SRAM GX Eagle AXS Upgrade Kit [Rider Review]

Our "Rider Review" article series features the honest reviews from verified purchasers of Worldwide Cyclery. They contain the photos, thoughts, feedback & overall review you are looking for.

When the Sram AXS components first dropped, it made some riffles in the industry. But, when the new GX dropped, it made bigger waves due to fact that it's more affordable to have electronic, cable less shifting . Our friend, Jae, just threw on the GX kit on their rig. See what they think!

Overview

SRAM AXS wireless shifting might be the most unnecessary luxury I have on my bike, yet it might be my favorite component I have on my bike. So many things I love about this system. I had the XO1 AXS on one of my bikes and when I added another bike to the stable I just couldn't deal with going back to the traditional cable derailleur. GX AXS to the rescue! At $600 it's not that much more than the XO1 cable shifter, yet every shift is pure bliss.

It starts with the install, no more fishing the cable through the frame, depending on the frame this may or may not be a daunting task. Next is the maintenance, no more worries about cable stretch, housing going bad, lubrication on the cable, taking the shifter apart to install cable, or getting the tension right. Are any of these things hard? No. But a system that is plug and play that is truly set and forget is really nice. This kit has a nice tool that is easier to use than that red tool they used to provide. The red tool was always a little vague to me if it really lined up the wheels. The new tool is much more precise. Next is the micro-adjustment which can be done on the fly even while riding. This is much easier than messing around with high and low limit screws.

I have had the GX AXS for a bit more than a month now on my Mondraker Crafty and it's been phenomenal. Every shift is precise and instant. No clunking of gears unless you try and shift under load then, duh. What did you expect? I will say AXS has a feature, which I turned off and don't recommend for mountain biking, if you hold down the shifter it will go all the way up or down the cassette depending on the direction. If you do this, you need to be careful and do not attempt this under any kind of load as it will shift really fast and you want just the right amount of tension on the chain to shift properly. I've ruined more than one chain with a kink in it and finally just turned this feature off.

Final Thoughts

The only gripe I have about this system and really it's a lot better than I had originally anticipated is the battery. In fact, the battery lasts much longer than I thought it would so much that I forget about it until I can't shift because I haven't charged it in a few months. I ride 3-4 times a week and the battery is good for about 6-8 weeks. I now charge it once a month, but I also bought a spare battery and keep it in the car just in case. I had a buddy same thing happened to him on the trail and we shared a battery to get it into the bottom and top of the hill so we could finish the ride, so I recommend you and your riding buddies all get AXS!