Has anyone ridden both the XPLR vs Eagle t-type?
Any appreciable difference? Reviews of t-type say the gear changes are “slow” by comparison, or has anyone had eagle and gone to t-type and found it annoyingly slow? Can a muggle feel a difference or is it just he 1%
Cheers
I had the old AXS Eagle on my MTB and moved to Transmission. The transmission has special ramps on the cassette that allow perfect shifts as well as shifts under load. So, if your cadence is slow and/or your are in a bigger cog, you likely feel like shifting is slow. This is because the derailleur knows where the chain is on the cassette and is pausing until the appropriate ramp is available. We’re talking fractions of a second here. However, if you’re cadence is faster and/or you’re mid cassette and lower, you’ll likely notice no difference. The complaints of the MTB Transmission come from when you’re grinding up a steep hill and you’re in an easy gear (top of the cassette). This shift is slower than previous AXS Eagle, but the trade off is that you’re able to shift under heavy load.
On my gravel bike I have the old 12 speed XPLR. It shifts and acts like the old AXS Eagle. I have on order the new 13 speed XPLR. I haven’t used it yet, but all reviews state that it shifts quicker than the MTB Transmission and more like the old AXS Eagle and XPLR. This is because the new 13 speed doesn’t have these special ramps. Sram explains that this is by design, trading shifting under load in MTB because its needed, and prioritizing speed of shifting for gravel (where shifting under load isn’t needed).
Those in gravel that use a mullet setup (MTB in the rear, road in the front) tend to favor the old AXS Eagle because shifting under load in gravel isn’t preferred over speed of shifting. Also, probably don’t need a 52 tooth cog on the cassette unless you’re doing bike packing.
i have the transmission on my orbea oiz and the new 13s xplr on my gravel (canyon grail). the t type is very slow but you can shift under heavy load. the 13s xplr has the same mounting system but does not suffer from the slow shifting. i was very surprised how good the 13s xplr is and if they would update the SL8 with UDH i would probably ditch my dura ace and go one by xplr on my road bike as well.
I’ve never ridden the new Gravel 13 speed, but have many years on Eagle AXS and lots of hours on Eagle Transmission. The only place I find transmission noticeably slow is when dumping the cassette (like at top of a hill wanting to go instantly from a really big cog to a much smaller cog). If you hit the shift buttom quickly 6 times to gain a bunch of gearing, It will drop through 3 gears very quick, but the next 3 will have noticeable programmed pause in as it drops through the remaining gears. I’ve got a theory that this behavior is a byproduct of the groupset being designed to work with e-bikes where the motor is putting constant force on the drivetrain.
When I first got transmission, I thought it was fine but didn’t think it was that different until I adjusted my riding/shifting habits a bit. It takes a while to get out of the habit of coordinating shifts with a reduction in pedal force, but it’s pretty nice once you get used to it. It actually shifts better under load, so timing the shift is actually counterproductive. I always thought I was shifting the old axs under load, but it’s nothing like what you can do with transmisssion. It still bugs me a bit that I can’t dump the cassette when I want to, but old habits die hard and it’s not a performance thing as much as an annoyance. I still switch frequently between riding MTB transmission on my XC bike and old Eagle AXS on my gravel bike and I much prefer transmission at this point.
Or racing Sea Otter “gravel.” The XPLR only works here if you are willing to smash massive watts or hike-a-bike on some of these sections. 
For this reason the MTB cassette is preferred (for me anyways).
+1. I love electric shifting for gravel road but for MTB I prefer mechanical, especially if you racing a punchy course and have to dump a bunch of gears quickly. Another consideration is that the transmission is HEAVY. An X01 mechanical is about a pound lighter than the XO transmission. The biggest positive for me is that there is no hanger to bend on a crash. Of course that is less likely on gravel than it is on MTB so may be inconsequential.
It’s all about gearing for me. My gravel bike came with 12s AXS xplr, but I quickly switched it out to Eagle AXS for the wider gear range. It’s not that a gravel bike typically needs gearing as low as a MTB, but I’m running a much bigger chainring on my 1x gravel bike compared to my 1x MTB. A 10-44 xplr cassette paired with a 44t chainring works OK for some gravel races, but having an Eagle 10-50 or 10-52 cassette is much better for me. And I’m a reasonably strong rider/climber (at least for my age). The bigger gear jumps just don’t bother me and the weight difference is immaterial. I guess some people must really hate the bigger gear jumps with Eagle, but it seems silly that SRAM has 2 very similar but incompatible 1x off-road group sets. Would have been nice if they could design a RD that would work with both a 10-46 and 10-52 cassette and a common chain. Maybe there was an issue getting 13 gears on MTB frames with the chainline offset or maybe the marketing people just demanded that gravel had it’s own separate group.
