AXS XPLR on road/all road

[EB]

I was torn on this when moving the Ritchey over to 1x, but for the terrain here, I'm happy I landed on the GX AXS mullet solution vs. XPLR. I went with a 40T chainring and the 9-50 e13 cassette.

If I was on the road all the time with that bike, I would have probably gone for XPLR instead - the closer ratios in the middle of the cassette are very practical for the road. But I am very glad to have the big granny gear here as a trade.

It's very annoying that these two systems are incompatible.

[4151zero]

Originally Posted by Eli Bingham

It's very annoying that these two systems are incompatible.

XPLR and AXS

I agree, part of me wants to mix and match xplr RD with xx1 cassettes and chains (or vice versa cuz I'm a weirdo/creep).


I'm currently running an xx1 rd with 38t x 10-50 range cassette on an OPEN wi.de with 420mm chain stays, and so far the noise is nearly non existent

[Turkle]

I personally found that running 1x on the road is really, really fun for situations where you're stopping and starting in traffic a lot on your ride, it's great for cold weather where you just want to keep things simple, and it's great for riding on relatively flat terrain.

However, I did find that for rides that involved a lot of climbing, I couldn't get a 1x setup that felt right at both ends of the cassette. I either was lacking a bailout gear, or I was lacking close enough spacing at the top end.

Currently, I have my "3-season" road bike set up as a 2x, and I have my "1-season, get salt all over it" winter bike set up as a 1x. That actually works perfectly for me since I don't do adventurous climbing in the freezing cold weather anyways! And the 1x is really nice to not have to think about coordinating both hands when wearing thick gloves. Good stuff.

Finally, my experience with 1x is only 11-speed, so I'm running either an 11-32, 11-36, or 11-42 in the rear with a 40t chainring up front. I think that those of you running 12 or 13 speed setups in the rear with like a 10-42 cassette or whatever have a much better setup than I have. Those extra couple of gears might make a really big difference, particularly all the nice things people have to say about those Ekar cassettes!

[Likes2ridefar]

Originally Posted by Clean39T

tee-hee, was just poking the bears..

I agree though. A 38T w a 10-50 is bikepacking-only to me.. whereas a 44-46T with 10-44 is spot-on for normal road riding - and dropping to a 42T is great for all-road/gravel and anywhere with lots of steeps.

It’s really more about the terrain you are riding and the riders w/kg on whether a 38 or 42 (or whatever size) makes sense.

A few weeks ago I would’ve had some very long walks or fun extended anaerobic efforts road (with a bit of gravel) riding in eastern TN with xplr 42 10-42/44.

[Likes2ridefar]

Originally Posted by 4151zero

XPLR and AXS

I agree, part of me wants to mix and match xplr RD with xx1 cassettes and chains (or vice versa cuz I'm a weirdo/creep).


I'm currently running an xx1 rd with 38t x 10-50 range cassette on an OPEN wi.de with 420mm chain stays, and so far the noise is nearly non existent

I would love to be able to swap between my current eagle axs 10x50 and 10-42/44. It doesn’t seem like it’s worth the hassle though. Better to have two bikes

[palincss]

Originally Posted by callmeishmael

Without wishing to start a controversial thread about 1x for road, has anyone had any experience running AXS XPLR on a (mainly) road bike? I'd be contemplating a 42 or 44T up front. The bike would see mainly solo, mainly road riding, but would see some light gravel and maybe a quick-ish group ride occasionally.

BQ has tested XPLR, and they liked it a lot. Whether it would suit you depends on whether you can live with the gear range and the space between the gears. From what I read, the functioning is exemplary.

[EB]

Originally Posted by palincss

BQ has tested XPLR, and they liked it a lot. Whether it would suit you depends on whether you can live with the gear range and the space between the gears. From what I read, the functioning is exemplary.

Wait wait wait, BQ tested it - doesn't that mean we need a 20 page flamewar about it?!

[callmeishmael]

Originally Posted by Maw262

I just started using a 46t oval ring with none of the issues that 2x oval set ups have.

This has crossed my mind too. What ring/crankset are you running?

[Maw262]

Originally Posted by callmeishmael

This has crossed my mind too. What ring/crankset are you running?

46 tooth Garbaruk w/ SRAM Force crank and flattop chain.

[Alistair]

Originally Posted by Likes2ridefar

I would love to be able to swap between my current eagle axs 10x50 and 10-42/44. It doesn’t seem like it’s worth the hassle though. Better to have two bikes

Will the flattop chain not work on both cassettes?

[Likes2ridefar]

Originally Posted by Alistair

Will the flattop chain not work on both cassettes?

The flat top chain doesn’t work with the eagle derailleur.

[Alistair]

Originally Posted by Likes2ridefar

That flat top chain doesn’t work with eagle derailleur.

Would swapping pulleys work?

11-12 speed, but maybe a similar procedure would work on Eagle to AXS Road RDs?
https://ratiotechnology.com/product/...d-upgrade-kit/