My current tri bike has Ultegra R8000 group (ROTOR cranks) with 54/39 and either 11/25 or 11/28. This almost covers my needs but I’d like to have a more convenient shifting when going uphill. This led me to the idea of switching to electronic shifting. For now, I’d like to stay within budget and not replace my wheels and the frame.
Although it might seem the most obvious solution, I do not want to go DI2 because of the complexity, wires anyway, and inability to hide the junction box.
What I was thinking of was going 1x with SRAM XPLR + 2 pairs of wireless blips for switching. I know that Dan wrote several articles on it but I’m interested in the feedback from those who use XPLR on a tri bike specifically.
I can easily change just my front chainring to e.g. 52 and with 11-44 cassette, I should have a wider gear range than my current setup has. The questions I have are:
will XPLR work with a 52 or even 54 front chainring?
is there a possibility to use a cassette like 11-32 or 11-36 with Apex (maybe, other than SRAM)?
or should I go XDR driver instead (this allows me to natively use 10-44 or 10-36 cassettes and the front chainring might be 50 then)?
My current tri bike has Ultegra R8000 group (ROTOR cranks) with 54/39 and either 11/25 or 11/28. This almost covers my needs but I’d like to have a more convenient shifting when going uphill. This led me to the idea of switching to electronic shifting. For now, I’d like to stay within budget and not replace my wheels and the frame.
Although it might seem the most obvious solution, I do not want to go DI2 because of the complexity, wires anyway, and inability to hide the junction box.
What I was thinking of was going 1x with SRAM XPLR + 2 pairs of wireless blips for switching. I know that Dan wrote several articles on it but I’m interested in the feedback from those who use XPLR on a tri bike specifically.
I can easily change just my front chainring to e.g. 52 and with 11-44 cassette, I should have a wider gear range than my current setup has. The questions I have are:
will XPLR work with a 52 or even 54 front chainring?
is there a possibility to use a cassette like 11-32 or 11-36 with Apex (maybe, other than SRAM)?
or should I go XDR driver instead (this allows me to natively use 10-44 or 10-36 cassettes and the front chainring might be 50 then)?
Does the above make sense at all?
I would appreciate any feedback.
I haven’t used an XPLR RD on my TT bike, but I’ve given it some thoughts I could share.
the RD doesn’t know, nor care, what size the ring is, so long as you’re running 1x
yes, you can use other cassettes, so long as the largest cog is at least 36t. The XPLR RD won’t work across the range of cogs with a smaller cogset. To get it to shift in the lower range, you’d need to practically remove the B screw, and then it won’t shift on the smaller cogs. Don’t ask me how I know. You could run an 11x36 Shimano 105 cassette w/ a KMC 12 sp chain and make it work, but… you could do the same thing w/ a basic AXS RD. Don’t need an XPLR RD to run a 36t granny gear, but IMO an AXS RD w/ a 10/33 cassette makes more sense.
Switching to XDR can be expensive, depending on the hub your rear wheel(s) use, and it would defeat the purpose of a larger ring for straighter chainline.
awesome feedback. I was also waiting to hear thoughts.
I want to get away from small cogs and have eyed some (heavy) 11-50 12s cassettes
Would love a cassette with: 11,12,13,14,15,16,20,24,30,36,42,50
I could use that on TT and road. 60t front on both.
11-44 would be good, but I when it pitches up, not so much and I’d like the jumps in the small cogs to be 1t at a time.
The NX Eagle cassette is an 11-50, but it starts w/ 2t jumps straightaway, then gets worse. 11-13-15-17-19-22-25-28-32-36-42-50. The 11-44 Apex-level XPLR cassette isn’t much better. At least it has a 12t, so at the very high end the jumps aren’t too bad.
The NX Eagle cassette is an 11-50, but it starts w/ 2t jumps straightaway, then gets worse. 11-13-15-17-19-22-25-28-32-36-42-50. The 11-44 Apex-level XPLR cassette isn’t much better. At least it has a 12t, so at the very high end the jumps aren’t too bad.
Agreed. And a 400g Sunrace 11-50 was discontinued and had bad upshifts. ethirteen had a 13-52, but a 13 would require a 70t 😂
So, have to wait and see if my dream cassette gets made (ideally in electronic 13s) or have to save up and pay ethirteen to make a batch of 11-50t 12s cassettes in 11,12,13,14,15,16,20,24,30,36,42,50.
I feel like that’s a good use case for either 2x or the classified hub. Heard several people say (one of whom is Josh portner) that the aero penalty of a huge casette either eliminates any benefit of 1x, or might even be worse.
I feel like that’s a good use case for either 2x or the classified hub. Heard several people say (one of whom is Josh portner) that the aero penalty of a huge casette either eliminates any benefit of 1x, or might even be worse.
not sure there’s data to support that.
Ronan of Escape Collective has a long term review of the Classified hub which should be good. Definitely an option, though I just love the simplicity of 1x. As Huang said of the new 2x GRX this last week, it makes sense from an engineering standpoint, but will do as well/poorly as 2x XTR back when Eagle launched and was only 1x… we know how that went. The majority of pro tour leaders are on 1x (with Ineos on Classified) for TT’s. I just don’t see a 50t being any more of a penalty than my disc rotor.
