Why I Wouldn't Buy SRAM XPLR | Sram Gravel 1x12 Groupset

I have an 11-42 11 speed in one of my bikes and it’s ok, it’s only ONE jump That actually annoys me… but that’s on an Apex drivetrain. If I’m gonna spend AXS money on a drivetrain, I would prefer not to deal with such things. For gravel I guess I’d be fine but for road I’d prefer Ekar

100% agree. The 11-13 jump is in a really bad spot. At speeds fast enough to be in that gear range, 18% is a big ask

For everyone else who doesn’t care about cadence, these gaps don’t matter much. Gravel is a slower pace, the closer climbing gears and midrange are great!

dude its gravel. who cares about a 2-3 tooth jump...relaxxxxxx

Don't you think SRAM used the data collected from the axs website to determine the optimal area of the block to make jumps the least...and conversely the most?
And I don't think it's a response to ekar ....just not even in the same conversation as far as market share ...

Spot on! I'm just sad the Zipp 101 XPLR does fit the Ekar.

I don't get it it: Why isn't possible to combine the new derailleur and a front derailleur?

What really annoys me is that SRAM has too many versions for AXS:

- Red, Force, Rival AXS, primarily for road use
- Red, Force, Rival AXS Wide, for gravel and road
- Red, Force, Rival AXS XPLR, for gravel
- Mullet setup with XX1/X01 drivetrain, for gravel

If I'm working at SRAM, I would ditch the Wide groupset and advertise/use less of the mullet in order to streamline the lineup. Right now, I can't really see what SRAM does want to do with their AXS lineup - before the launch of Wide or XPLR, for me it was clear to use the Red/Force AXS for road and mullet for gravel. But now, there are just too many options which confuses the average customer.

I had noticed the same thing when I saw the specs. I wouldn't get the 10-33 or 10-36 cassette with a 34t single chain ring. All the hears I need.

My current Ultegra cassette goes 11-13, not really a big deal, but yeah I get what you’re saying. But if you’re going to make a “too little too late” video it should really be about SHIMANO who is still using 11 speed on their top level groupsets!

1x is on all my MTBs but I’ll stick with 2x GRX on my gravel bike.

i run 1x eagle on my gravel bike. i dont know why i would choose this over an eagle cassette unless i wasnt planning to do much proper off road riding.

If I was building a dedicated gravel bike I would just go with the Eagle cassette for maximum range. But this new XPLR 10-44 could be the answer for a Sram wireless 1x road setup. I'm currently running a Shimano compact 2x 50/34 with 11-34 cassette and before XPLR the nearest I could get with a stock Sram 1x setup was 10-36 with a 38T chainring, which is a compromise at both ends. Now with XPLR I could run 10-44 with a 44T chainring, retaining my current 1:1 climbing gear and a very close top gear. I'm really not that fussy about gaps, but range is very important for my local road riding terrain. The Ekar 13 ratio setup is even better (42T with 9-42 cassette) but I would prefer a wireless setup ideally.

A review from the keyboard?

I think you make a good point in your video; 10-44 cassette doesn’t add something new to the table, looking at the current other options.
If you want only 440% range on a 1x and do high speed time trail like gravel racing; Ekar is the better option. (Or even the “old” Force Wide 10-36 cassette; maybe with smaller front ring)
And if you do MTB like gravel adventures with big range and/or want Wireless shifting; you better go for Mullet-Eagle
I run 42 front with 11-50 Eagle in the back on my gravel bike; basically the 10-44 cassette without the 10t but with a 50t;
It has all the range I need, on fast Tarmac I never go faster than 40-42km/h so I don’t need that heavier gearing; but on long off road climbs 42-50 sometimes doesn’t even feel light enough ;)
And for the riding I do I never have issues with the gaps.

I just want 2x GRX groupset

What about the smoothness of the shifting? I hear that the XPLR derailer is smoother and quicker...

You oversimplify this issue - for me the SRAM is better as I don’t need the higher gears, but I do need more lower gears (with less gaps between them) for climbing. It all depends on how you ride. I do less pavement and flat riding and more dirt climbing so I want gearing that shades more towards MTB gearing. And Campy is grossly overpriced.

I''ve been using 44t chainring with 10-42t SRAM 11s cassette for around 5 years now and it's about time to upgrade my drivetrain.... I don't know what to choose, EKAR or AXS XPLR (all force but red shifters)?

