SRAM's X.7 group gets updated to
10 speeds and a touch of carbon! Inside you'll find details directly from SRAM along with pictures of the new bits.
Read on...Fresh news just released in conjunction with the big Taipei bike show is SRAM workhorse component group X.7 getting a massive and complete overhaul. We're not just talking about new colors here, folks. The reworked grouppo now sports an affordable 10 speed cassette with a wide gear range, a corresponding 2 ring crankset, and a carbon caged rear derailleur that comes in three cage lengths to keep everyone happy. The new X7 bits are a massive change from what we've become used to, makes one wonder what the next incarnation of X9 and X0 will look like... Below you'll find all the details and specs directly from SRAM.
SRAM X.7 10 Speed Rear Derailleur
• Uses SRAM's 1:1 Exact Actuation Ratio
• 10 speed compatible
• 36 tooth maximum
• 3K carbon fiber cage (optional alloy version as well)
• Available in long, medium, and short cage versions
• 239 grams (long cage, carbon)
• Storm Grey finish
SRAM X7 PG 1050 10 Speed Cassette
• 10 speed cassette
• 11-32 and 11-36 gearing options
• Uses SRAM's Powerglide shift technology
• Heat treated steel cogs with aluminum spider
• 302 grams (11-32)
SRAM X.7 10 Speed Trigger Shifters
• 10 speed Exact Actuation Ratio mates to 10 speed 1:1 derailleurs
• Removable shifter perch
• Two position shifter perch
• Compatible with Matchmaker
• Slimmer design than past models
• Top cap cable change
• 232 grams (both front and rear shifter)
SRAM X7 S1400 2x10 Crank
• OCT hollow forged crank arms
• 2x10 10 speed X-Glide chain rings
• 42 or 39 big ring options
• 28 or 26 inner ring options
• 120/80 BCD
• Aluminum double hex chain ring bolts
• Uses SRAM GXP bottom bracket
• 170 mm and 175 mm length options
• 871 grams (175 mm arms), including bottom bracket
SRAM X7 Hub Set
• Spins on sealed bearings
• International Standard 6-bolt rotor mounting
• Steel freehub body
• 3 pawl clutch design
• 32 holes
• 100 mm QR front/135 mm QR rear spacing
• Front hub - 180 grams, rear hub - 425 grams
SRAM X.7 Elixir R Brakes
• Elixir R brake joins the X7 family
• Taper Bore lever with integrated reservoir
• Tool free reach adjust
• Top loading brake caliper for easier pad replacement
• Matchmaker compatible
• 160 mm, 185 mm, 203 mm rotor options
• Carbon lever option
• 375 grams (front, post mount 160 mm)
There you have it, 10 speeds out back and a carbon caged rear derailleur at what will hopefully be still X7 pricing. Are you excited about the wider 11-36 gear range and simpler front shifting? Now that 10 speed has trickled down to a more affordable level, more riders can get their hands on more and easier gears. Do you see a 10 speed cassette in your future? Tell us below!
Visit SRAM.com to see their entire lineup!
also, that's the first SRAM MTB hub isn't it??
That being said, sure I guess some people would love 10 gears, on their XC or maybe even AM bikes. For DH/FR keep it simple! (I know this derailer isn't even aimed at just DH/FR, just my opinion, I also know I spelled deraileur wrong...twice?)
I love the idea of 10 speeds combined with wider gearing. I'm not strong enough to push a single ring 11-34 range everywhere I go, but the big 36 will help a lot. I'd love to try a 11-36 XX cassette out back combined with FSA's 386 bcd cranks and a 27 tooth ring and light guide combo!
Just a side note as well, there is a 12-36 tooth 9 speed cassette available from that other "S" company!
Most of us is running the 9sp cassette these days just because it is widely available and became a standard during the last decade.
I remember having 7sp early 90's - there was nothing wrong with it.
10 gears? - no need in MTB, won't make you going any faster
I can certainly see the advantages for epic cross country....."and it's a great way to stay in shape."
Dammit!