I agree. I have the XPLR 13 in my gravel bike and it’s amazing. Zero complaints or areas I see for improvement. Only thing I’m unsure of is how it’ll be on some major climbs but with my 40T front, I think it’ll be ok based on some big AZ and NM climbs so far.
I’ll likely get a road wheel set and don’t feel limited vs a 2x drivetrain. The close gearing in the smallest cogs is fantastic.
Mechanical Eagle is solid for sure. I didn’t realize it was a pound heavier, but it would take more than that to drag me back to cables. I totally get that some folks prioritize weight, but my XC bike is over 25 lbs by choice (AXS dropper, flight attendant, GX groupset, 24 spoke wheels, etc.). I just like it to work how I like it to work and that makes it faster in my mind (which is most of the battle). My gravel bike isn’t much lighter than my MTB. It’s a total pig, but it’s my pig and works for me. That’s why I need MTB gearing on it I guess…
On the hanger, I did my first (unintentional) transmission durability test at a race in early November. I had a high speed wreck with the bike slamming down on the drivetrain side. The RD was pretty torn up visually, but never missed a beat (although my thigh/hip/arm/elbow still look like crap over 2 months later). I’m not sure if a non-direct mount RD would have been completely ripped off in that crash, but it certainly would have bent the hanger. I really like the UDH/direct mount design and I hope it makes it to all bikes eventually. It just makes too much sense using the through axle to precisely locate the RD.
I have both, t-type is noticeably slower to shift and because of that I prefer the faster shifting of XPLR 13spd. For sure the XPLR feels and sounds worse when shifting under load so I imagine there is more wear on the drivetrain when shifting under load, but I don’t care.
They made a pretty good decision to prioritize shifting under load for mtb and faster shifting for gravel. Shifting under load for gravel is less common so better to have XPLR shift faster. If I had a choice I might pick the XPLR type shifting for xc racing, some people are already doing that because XPLR is also lighter in addition to the faster shifts.
I made the decision to go T-Type mullet for Gravel. I want the bigger range combination of the bigger chainring and the 52 bail out because some of the areas I’ll ride around me get STEEP, yet there will be times I’m spinning it out on the road. So far, the extra spacing between the gears hasn’t bothered me, but I have T-Type on my XC MTB too so I’m used to it.
I also like being able to shift under load hammering up a steep climb on the gravel bike like my XC bike and not think about it.
Speed of shifting hasn’t ever been a thought or an issue for me. Again, I’m probably used to it, but I did use Eagle AXS before Transmission too.
Cheers all, much appreciated.
Interesting to hear points and counterpoints, but the consensus seems to be xplr might have the edge.
I’ve lost a bit of fitness these last few months (new job) and the extra 2t wouldn’t go amiss
Which XPLR are you leaning toward? Red (13 speed transmission) or XPLR Rival and force that is on the old AXS eagle system?
If you are debating Eagle t-type vs. the new xplr 13 speed, the difference is 6t on the cassette range.
I guess it’s a 2t difference if you are comparing old xplr 12s axs (10-44) vs. new 13s xplr direct mount (10-46), but both have much less gear range than old or new Eagle. I’m not saying the new Xplr doesn’t have it’s advantages, but it’s limited gear range can be a challenge for some.
Ahh. Yes just meaning an extra 2teeth from old 12sp to the 13sp
I used to have an old mullet setup, it was a rude awakening when I changed from a 10-50 to a 10-44. The first event I did on my new bike was 32miles with 5500ft climbing, there was a lot of walking…
Worst to the worst I have a spare 38t front which could be used. It’s only on the road that I’m ever in the smaller cogs
I haven’t ridden them, but the Escape Collective’s review of SRAM’s 1x13 Red XPLR groupset offered an interesting insight: namely, that SRAM decided to optimize their gravel groupset more for shift speed rather than being able to shift under high load.
When I read that I thought it was pretty clever in the sense that it is a knob that SRAM can turn in either direction for their groupsets.