For most folks, I would seriously question their need for either the 53 chainring or the 11-cog and for most, both. Spinning out a 53x11 is something like 38mph and that is just not a speed where you could either be pedaling at all, or at least not pedalling hard.
I generally averge between 23-25mph for 30-60 minute efforts on the bike and the only time I ever needed the the 53-12 was when I rode for forty minutes into a brutal wind and turned around and was spinning it at 35+ mph. I finally traded the 12 for a 34 and now have a much more useful cassette. I still barely use the 13.
Now if you average 30+ then please ignore me, but I would recommend ditching the 11-tooth first, then maybe going smaller than the 53. Once you start working with smaller chainrings, then there is less need for massive rear gears and 1x. I just don’t get 1x. My plain Ultegra FD (Mech) works so well I’ve never even spent the money to replace it even though all my rear shifting on all my bikes is Shimano di2. 1x is a compromise in a bunch of ways.
Also, people talk about Shimano di2 complexity, and it seems that way at first, but once you have the system, it is not complicated at all. If you can put together a kids puzzle that has six pieces then you can do di2. For SRAM, what you gain in initial set-up,you lose by now having to track multiple batters in multiple locations. Neither is overly complicated, but shimano is almost fire-and-forget once you have it set up.
I have seen 1x setup with AXS. I think it was 52 front 11-44 rear with 4 blips. I was told it works really well. Now with 13 speed coming soon it would be even better.
Do you need xplr? Not a sram expert but a 50x10 is bigger than a 54x11 and a 50-36 is about the same as a 39-28. 10-36 should do it, though I agree an 11-38 is probably your ideal cassette.
yes, you can use other cassettes, so long as the largest cog is at least 36t. The XPLR RD won’t work across the range of cogs with a smaller cogset. To get it to shift in the lower range, you’d need to practically remove the B screw, and then it won’t shift on the smaller cogs. Don’t ask me how I know. You could run an 11x36 Shimano 105 cassette w/ a KMC 12 sp chain and make it work, but… you could do the same thing w/ a basic AXS RD. Don’t need an XPLR RD to run a 36t granny gear, but IMO an AXS RD w/ a 10/33 cassette makes more sense.
Great insights, thank you!
I have a feeling that 11x36 might not be enough for hilly races like Lanzarote, that’s why I tend more for 11-44 for races like this one. I consider 11-36 for flatter races and it looks like just having 2 rear cassettes should be enough for me.
You mention Shimano 105 11-36 cassette with KMC 12 speed chain - is it compatible with SRAM? I’m asking because I don’t have experience with SRAM at all - all my bikes are Shimano.
For most folks, I would seriously question their need for either the 53 chainring or the 11-cog and for most, both. Spinning out a 53x11 is something like 38mph and that is just not a speed where you could either be pedaling at all, or at least not pedalling hard.
I generally averge between 23-25mph for 30-60 minute efforts on the bike and the only time I ever needed the the 53-12 was when I rode for forty minutes into a brutal wind and turned around and was spinning it at 35+ mph. I finally traded the 12 for a 34 and now have a much more useful cassette. I still barely use the 13.
Now if you average 30+ then please ignore me, but I would recommend ditching the 11-tooth first, then maybe going smaller than the 53. Once you start working with smaller chainrings, then there is less need for massive rear gears and 1x. I just don’t get 1x. My plain Ultegra FD (Mech) works so well I’ve never even spent the money to replace it even though all my rear shifting on all my bikes is Shimano di2. 1x is a compromise in a bunch of ways.
Also, people talk about Shimano di2 complexity, and it seems that way at first, but once you have the system, it is not complicated at all. If you can put together a kids puzzle that has six pieces then you can do di2. For SRAM, what you gain in initial set-up,you lose by now having to track multiple batters in multiple locations. Neither is overly complicated, but shimano is almost fire-and-forget once you have it set up.
I do not use my 54-11 combo often but on a straight downhill or with a strong tailwind I do. Plus, I’m from the slow cadence guys - I remember one of my 70.3 races where I felt like 53-11 was not enough for me, and I switched to 54T in the front. I’m not the fastest biker for sure, but usually, I’m among the top guys in my AG.
My mechanical Ultegra works well but it is so inconvenient switching gears on long hills where the gradient jumps constantly - this is my main reason for switching to electronic. But with di2 I still need wires, I need somehow to stick the junction box to the frame - I see true wireless shifting as a simpler and cleaner way for me to go electronic.
Do you need xplr? Not a sram expert but a 50x10 is bigger than a 54x11 and a 50-36 is about the same as a 39-28. 10-36 should do it, though I agree an 11-38 is probably your ideal cassette.
I have wheels for Shimano, going 10-36 will require XDR driver which is not critical but I’d like to avoid it if possible. I’m considering XPLR because it allows 44T while other SRAM rear derailleurs allow up to 36 (if I got it right) and I could not go bigger if I need it one day without changing the RD.
I have seen 1x setup with AXS. I think it was 52 front 11-44 rear with 4 blips. I was told it works really well. Now with 13 speed coming soon it would be even better.
