Aside from that, the two groupsets are functionally the same. In May , Shimano announced a range of components under the name GRX aimed at gravel riding , adventure and bikepacking. The naming scheme looks like this:. SRAM came to the fore during the mountain biking boom of the late eighties and established itself off the back of its lightweight GripShift shifters. SRAM introduced its lightweight Red road groupset in and now produces an extensive range of components for road and cyclocross bikes , alongside its mountain bike groupsets.
All of its road groupsets now include a hydraulic disc brake option. Its three top-tier groupsets — Rival, Force and Red — are also available in speed wireless electronic variants, with the addition of gravel-specific gearing.
WiFli offers a wide gear range — between 11 and 32 teeth — for the rear cassette certain SRAM road derailleurs will go as high as a 36t big cog. That allows SRAM to offer the wide range of gears usually found by using a triple front chainset setup, without the extra weight and complexity of an additional chainring.
Once a unique selling point for SRAM, other manufacturers are now offering similar setups. That is to say, just one chainring at the front and 11 gears at the rear. An Apex 1 rear derailleur can accommodate a cassette with a large tooth cog. Apex 1 also offers hydraulic disc brakes. Next up the line is Rival , which can also use a wide range WiFli rear derailleur and cassette, but is made from lighter materials than Apex.
Will Shimano respond by launching an electronic version of Shimano ? Force eTap AXS was initially launched as a pure road groupset but, in , SRAM added lower and wider-range gearing options to cater to gravel and adventure riders. SRAM Red components use super-light materials throughout, including high-grade alloys, plenty of carbon fibre, titanium and even ceramic bearings. There is a new eTap AXS rear derailleur design to accommodate this gearing for each level.
One of the most noticeable things about XPLR as a whole package is that it includes components from RockShox and Zipp — two brands also owned by SRAM — including a new gravel-specific suspension fork, a dropper post that provides a small amount of suspension, and gravel wheels.
As such, Campagnolo is often the choice of dyed-in-the-wool aficionados, bike collectors and those who think an Italian bike must have an Italian groupset. Sitting just below the Record family is the speed Campagnolo Chorus. Campagnolo Record is a premium mechanical groupset from the Italian brand, with speed shifting, and rim and hydraulic disc braking options.
Campagnolo also offers an even higher-level groupset in the form of Super Record. While very similar to Record, it uses even fancier materials to lighten and enhance each and every part. This is the best of the best as far as Campagnolo is concerned and is usually only found on the most expensive pro-level road machines.
Campagnolo also claims Ekar is the lightest gravel-specific groupset out there, weighing in at a claimed 2,g for the complete package. The crankset or chainset is the largest part of any groupset and comprises the chainrings, the cranks and, in most cases these days, the spindle that links the two crank arms together.
For the most part, modern road bikes use dual-action shifters that incorporate the gear levers into the brake levers.
Each brand has its own spin on the concept, so how you shift mechanical gears on a Shimano-equipped bike is slightly different to how you shift on a Campagnolo- or SRAM-equipped bike. Electronic shifting still relies on paddles built into the brake levers but uses small servomotors in the derailleurs to make them move.
Electronic drivetrains offer consistently precise shifting and lower maintenance than a mechanically actuated drivetrain. For a full explanation of how the different systems change gear, read our detailed article on how to change gear on a road bike. The variety of brakes used on road bikes has also grown more complex in the last few years.
In the past, cable-operated, caliper rim brakes were the only type used on most road bikes, but recent years have seen road bike braking options expand to take in direct-mount rim calipers , hydraulic rim calipers these remain exceptionally rare , cable-operated disc brakes and hydraulic disc brakes.
Hydraulic disc brakes are generally considered to be the best all-round option, but which type of brake is best for you is dependent on a number of factors.
Understanding how road disc brakes work will help you decide. The derailleurs are the mechanisms — sometimes mech for short — that move the chain from one gear to the next.
The front derailleur does the job for the front chainrings, while the rear derailleur does it for the cassette; both are controlled by the shifters.
The cassette is the cluster of sprockets mounted on the rear wheel. So, if there are 10 sprockets, you have a speed groupset; 11 sprockets is an speed groupset, and so on. Having more sprockets not only provides you with a wider range of gears but also means the jumps between them tend to be smaller. For road bikes with a double crankset, t is probably the most common cassette range, but Shimano, SRAM and Campagnolo all offer a huge range of choices to suit your riding.
