SRAM XX1 Eagle AXS XG-1299 Cassette 12-Speed 10-52t Copper: 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.

There was a time when you needed multiple chainrings up front to get the gear range you needed for both climbing and descending. SRAM then introduced the Eagle drivetrain which changed the game. One of our valued customers just picked up the SRAM XX1 Eagle AXS XG-1299 12-speed cassette. Let's see what they think!

SRAM XX1 Eagle AXS XG-1299 Cassette 12-Speed 10-52t Copper Rider Review

Overview

Backstory - I’ve run Shimano drivetrains all my MTB life, in 2019 I got a new YT Jeffsy that was equipped with an E13 cassette drivetrain, Shimano XT derailleur, and shifter. Long story short after a lot of reliability issues with the cassette, (E13) in particularly the freehub, I needed an upgrade badly!!! I also needed a new cassette, the unreliability with E13 and not really enjoying/convinced with the shifting from the Shimano XTR, I decided I needed a change.

That's where Worldwide Cyclery came in, after watching all their videos online covering all the different new drivetrains available, I contacted them for some human to human advice and they gave me the lowdown. It was really helpful to hear what other riders actually have on their bikes and why. So I decided to go over to the dark side and plunged for a new SRAM Eagle X01 derailleur and shifter which allowed me to get the SRAM XX1 Eagle AXS XG-1299 12-speed Cassette

SRAM XX1 Eagle AXS XG-1299 Cassette 12-Speed 10-52t Copper Rider Review
The thing that I noticed immediately was the super-smooth shifting, it really felt different. Super responsive and silky going up or down the gears on the cassette. I’ve only been on 3 rides with the SRAM cassette so far with lots of climbing but it gave me the chance to really run through the gear ratio and it feels to me that the ‘jump’ between each gear felt very even in terms of effort, no big gaps. It’s also much quieter than what I have been used to in the past as you shift but still gives off that reassuring “click” as it confidently finds the gear. I had heard that some people were suggesting the bailout gear jump going back down was too much of a big step but I certainly have not noticed that so far, perhaps as I get more rides in it will be more pronounced.

SRAM XX1 Eagle AXS XG-1299 Cassette 12-Speed 10-52t Copper Rider Review

Final Thoughts

One thing to consider coming from Shimano to SRAM is that there is no index shifting, really useful cause I’m lazy and ride in an upright position when climbing and like to use it when transitioning DH but I think that’s really a small price to pay and I’m sure I’ll get used to it in no time at all. Last, of all I have to say the color choice is great, it offers that little bling and even the wife noticed it (well after I mentioned it) and she said does that make you more rad? Sure it does….

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September 14, 2020

AXS › Cassette › Eagle › Rider Review › SRAM › XX1 AXS ›

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