I downstepped my 970 to a 11-26 8spd. I can still climb as much as I need to(trailhead, commuting, occasional uphill section), it's a couple grams lighter(yaaaaaay), more compact so there's no fear of rock hits... For ME at least, less is more. So there's no reason to jump on the 10spd wagon.
The carbon is neat though, I guess. haha.
And . . narrower chains are stronger. Shorter pin = stiffer pin.
yea you can reduce the number of sprockets BUT i'm talking about a DEDICATED 4X groupset 4or5speed, with a shifter to match
thicker stronger chain (thinner chains are stronger?......errrrr ok)
thinner cassette area means wider hub spacing an stronger/stiffer wheel build
A wider chain isn't a thicker chain, it just has longer pins. Think about breaking a pencil that's under an inch long. Now think about breaking a pencil that's two feet long. Which is easier?
i can understand if you have 3 speed on the front and want to drop down to 2 rings on the front,
at the end of the day its not how many gears you've got its if the ratios are right for you
XC legend Geoff Kabush has been winning pretty much every race he entered the past few years and he is running 1x9 setup! It really doesn’t matter how many gears you have, it’s your lags that count!!
For those of us don’t have such strong lags, 3x9 is plenty enough! After all, 3x9 gives much the same gear ratio range as 2x10, and both 3x9 & 2x10 overlapping gear ratios make MTB riders shift more often, causing more shift jigs when climb.
For 2 years I’ve been running simple 1x9 like Geoff and have conquered every trail and completed every race! (Never won one though ‘cause Geoff and alike are always in front of me!)
Sram should try to make their product more affordable, durable, sexier, and smoother, user friendlier….than competitors. Why 2x10?
Not too clued up on the SRAM stuff to be honest but I thought all SRAM stuff had 1:1 ratio?
and are those elixirs really different of just a different colour?
as for the product, looks great, but i hope the shifting has really improved, i'll take a performance gain before a useless carbon bit
i'm talking model years not calender years, model years is how the industry works
my point is all the dealers bought 2010 product last fall (normal X7 9spd), it arrived in there shops the past few weeks/month and now they see this is coming late this summer, so they have a lot of dead stock since people will want the new stuff. shimano did it last year in road by showing the new 2010 Ultegra in Feb 2009, thereby killing the 2009 Ultegra in shops.
thats what (shakes head) means, nothing personal against you, just the bike industry doing stupid things again to destroy the inventory on shelves before its even had a chance to sell
it seems that on a daily basis on my new local trails i finish my rides with only half of the gears working and have to kick my derraileur to get it to go into certian gears and bend it back into shape every day. there are alot of tight rocks where i ride. i think if i had 10 spd it would be way to finicky to function at all after all this bashing associated with dh riding.
i think that cyclo cross riders have proven that mud is not to big a problem with 10 speed cogsets.
on my dh race bike, per course type, ive found that a full on road cassete (11-23) is too tightly spaced jumps between gears and i would need to shift exesivly to get to the right gear. on the other hand a (11-32) mtn cassete would be to big a gap (with nine speed).
something i could see being very cool use of a ten speed rear derraileur would be to remove the biggest couple cogs and use a hub such as the 135x10mm spaced hope pro 2 SS hub with the short cassete body to build a strong, dishless, light dh race wheel for a bike such as the specialized demo 8 that uses 135 spacing.
the new SRAM. Not a bad thing imo, Saint aesthetics with Sram performance = win
on all levels.
elxir 5
elixir r
elixir cr
and this new one
they have so many at different price levels so you dont need to buy pad contact and reach adjust if you dont want it.
Juicy/Elixir 3.5
Elixir R
Elixir CR
Elixir CR Mag
No XX, no X7, no Elixir 5. Code and Code 5 can stay.
also, i have to say that my experience so far with X7, what with plastic shift levers, doesn't really jive with my expectations for a high-performance setup as you might expect with a ten-speed cassette. if you've ridden XO shifters back to back with X9, you know what i mean. X7 is worse yet - flimsy and slow(er) to react.
it's like bolting an old TurboGlide tranny in an F1 car... sure, it might work, but would you want to use it?
any prices?