GX Eagle - Will you be upgrading?

I guess by now most of you will have seen the new GX Eagle groupset - what do you think?

Will you be upgrading? Or do you think it's just unnecessary (and heavy)?

Personally I'm a fan of the new kit, but I'll be waiting for my current gear to wear out before I look at fitting it.

Heavy? Well comparatively I would say that only the cassette is significantly heavier than X01 or XX1 Eagle. The number I saw was about 450g for the cassette compared to 320 for the X01/XX1... this is the same weight approximately as a XT 11-46 cassette... not a show stopper IMO... I would personally run the GX components with the X01 cassette if you are worried about weight but then you negate the majority of savings....

Word is that Sunrace has a 11-50 12 speed cassette for Shimano HG drivers coming soon as well...

BD has the sunrace 11-50 listed already (though not in stock). $140cad. sounds cool! may have to make a swing back to shimano bits again. curious how a standard sgs derailleur will work on this.

https://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/sunrace-mx80-11-speed-cassette-11-50-624737/wg_id-6854

granted, i'd probably just go with the sunrace 11-46 for $80. cheap wide range options abound!

Oops... I said 12 speed for the Sunrace.... thx for corrrecting... yeah, that definitely begs the derailleur compatibility question.

A 50 isn't THAT much bigger than a 46. My current M8000 XT mid cage has no issues at all dealing with the 11-46, and can be comfortably pushed a bit further I think. I would suspect 50 may be cutting it close, or maybe moving to a long cage is a necessity.

I went XO1 Eagle but kept my crank and ring.  I love the range. I was running an XT 11-42 with XTR short cage and shifter and it worked really well but I ran out of gear on paved routes to and from trails and the 42 x 30 was not quite low enough for the Whistler grinds. But the Shimano gear shifted a whole lot better. Faster up shifts because as soon as the shifter clicks, it releases and there is the double upshift to consider as well. I find the drop from the 50 to the 42 sometimes clumps and clanks as the chain is locating itself.  Downshifts are soft and slower too. Part of it I think is me adapting to a different shift feel, part is the jumps between some gears. I am getting used to the slower shift response. The gear range though trumps the less good shifting. I may try a Shimano polymer coated cable with Shimano housing at some point. That may help.

I most likely will once my current drivetrain gets worn out (just replaced my chain/cassette/ring though).

For 29er maybe, but for 650b sunrace 11-42 cassete is everything I need.

I'm pretty happy with 10-42 with a 28t ring on my 29er hardtail and 30t on by 27.5 AM bike. Hopefully all this eagle business just further drives down prices on 11 speed stuff.

I mentioned it in another thread, but I am quite a fan of e13s cassettes.  The 9 tooth cog gives them as much or more range than any other option and they are light weight to boot.  The other plus is you can run a smaller chain ring (due to the 9 tooth) which increases roll over, reduces weight, and shortens the chain.

GX is nice for the price and I wouldn't rip it off if it came stock, but I just think there are other more enticing options if you were to build from scratch.

Not anytime soon. I'm a big fan of 1x11 (30t up front and 10-42 in back) all GX. I could maybe use something a little lower than the 42, but I would probably just try e*thirteen before upgrading the whole drivetrain.

Posted by: Ninjatarian

I mentioned it in another thread, but I am quite a fan of e13s cassettes.  The 9 tooth cog gives them as much or more range than any other option and they are light weight to boot.  The other plus is you can run a smaller chain ring (due to the 9 tooth) which increases roll over, reduces weight, and shortens the chain.

GX is nice for the price and I wouldn't rip it off if it came stock, but I just think there are other more enticing options if you were to build from scratch.

Fair - so would you go full custom, or...?

Something tempting me is to combine an XT rear mech with a Box shifter and that E13 cassette (plus maybe RF cranks etc)...

I've always preferred going custom; it allows you to get the part that each manufacturer does best. KMC SL Ti chains, for instance, are fantastic and I like to buy my chain rings from smaller companies like Gamut to support them and because they really put a lot of attention into the detail of those products due to the lesser number of products they sell.

I could go on, but you get the idea.  I dig your idea of trying out Box.

I was holding out until I need to replace a chain and cassette to go 1x11 (currently on 1x10,) but I may just go full GX Eagle. Will need to factor in the cost of a new freehub as well, but I love the idea of the wide range, and I've always been a fan of SRAM's shift action.