SRAM X01 Eagle Rear Derailleur 52T: Rider Review

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A few weeks back SRAM introduced their revised Eagle ecosystem with an extended 52T range. Our customer Anthony recently broke his GX derailleur and decided to upgrade to the new X01 Eagle 52T rear derailleur. Check out his review to see what he had to say!

Overview

When I noticed my GX Eagle derailleur was not shifting properly after a crash, I decided to purchase the new X01 derailleur and shifter as an upgrade. I had contemplated switching everything over to Shimano XT 12 speed but I felt like I wanted to try the x01 variant instead of switching everything over to Shimano.

First Impressions

Right away I really enjoyed the X01 shift lever adjustment as I have “meaty paws“ and being able to fine-tune where the levers are is a big deal for me. Overall the X01 vs GX shifter a bit crisper of a shift, and worth the extra cost for being able to adjust the lever. I had just replaced my shift cable before the upgrade so this is comparing apples to apples here as I hesitated on spending extra money on the X01. I would purchase to X01 shifter again in a heartbeat and not downgrade to the GX.

I debated for days on staying with the GX Eagle derailleur or upgrading to the X01 as there is about a $100 difference. My research leads me to believe the first generation GX Eagle had overall reliability issues although my wife’s is still going strong. I decided on going with the X01 to see what the shifting difference was between the two (and Shimano XT 11 speed on my fat bike). Shifting is crisp and it shifts really well under load vs the older GX. I like the feel of Shimano shifting better but the x01 works very well and I have not had any issues. I did go off the deep end during our COVID-19 lock down and started waxing my chains so that plays a bit into shifting performance but under heavy loads (I’m 6’6” 230) and going up steep grades the X01 shifts really well and is holding up well to my abuse. I’ve put about 50-60 hours into the derailleur and I’m starting to get a bit of cable stretch that requires a few quick adjustments.

Final Thoughts

I would go with this upgrade again, the shifter was the standout and I love the adjustability of the lever. The derailleur looks great and works flawlessly even with my basic mechanic skills. I’d be interested in riding the newer GX vs X01 derailleur just to see if there is a difference in performance or just less money in my bank account. I think the biggest difference that I’ve noticed between the GX vs X01 derailleur the X01 shifts under load bit better and overall is more of a crisp shift feeling. I’m going to upgrade the rear cassette next to the X01 although the colors on the XX1 make it oh so tempting! I’m going to end staying with the 50 tooth as the trails where I live never warrant having anything larger.