2011 SRAM X0 And X9 Release

 agreed

 Also agreed.

 Yea!

 They are doing X7 in 10spd...

 I must agree on that

 It's the way the market works. People who are happy with their 8-speed setups are not the ones buying the latest and greatest toys at the bike shops. The guys who have cash burning holes in their pockets are the ones who dictate the direction of the market.

 I ride AM on 2x9 with 11-34 casette, 22-38 up front and... I barely use 34t on uphill. You go so slow on 22f-34r that you need at least hardcore 71 HA to not flop. And which Am bike with Dh friendly fork gives you that HA? Most AM bikes like my nomad have barely 69 HA with Lyrik set to 115 travel. Plus some ppl like me just hate high cadency and prefer to crank it slower on harder gears.

What i mean is: cranking it up on AM bike so slowly on 36rear - is gonna be a handling nightmare.

Not mentioning that my x-9 11-34 casette weighs almost 100g more than 11-32...
so sorry 11-36 is just bullocks, unless your front granny gear is at least 26 then again, what's the point... it makes sense only for single ring XC.

 I rock single ring on my do-it-all bike, I have yet to run into something where my 34 is incapable off, and its not my climbing skill holding me back (it always is). I really dont want a dual ring though, to much stuff going on...

And climbing is not about headangle, its about how your weight is distributed over the bike. You do not need a steep headangle to climb.

And for the record-I'm also like you, i prefer the lower gears too but we both can't speak for everyone. Not to mention everyone finds those steep but short climbs that are just easier to hammer up at a high cadence.

 well, there is abot of head angle story in climbing. If you ride a 160mm fork up the fire road its ok, but as soon as you hit some proper narrow xc trails with rocks and roots where you have to negototiate between then, you just start flip floping, and you cant react as fast as on steep HA. That means you have to plan every move a lot before and anyways you will end up putting your foot down much more often than when you go up on 69. It is just not effective to uphill technical trails with 67 HA and below. I love my Lyrik Uturn for that.

I can't ride at high cadence... It is amazing how fast I am getting tired comparing to heavier gears. It's good that indoor track biking is not my hobby Yesterday I actualy decided that I have to buy 24 front chain ring, 22 is way too small for my preference.

 Fair enough on the climbing.....that makes plenty of sense. And that means you need to work on your cardio bud! hahaha

 I don't actualy get this cardio thing at all... if its ok for me to ride on harder gears for lets say 5 hours, is my cardio still bad? I dont have a problem with riding at higher pulse, its just that I get to lets say 180 much faster on lighter gears than on the hard ones.

Lets say i am uphilling on 22f/34back and I am getting very tired, then I do the same distance in same time on 22f/28b and I am pretty much fine, while other person is fine with first version and gets tired on my preferable gearing. What does that mean?

That example actualy exists when I ride with my cousin. He's always having higher cadence than me. We have very similar fitness level I believe, we are both architects sitting all days in the office, plus I ride more road biking exercise than he does, he's doing more XC training

 This means that your anaerobic fitness is better than your aerobic fitness (cardio) - meaning your heart/lungs get tired before your muscles do. Your cousin is the opposite. For most people, lactic acid buildup and muscle fatigue is what will tire them out first. If you train your cardio to be stronger, it is technically more efficient to spin at higher cadences - you will be able to ride longer before your legs burn out. But everyone's fitness levels are different, and everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, so just ride however way makes you happy. I ride best at a leisurely pace

 thx man! That actualy makes lots of sense in my situation. I dont have problems with long distances, but also because I know my body pretty well I guess. I can feel very well when I am getting tired and when to say to myself: take it easier m8 or you will burn out.

Leisurely pace, well that's my pace too but unfortunately not from choice I'd love to be more fit. It is so much fun to rip xc trails with more speed. Use gravity biking attitude to obstacles and corners while riding XC is just great.

But well I think I'll try to train this fast spinning a bit more

 You can use a 9-speed chain ring with a 10-speed drivetrain.

 Yeah, isn't it just 32t, 34t, 36t. ect
The front chain ring is personal pref.
I use a 24t. ;D

 I think you mean

 Those black & reds do look awesome, but the red also looks filled-in on Photoshop. I hope they do produce that color either way.

 The weight is for the 150mm cranks.

 i think they are? maybe slight differences. the x9 set up is using a plain elixir. so maybe the x0 is rocking carbons? they do look identical to them

 they are just elixer mags

 that's what shimano's doing...doesn't seem like the brightest idea.

 are they serious or is it a typo where it says the x0 crankset weighs 198g? :O

 it says they weigh less than the brakes.... problem maybe?

 It seems sram have gone the step extra in weight technology. Carbon's out of fashion now, in with the polystyrene crank sets...

 9 gears are more than I need, 10 just seems like more weight and skinnier/weaker chains to me. Wheres all the shiny colourful anodizing too?

 I only just switched to 9 speed, and barely use all the gears. whats the point in 10 speed really :\

 i not long made the switch to 9, went from 8 to single, then up to 9 with a 2010 x-7 mech and shifter, i use about 5 of the gears, 1 for uphills, 5/6 for general riding, then 7 or 8 for track riding etc, maybe down to 6 on some tracks, i really dont need any more, but i do hope they still do the 9 speed stuff as i really like the new designs

 I'm interested to see whether it will be clogging up with mud like a mofo. Having 11-36t in a back with a single ring + chainguide up front does sound good tho.

 I like my 6 speed.

 so no more 9 speed from sram ?

 Not only that, but you have to get X-0 if you want a short cage deraileur.

 i was also wondering, why is the x-7 available in short cage and carbon, whereas the x-9 is metal caged and not available short, i would like to know what product design at SRAM have been smoking lately