Weight: CAMPAGNOLO -200g
Price: CAMPAGNOLO -$550(AUD) + whatever I get selling my current crankset (Wheels manufacturing BB, force d1 cranks and wolftooth chainring)
Gears: CAMPAGNOLO +1
Gearing: CAMPAGNOLO better range
Reliability: CAMPAGNOLO
Brakes: CAMPAGNOLO Magura design, mineral oil, bigger pistons 22mm vs 21mm
Maintenance costs: SRAM -$68(AUD) for each cassette + 2 chains and no cable needed!
Electronic: SRAM
Wireless: SRAM
Easier to find: SRAM
Easier to service: SRAM (no cable, no new tools needed)
Aftermarket/compatibility: SRAM

So in the end everything comes to the shifting quality... I've never used electronic... is it really worth it?

P.S. I do 95% road and the rest unsealed/gravel roads. I don't do any trails with that bicycle, for that I'd just use the MTB.

How long ‘til everyone’s talking 3x in gravel and almost back to road cassette tooth counts?

It an option , no one is forcing anyone to buy it. But it gives choices. I think I would probably use the XPLR groupset.

XPLR is cheaper than EKAR. And I really like better coverage at mid-range, I'm not using two lower sporockets on my rival 1 (11-13) and seldom going down as 15 so those ranges from Ekar would be not existent for me. What is a bummer is a high range - expecting 46, with current setup (42 at front and max range 42 at back) I have no motivation to buy new groupset, simple switch to 38 at front will be enough.

Anybody know if the cassette works with traditional, non flat top chains?

An 11-50T cassette gets you almost the same range as 10-44T (454,5% vs 440%). It's a little heavier (cassette and crankset) and maybe the cassette has better spacing for road / gravel.

I'm wondering if in the future they could change the AXS derailleurs firmware to allow 13 gears instead of 12.

loving my 11-46t rotor cassette with my eagle...

Seeing as wireless AXS 1x "mullet" builds (MTB rear mech and a road crankset operated with drop bar brifters) are possible - I'm not sure where xplr comes in

I have a custom S and S coupled Ti monstercross 700c frame that I set up 1x with a 9-50t 12speed Ethirteen helix cassette, shifted by an X01 rear mech and force Brifters, turned by a force 1x 42t chainring.
Shifting is flawless, yeah - the jumps between cogs are not optimum for road cadence... but that's not what this beast is about.
(Think an unholy union of late 90's XC race bike and modern gravel bike...that fits in a suitcase, and you'll have an idea of what this thing is for)
It's Faster on pavement than an XC MTB, and Faster on dirt than a Gravel bike. Dosen't matter where i have to go for work - the bike can handle anything i can find where I end up.
Singletrack, pavement, gravel - it does it all, and it fits in a 26"x26"x10" case.


The closest "off the shelf" rigs to "Princess FluffyButt" (what i call this abomination) would be a steepened Chamois Hagar or a Moots Baxter with a 100mm XC suspension fork.

One of the main differences I see is $. It already isn't cheap, and GX Eagle is more expensive and so is the cassette. If you were swapping out a drivetrain or derailleur maybe, but if you're buying bike, it is doubtful to have the mullet option, unless you're'building from the frame up.

My thoughts exactly. I use 1x on the road. (currently shimano 11 speed with ethirteen 9-34 cassette). I'm looking at both of these for my next road bike. A difficult decision since I can't test either group set. So, how do you find the EKAR shifting quality & reliability?
My other consideration is that all my current wheels have XDR hubs. I don't know if I need new wheels for the N3W hub, or if my existing wheels can be converted.

i'm using 10s 11-34 with 2T gaps from 11 to 23. this is really not a worry for me

14T isn't a speed in itself, speed is dependent on chainring size. a 10-44 cassette with a 48T chainring can go over 40 on downs while still being easy enough on even super steep hills.

the last clip about u using a third party cassette summarizes what this vid is all about 😂

Do buy, it works great. Train a little harder 😇

I’m swapping my eagle drivetrain to xplr this week love eagle on my mtb but I prefer how my force axs 2x groad bike climbs. I have a hard time finding the best climbing gear with eagle so I’m hoping the xplr is the answer for my 1x gravel bike.