More expensive chains also often have smoother, more durable and more corrosion-resistant coatings than their cheaper counterparts. Note that a chain is a wear item and should be replaced at regular intervals.
Failure to do this will accelerate wear on your cassette and chainrings, but you can extend chain life by cleaning it regularly and only using the best chain lubes for your bike. The bottom bracket contains the bearings on which the crankset spins and it fits into your frame. Threaded bottom brackets screw into your frame on threads.
Press-fit bottom brackets, as the name suggests, are pressed into the frame and held in place by friction. And like the XT Di2 groupo it has Synchro Shift and can be powered from the in-built battery on an electric mountain bike.
XTR combines top-end design with lightweight materials, such as high-grade alloys, carbon fibre and titanium. The latest M group has four different drivetrain options to choose from.
The latest M series sees many parts of the group condensed into one line. However, there are still Cross-Country and Enduro categories for brakes as well as pedals. Cross-Country is all about weight savings, where features such as tool-free brake levers adjust and Ice-Tech brake cooling fins are removed in favour of saved grams. Available only with a 1x crankset, Zee is designed for downhill and freeride. Saint is positioned as a top-level option for those who race downhill. Designed for 7-, 8- or 9-speed drivetrains, the shifters and derailleurs make heavy use of plastics with metal derailleur cages.
These components are suitable for light recreational riding, but not trail use. These components are often found on budget bikes and X4 shifters are available in 7- and 8-speed versions and mechs span from 7-speed up to 9-speed. Different versions of the rear mech are compatible with 7-, 8-, 9- and speed cassettes with a maximum cassette sprocket capacity of 36 teeth. This speed group is available with a 2x or 3x crankset but there is also a 9-speed version of the cranks still available.
The X7 group has a few additional features that make it stand out from X5. The most important upgrade feature of this speed group is the addition of a clutch on the rear derailleur to improve chain retention. Nearly all the performance features were present at this level, with slightly cheaper construction methods and materials keeping prices down, but the weight was higher. There was more use of aluminium versus plastic on the shifters and derailleurs, and the X9 crankset featured hollow crankarms to save weight.
The speed cassette sits on a regular Shimano-style freehub, limiting its smallest sprocket to 11t, rather than 10t on GX Eagle and above. This, however, helps keep its cost lower. Sharing many designs and internal features of the top-level 1x offerings, SRAM GX components are a popular choice on mid-priced bikes. In June , SRAM updated its GX Eagle groupset with a tooth cassette an increase of two teeth on the lowest, largest cassette sprocket , a redesigned derailleur — so that it can shift into the lowest gear — and updated the cranks, now with both a carbon and alloy version.
As you might guess, the pinned-together GX Eagle cassette is heavier than the heavily machined from one-piece hardened steel X01 and XX1 cassettes. While most often found in a 2x version, SRAM did offer a triple crankset for this group. The X0 groupset now only lives on in part. A front and rear grip shift gear changer and trigger shifters, and front and rear hubs are the only remaining parts available to buy.
SRAM X01 was perhaps the most sought-after groupset of X01, along with X1 and XX1, impressed our reviewers thanks to their unique speed setup where the cassette and rear derailleur were greatly different compared to speed setups at the time to offer a huge t range, without the option of a front derailleur. The X01 Eagle group is frequently used on high-end trail and enduro bikes, featuring a full aluminium derailleur cage and its cranks have a foam core.
In June , the X01 Eagle groupset got an updated wider-range cassette — now tooth — and a new derailleur so that it can shift into the biggest sprocket. With the increase in strength comes an increase in weight, however functionality across the AXS systems is identical. It was the group that led the 1x revolution when it was introduced in Only the trigger shifter, grip shift shifter and rear derailleur along with an speed chainring, chain and cassette are still available to buy.
Over the lower-specced X01 Eagle, the XX1 Eagle cassette and chain have gold titanium nitride coatings, which are claimed to increase durability. The XX1 Eagle derailleur uses a carbon outer plate on the derailleur cage, and the cranksets are slightly different as well; the XX1 Eagle crankset is hollow. Along with the obvious advantages of not having to muck around with cables, AXS brings a clever new shifter design and a derailleur equipped with a second clutch, which allows it to move in the event of sudden impact, limiting damage.
Electric assistance and its associated rapid shifts put greater stress on components. To counter this, EX1 features an 8-speed cassette, with the big cog 7mm inwards of where it would be on an speed setup to reduce cross-chaining.
X01 DH is a purpose-built groupset for downhill racing and is available as either a 7- or speed setup. Alex Evans is BikeRadar's mountain bike technical editor.