I might have missed 13 speed coming soon - are there any rumors?
I do not use my 54-11 combo often but on a straight downhill or with a strong tailwind I do. Plus, I’m from the slow cadence guys - I remember one of my 70.3 races where I felt like 53-11 was not enough for me, and I switched to 54T in the front. I’m not the fastest biker for sure, but usually, I’m among the top guys in my AG.
My mechanical Ultegra works well but it is so inconvenient switching gears on long hills where the gradient jumps constantly - this is my main reason for switching to electronic. But with di2 I still need wires, I need somehow to stick the junction box to the frame - I see true wireless shifting as a simpler and cleaner way for me to go electronic.
So my question for you is this: why was that high gear not enough? 53-11 is something like 42 miles per hour at 100 rpm, so maybe 38 mph at 80. You should not be pedalling at 38 mph; the power use/benefit of pedaling much beyond 30 is really low because of the high wind resistance at those speeds. It is bad race strategy to use your energy at high wind resistance. If you are going down a hill and/or have a tailwind, then just spin easy until your speed drops down closer to average and then pick it up again. Use your energy more wisely.
Are you saying it is inconvenient on hills because you are on the base bar and the shifter is on the bar end? I totally agree that having shifting in multiple locations is awesome and a great reason for electronic. My first bike with electronic was my gravel bike where I have shifting on the levers, on the bar-ends of my aerobars and on the top right bar for climbing. I’ve never used SRAM but read it is great. I guess preference is the difference now. Having one, really good battery is better, for me, than dealing with four different batteries in four different components. That does not sound simple at all. Like I said, setting up di2 is a one time deal and not really hard. I ride a 2008 P2C and run electronic for the rear derailleur and just run it through the same places the cable would go. The junction is zip-tied behind my stem and out of the way. The battery is in my frame pack behind the stem with my tube and flat tools.
Do you need xplr? Not a sram expert but a 50x10 is bigger than a 54x11 and a 50-36 is about the same as a 39-28. 10-36 should do it, though I agree an 11-38 is probably your ideal cassette.
I have wheels for Shimano, going 10-36 will require XDR driver which is not critical but I’d like to avoid it if possible. I’m considering XPLR because it allows 44T while other SRAM rear derailleurs allow up to 36 (if I got it right) and I could not go bigger if I need it one day without changing the RD.
My take on going bigger than a 36t on the back… if you need something larger, you should look at running 2x instead. The gearing gaps between the larger cogs make it difficult to maintain reasonable cadences as you change gears and you’ll have two tooth jumps between some of the smaller cogs where you’d typically want one tooth jumps.
So my question for you is this: why was that high gear not enough? 53-11 is something like 42 miles per hour at 100 rpm, so maybe 38 mph at 80. You should not be pedalling at 38 mph; the power use/benefit of pedaling much beyond 30 is really low because of the high wind resistance at those speeds. It is bad race strategy to use your energy at high wind resistance. If you are going down a hill and/or have a tailwind, then just spin easy until your speed drops down closer to average and then pick it up again. Use your energy more wisely.
Are you saying it is inconvenient on hills because you are on the base bar and the shifter is on the bar end? I totally agree that having shifting in multiple locations is awesome and a great reason for electronic. My first bike with electronic was my gravel bike where I have shifting on the levers, on the bar-ends of my aerobars and on the top right bar for climbing. I’ve never used SRAM but read it is great. I guess preference is the difference now. Having one, really good battery is better, for me, than dealing with four different batteries in four different components. That does not sound simple at all. Like I said, setting up di2 is a one time deal and not really hard. I ride a 2008 P2C and run electronic for the rear derailleur and just run it through the same places the cable would go. The junction is zip-tied behind my stem and out of the way. The battery is in my frame pack behind the stem with my tube and flat tools.
I was spinning in mid-low 70 in the race I mentioned and, according to my calculations, the speed was a bit less than 50 km/h (around 30mph) at some sections. I’m pretty sure it was not that much higher. But I usually do not spin when the speed goes above around 55km/h.
Thanks for the di2 suggestion - I will try to re-analyze what will it take on my bike to go with it.
My take on going bigger than a 36t on the back… if you need something larger, you should look at running 2x instead. The gearing gaps between the larger cogs make it difficult to maintain reasonable cadences as you change gears and you’ll have two tooth jumps between some of the smaller cogs where you’d typically want one tooth jumps.
Thanks for the feedback - that is the equation I’m trying to solve. With 2x, SRAM does not look like a clear winner anymore. I’m trying to evaluate how critical might those jumps be now.
I have seen 1x setup with AXS. I think it was 52 front 11-44 rear with 4 blips. I was told it works really well. Now with 13 speed coming soon it would be even better.
I might have missed 13 speed coming soon - are there any rumors?
I’d love a cassette with 11,12,13,14,15,16,18,20,24,30,36,42,50 to go with a 60t front chainring … I don’t see sram offering that, and I’ll be glad to use what they offer
We won’t see this on any tri/ttbikes for some time. It will be using SRAM UDH. The only bikes on the market with that capability are MTB and gravel to my knowledge.