Reasons not to buy SRAM are their inefficient chain, noisy 10-44 cassette and fastener fetish. The SRAM road cranks use 8 T20 bolts with a 4nm max torque to retain the chainring. What a PITA design choice when everyone else is using 4 or 5 bolts or a lockring. The flat top chain is an unnecessary design choice made to force the consumer into buying complete SRAM drivetrains. The flat top chain is slow. Shimano and Campy make 12 and 13 speed chains that work fine without larger rollers or a flat top. The 10-44 cassette (and Force cassettes in general) have some kind of defect that makes them vibrate. To mask the noise (but not solve the vibrations) SRAM suggests the consumer use wet lube and the SRAM elastomer rings. Wet lube is slower than wax lube and dirty AF in the desert southwest.

Everything is okay with Campy until you start to use it🤣

Stay away from this wheel. The tubeless setup really doesn’t work, if you’ve read reviews then you’ll see it’s a known issue. It’s caused by the way the nipples protrude into the rim bed. After trying about 10 different ways to get them setup I finally gave up. Note they didn’t seal the way they were taped from factory either. Zipp will not stand behind their product and I purchased them from Colorado Cyclist who will do nothing to right this. I’ve had to file a claim with PayPal and contact my credit card to go after getting a refund. I’ll never purchase anything from Zipp or Colorado cyclist again.

hi @blackwatercyclist based on your experience, is 10-44t with 40t being faster on road/gravel road? my bicycle is 11-42 with crank 48-32T. until now, I'm still thinking to upgrade 10-44t with 40T. I love speed and climbing. but on the other side, the road is mixing between smooth road, wavy, and plot holes.

I like to be fast on the flats too, how does this compare to the GRX 600?

I think SRAM recently released the mechanical version of SRAM Apex XPLR (vs SRAM Apex AXS XPLR).
This could allow a mechanical 12 speed at a much lower price than campagnolo's 13 speed.
However, 13 speed is probably the sweet spot for versatility.

hi ok so the story
i had ridden, 2 x orbea, D50 5200 miles a year and M20 e-bikes for over 7200 miles 16 months, 28 miles a day all year round
D50 had tiagra, M20 had ultegra group sets, also bought a Scott e addict 20, Sram rival, did 1500 miles, but it went back to manufactures due to many issues
so currently riding a BMC Roadmachine one x amp two with TQ motor and Sram rival XPLR system in 2 months, 650 miles
all the bikes including this one all tarmac road use, some road not so good, no gravel,
i did not use the small chainring on any of the e bike you don't need too
climb 8 hills a day, some 10 % gradient
so here is my view
The XPLR performs perfectly well against the others, its different bigger mechanical jump between gears, because of the one bye chainring
it goes up hills the same, same on the flat and downhill all the same
simpler as its a one by system,
the BMC is 15kg a bit heaver than the Scott but there is a reason for this
i am doing the same routes in all weather conditions
the XPLR has good range of suitable gears, i can go at 28 miles an hour on the flat as i could on the Scott and orbea
not bad for a 15 kg bike, the motor in Uk cuts out at 15.5 mph
so the rest is up to me
i take your point about missing gears and is interesting, but in real world riding i have no issues at all with this group set
i think my comparison is a good one, as the routes are the same in all weather conditions and all e-bikes with lots of miles of riding

i think a great group set

if only campa ekar was good tho... if you love having your chain fall off on rocky terrain, get ekar

I LOVE mine!

With that ridiculous 11-13 jump theres no point in the 10-11 smaller jump. At fast speeds, small jumps are not as beneficial as they are at cruising speeds. Waste of a cog that stupid 10 tooth.

Its overpriced crap. Thanks for this vid. Hopefully Sram listens and starts using braincells again.

I went to a video expecting serious arguments and found just something theoretical and doubtful "In gravel groupset it is very critical gap between 11 and 13 and 13 and 15" Really? Because on PG-1130 and PG-1170 SRAM don't have that gap and You know what? I even haven't notice multiple times the difference of shifting from 15t to 14t.
But cherry on the cake was statement "You want larger gaps, when You climb with larger tires". Really? How does it work in Your head? In which kind of cycling sport anyone would be happy when climbing to have larger GAPS between cogs of the cassette?

Im a 1x kinda guy and am cadence picky, those two do not play well with each other lol so I put together my own franken cassette from 3 diff cassettes, 14,15,16,17,19,21,24,27,32,37,42. The 27 to 32 can be a bit abrupt making it feel like I could use an extra cog, just gotta find me a good deal on some 12sp brifters and 12sp HG cassette