SRAM XG-1175 GX 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. 

With 1x drivetrains becoming more and more optimized, it makes sense that they have found their way onto road and gravel bikes. Our friend Greg recently converted his road bike to 1x with a GX cassette and loves the simplicity. Read on for more!

Overview

Firstly, my wife and I are recently retired, we have been avid cyclists for the last 10 years. Only now we put more miles on our bikes than our car! MTB, road, gravel, touring, fixie, Zwift, we ride them all. The only problem is that for everything I buy I have to buy 2 of them!

I was inspired by our 1x NX mountain bikes and SRAM Rival 1x gravel bikes to convert our road bikes to 1x as well. Our 1x gravel bikes are geared 38T and a SRAM 10-42 cassette. We run 32mm x 700c Gatorskins, and the gearing is perfect.

Our road bikes roll on 25mm tires and were equipped with Ultegra compact 50-34 paired with 11-32 cassette. Great range at both ends, but I absolutely detest shifting the front to the small ring. I always cross chain (big-big) and try and stay there to avoid the shifting dance into the small ring if the hill is winning. It can feel defeating, especially 5km later when you look down and you are still in the small ring.

The Ultegra crank converts easily to 1x with a Wolf Tooth Ultegra compatible chainring. I chose the 40T after careful consideration.

Our Mavic SL aluminum wheels were spec’d with a SRAM XD hub, but bike parts are scarce. This is one of the reasons I love Worldwide Cyclery. Live on-line stock status. Most companies cannot achieve this, they expect you to just order and hope.

But Worldwide Cyclery showed stock, and my wish came true when our ultra-rare SRAM 10-42 cassettes showed up. Perfect condition and well packaged. Now I don’t spin out on descents, and hills are just, well, a hill. No problem.
Besides the fair price, fast shipping, and humorous media tidbits, our new cassettes simplify shifting. Pedal too slow? Shift. Spinning 120 rpm? Shift!

Some say the gear jumps are too large on a road 1x system. Well, with careful gearing choices, it can be done with a smooth transition from gear to gear. I found the gear jumps were too small on a 2X system and if you weren’t always paying attention you would have to shift 2 or 3 gears to get your cadence back up. And the hardest 3 gears on a 2X? I always flicked through the last 3.

We have put about 300 kms on the new cassettes. Shifting is flawless and quiet, and I was pleasantly surprised by the low weight of the cassettes and the complete bike.

Final Thoughts

I am a repeat customer and I will buy from Worldwide Cyclery again and again. I have become a bit of a bike geek, and I understand quality, pore over the details, and keep up to date with Worldwide Cyclery videos. Thanks for always making my day brighter. Cheers!