I never had a Trans Am growing up, so this might be the closest I ever get. A 50 tooth rear cog and lots of gold bling that remind me of Burt Reynolds and Smokey and the Bandit.
There are things on the Eagle drivetrain that jump out. To obtain a gear range the rear cassette is exceptionally huge, the size of a small plate. It runs cogs of the following tooth count: 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 21, 24, 28, 32, 36, 42, and 50.
It also squeezes 12 gears onto the rear cassette — an accomplishment possible due largely to other parts of the system like the narrow chain and new rear derailleur.
In addition to the massive cassette, the company redesigned derailleur, and the group’s chain was made to be narrower, smoother, and more durable to work with the big range of gears.
It’s worth noting that this is some pretty pricey stuff — the XX1 group will quickly remove $1,400 from your checking account and the XO1 will do damage at $1,200. But with SRAM focusing at the high end, there is bound to be a trickle-down to less pricey groups in the future.
For more information please visit SRAM.com and check back later in the summer as we try and get our hands on a group for a long term review.
If you haven’t seen it, check out the video below in this post, in which SRAM says farewell to the front derailleur.
