Hey folks! If you use your bike enough
chances are some components are gonna start to fail.
This is an Eagle GX derailleur that still looks ok
However I got a twig in my spokes, I don't know if you can see this one is quite beat up,
during my last race, and as a result of that my derailleur right now is quite
twisted so it doesn't really work anymore I can't straighten it.
As a replacement I'm gonna use an X01, so the more expensive Eagle derailleur from SRAM
and in this short video I'm going to take a look at the two side-by-side
and see what kind of differences are between these two models.
If you watch my installation video you know that there is a bit of play in that
knuckle, where the derailleur attaches to the hanger, and that translates in quite
a bit of play here at the bottom of the cage.
That didn't seem to affect the
functionality or the shifting performance of the drivetrain
but I'm curious to see if that same issue is going to exist on theX01.
I've used this drivetrain with an X01 shifter but the GX shifter is not much different
I actually have a video comparing the two side-by-side.
Looking from the distance you might be tempted to say that they are built identically and you
wouldn't be far off if you said that especially if you look around this area
where the clutch is.
The clutch and also this part of the cage
seemed to be identical on the two units,
look at the back of it here is built the same way, looks the same way.
From the front you have different graphics on this part
of the cage but that's about it.
The inner part of the cage looks almost identical.
You can see the finish is different, a bit fancier on the X01 compared to GX.
By the way this is where the serial number is stamped on both
and they differ in the way they are produced.
If you look at the tab over here
you will see that on the GX this is bent into shape, so die cast aluminum.
And this one is called forged, this is poured into shape, look at the shape of that bent.
XX1 would have this inner portion made out of carbon by the way.
Top jockey here or guide pulley.
It seems to be identical on the two derrailleurs.
SRAM uses ball bearings, both on GX, X01 and XX1 and they seem to last quite a bit.
I have an older video showing you how to do a bit of maintenance in there.
This is, by the way, this is not a narrow wide profile, this top jockey.
Looking at the lower jockey wheel or tension pulley,
This one even though they say is identical it doesn't look identical to me.
The X01 has a profile that is very similar to what Shimano users on their 11 speed XT and XTRs.
This is a narrow-wide profile but also you have that ring around it.
I think is just so it doesn't push mud into the bearings
when you ride in extreme conditions.
Also compared to Shimano
I like the way they profiled this part of the cage and I guess that would just
scrape off excessive mud as you are collecting it here on this lower jockey.
Compared to that one, the GX looks like a simpler cheaper to
produce design, and you look here it's a narrow-wide as well but again lower cost and it shows that.
The tooth profile is unidirectional and in the past they
had left and right marked on these, on this jockey.
I don't see that on the X01
so if you take this apart just keep in mind the way it was installed.
This cable roller on the X01 can be removed to clean it or lube it.
You see the bolt over there.
Also there are third parties making fancier one of these believe it or not.
You cannot really do that on the GX, this is
riveted into place so you cannot take it out.
The only other difference between the two
would be weight ,292g for GX, 281 for X01, so 11 grams and 100 dollars.
So let me get the X01 installed on the bike and see if I notice
any difference in performance.
Use a 5 mm Allen key and 10-12 Nm to attach the derailleur to your hanger.
Needless to say, make sure that your hanger is nice and straight for Eagle.
Also the B-gap adjustment for which they provide you this little template,
that is probably the most critical component of adjusting an Eagle drivetrain
but use my installation video to get that done.
The side-to-side play here is gone,
there is a bit of movement but that's given by the length of this arm in that extended position.
So I guess this would be manufactured to tighter tolerances if nothing else.
Shifting on a bike stand is as expected, which is really good.
The one thing I didn't notice is that chain getting out of sync with a narrow wide
profile teeth here on the 42T and 50T.
So that's an interesting find I guess.
The other thing is, right now on the stand, my B-gap is not what it should be.
Is actually a bit smaller, that is because they recommend setting that with the 20% sag
so sitting on the bike, that's how you adjust a B-gap.
So let me take it to the trails and see if I notice the difference over there.
Took the bike to the local trails, on this drivetrain everything is what I had
before with the exception of the derrailleur.
And did I feel any difference compared
to the GX derailleur that I had before?
I would say definitely yes, just like I saw
it on the stand, the shifting is a bit crisper, it's just hard to describe it.
Just snappier overall, worked well under power, it was just fine.
But I discovered this just by testing back-to-back if you want.
If all you know is Eagle GX, I was
perfectly fine with it before, definitely cheaper to replace.
Is it worth considering a GX drivetrain with the X01 rear derailleur?
Companies like Yeti would think so,
their GX build and also a couple of their X01 builds
have GX pretty much everything with the exception of the rear derailleur which is an X01
and based on my testing today I think I know why it just
provides you that cleaner shifting overall.
And that's all I have for you guys today
If you have any questions let me know below,
I'm gonna include a lot of links in the description for more details.
If you found this useful don't forget to like the video and subscribe to my channel,
and until next time,
really hope to see you guys on the trails.
Cheers guys, cheers!