Sram GX Eagle Groupset

SPECIFICATION Weight: 1,759g (for individual weights, see box)

- Ben Smith

SRAM’s first foray into 12-speed, the X01 Eagle groupset, launched last year, brought a gear range that was previously unheard of in the single-ring market. We loved it and gave it top marks, but at £977 it was hardly affordable. A couple of months later, however, the everyman’s version was announced, offering the same massive 500 per cent gear range at less than half the price. Is there a catch? Well I’ve been running it on my bike for the last nine months to try and find out.

The heart of the Eagle groupset is the dinnerplate cassette, which stretches from 10 teeth to a whopping 50 at its lowest. It uses the same 50t alloy sprocket as its more expensive counterparts, but rather than the expensive one-piece CNC-machined X-Dome technology found on high-end versions, GX makes do with stamped and riveted sprockets. This saves a lot of money (£170 compared to £302 for the X01 version) but adds 90g in weight.