at 805-375-4525!