He started racing downhill at the tender age of 11 before going on to compete across Europe. Alex moved to Morzine in the French Alps at 19 to pursue a career as a bike bum and clocked up an enormous amount of riding. Riding those famous tracks day in, day out for eight years, he broke more bikes than he can remember. Alex then moved back to the UK and put his vast knowledge of mountain biking to good use by landing a job working for MBUK magazine as features editor.
He's one of BikeRadar's lead testers, knows how to push bikes and products to the limit, and wants to search out the equipment that represents the best value for money. Home Advice Buying Guides Mountain bike groupsets: everything you need to know. When you buy through links on our site we may earn an affiliate commission, but this never influences our opinion.
Shimano offers its XT group in versions with one, two and three chainrings. The ramped teeth help to keep the chain on the single ring without the need for a chain device or chain guide. Different frames use different bottom bracket systems, including threaded left and press-fit right. As prices increase so too does the level of of construction and material tolerances that the components are built to.
This is evident in the quality of the gear shift. The shifting from higher tier groupsets is often smoother, more immediate and more precise. This allows them to perform better even under load when climbing, for example. Whereas a low tier shifting performance might seem more clunky, unreliable or delayed. High end parts will use bearings for pivots, while lower end units will rely more on bushings, which can develop play and get sloppy over time.
As you go further up the ranges shifting performance tends to be quite consistent, due in part to the level of shared component technologies. Weight is another aspect that changes as prices rise. At the lower end expect more components to be made from basic materials such as pressed steel or to feature less intensive machining and manufacturing processes. Higher tier groupsets tend to be lighter, often using more exotic materials such as carbon fibre or titanium.
Probably of more importance to the average mountain biker is how long the components are expected to last. But now, hi-tech coatings and durable materials mean that the top end chains and cassettes are often equally durable, or even longer lasting, than lower priced components. All Shimano groupsets are designated with a well recognized name that remains the same no matter the model year.
Shimano also include a numerical code to easily identify chronologically different versions. Talking about chainsets, Shimano only produce a single, 24mm diameter axle option on all of its chainsets. Different bottom bracket styles are required to be able to fit to a specific frame. These Di2 groupsets lose the cable operated derailleurs and shifters and instead rely on battery run derailleurs and simple button-like shifters.
The upside of this electronic shifting is incredible reliability with none of the degradation of shift quality that can occur when cables become stretched or contaminated with dirt and water. This automatically shifts the front derailleur depending on which gear you are in at the rear to allow a completely seamless shifting experience.
Carbon and titanium top the list of wonder materials, while features such as Hollow-forged cranks, Shadow derailleurs and Ice-Tech rotors ensure impressive trail performance. Now speed, XTR still gives you the option of running a dual ring chainset. The workhorse of the range, and still a much more realistic option for riders than XTR. You get most of the performance and features with a little extra weight. Recently given the speed treatment, Deore continues to punch well above its weight.
Decent shifting it pings a bit under load with a wide-range cassette and clean lines makes this a great entry-level drivetrain that can be upgraded as funds allow. SRAM pioneered the single-ring approach to drivetrains, coming up with the XD driver body and narrow-wide chainring as clever solutions to chain security and wide-range cassettes.
Arguably they still hold the advantage in the drivetrain wars with wireless AXS shifting at one end of the spectrum, and sorted cable shifting with marginally wider range gearing at the other. Despite the lightweight, vulnerable parts like the rear derailleur are surprisingly robust, and shifting and drivetrain durability are excellent thanks to trick coatings and sophisticated ramps and proffiling.
For clean lines and rapid, effortless shifting, the AXS wireless option is next-level. In fact, on the surface they appear identical. However, whereas XX1 utilises the lightest weight parts making it ideal for weight conscious XC racers, X01 has more of an eye towards durability.
It as amongst the most popular groupsets or components that bike companies spec on their bikes, as it is available in 7, 10, 11 and 12 speed derivatives. NX opens up 11 speed and 1x shifting to a wide audience, being both reliable enough to put on mid range bikes but also by being great value.
It might not have the exotic materials of higher groupsets, or the most refined finish but SRAM has still endowed NX with excellent performance. Bike brands will very often fit the main components of one groupset but might drop a tier with parts such as chains and cassettes. This is often to keep a bike within a certain price point but be aware and check with the shop as to the actual specifications.
Remember, components can be upgraded over time so it might be worth investing in a better quality frame with a lower tier groupset and keep one eye on future upgrades.
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