SRAM GX Eagle XG-1275 Cassette [Rider Review]

Our "Rider Review" article series features the honest reviews from verified purchasers of Worldwide Cyclery. They contain the photos, thoughts, feedback & overall review you are looking for. 

When it comes to mountain bike drivetrains, it's easy to say SRAM's cassette's are the gold standard in the industry. Not only do their cassettes have impressive range, they offer cassettes that don't break the bank. Our friend, Eric, has been running the GX cassette. See what they think!

Overview

I recently purchased not one, but two SRAM GX Eagle cassettes. I have a Salsa Timberjack and Ibis Ripley. Both of my bikes run a full SRAM GX Eagle drivetrain. I found out that they needed to be replaced when I put new SRAM GX Eagle chains on both of my mountain bikes and the chains were slipping on the old cassettes. It turns out, that is a great indication that your cassette is worn out. The new chains didn’t pair up with the worn-out cassettes, so I immediately ordered new cassettes from Worldwide Cyclery. They shipped them out to me the very next day and I had them a couple of days later.

The cassettes are pretty easy to replace as long as you have a chain whip and cassette tool. The whole process only takes about 10-15 minutes. Once I replaced them both, the chain no longer slipped and the shifting was perfect after a minor tweak on the barrel adjusters. Both of my bikes shifted buttery smooth! I feel like the SRAM GX eagle components are really the sweet spot. They don’t cost nearly as much as X01 or XX1, which makes them pretty affordable. While GX Eagle isn’t as lightweight as XX1 or X01, GX is noticeably lighter than NX. GX is really a great mix of being affordable and pretty lightweight. Also, in my opinion, GX is much better than NX because it gives you even more range by having a 10 tooth small cog as opposed to the 11 tooth small cog on NX. You also need to have an XD driver body on your freehub in order to run GX eagle. As for durability, I had both of the GX eagle cassettes that I replaced for 2-3 years each. I put a ton of miles on both of those cassettes. They honestly shifted well right up until the end. Had I been a little bit more diligent with both checking and replacing my chains, they would have lasted even longer. I really have no complaints about them.

For anyone that is thinking of upgrading from an 11-speed drivetrain to 12 speed, I think it is definitely worth it. My Salsa Timberjack came stock with an 11-speed drivetrain. I have been very happy with the GX eagle upgrade. Having that 50 tooth large cog is great on the steep climbs. I also do a lot of bikepacking on the Timberjack. The 50 tooth cog is the only way I can get to the top of the climbs with a fully loaded down bike. The SRAM GX drivetrain has proven to be extremely durable on remote bikepacking trips that have lasted a couple of weeks.

Final Thoughts

I have experience on both Shimano and SRAM mountain bike drivetrains. From the beginning, I have always preferred SRAM. I feel like the crispness of the shifting on SRAM is much better than Shimano. While both drivetrains are great, it probably mostly comes down to personal preference. For me, its SRAM all the way!