SRAM X01 Eagle AXS XG-1295 Cassette [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. 

With the introduction of SRAM's Eagle AXS came new Cassettes and luckily for most people, they offered these Cassettes as an aftermarket upgrade aside from the bundle. These cassettes work with any level of Eagle so anyone can make the upgrade. This is exactly what our buddy Bill did. Lets see what he thought:

Bill's Review

With 2600 miles on the SB100 the SRAM GX drivetrain was just starting to get a little long in the tooth so it was time to freshen up my mile-eating pedaling machine for spring. I have been incredibly impressed with the supposed mid-level GX components, the shifting accuracy and longevity of the components have been second to none, I have never had a cassette last anywhere near 2600 miles, and let me tell you this one still has a lot of life left in it.

So after spending multiple hours on the WWC website, why anyone would shop anywhere where else is beyond me, WWC has the most awesome customer service on planet earth, I decided to follow the holy rule of weight.
Never buy a heavier component than your bike came with and if at all possible go lighter.

After looking at the cassettes I still had a few questions/lingering doubts so what to do, that was the easy part, just watch Jeff review the entire SRAM Eagle drive train line in one of his awesome videos! Not only was the video informative but WWC took the time to weigh each and every component so that I could compare the actual weight vs. the claimed weight online, thank you for the awesome video and as usual the added humor.

I ordered the XO1 cassette it ended up being 93 grams lighter than my original GX cassette and could easily justify the added cost for the expected longevity of the cassette from my previous experience with the GX cassette.

Installation for a SRAM Eagle cassette has just got to be the simplest thing that anyone could imagine. There is no lining up a bunch of loose individual rings with spacers to lose and let’s not forget the different sized shim rings that need to go on first. This cassette comes as one piece, if you have ever changed out a 15 piece cassette you just can’t help but admire the awesome engineering that went into the design of a one-piece cassette. You lift this out of the box, it does not fall apart in your hand, you place the cassette on the hub and tighten one captured lock ring, yes the lock ring is not loose either to fall on the floor, and you are done.

Install the wheel back onto the bike, add your new chain, shift onto the 50 tooth cog, check the clearance to the first derailleur drive cog with the handy dandy SRAM Eagle tool, and off we go.

Shifting is just effortless with a modern drive train that is set up properly, the difference between my last 11 speed and this new 12 speed Eagle is just night and day. The shifter itself is just too precise, no more going past that downshift just that little bit and then having to release the lever to get the shift to complete. The cassette's performance is basically flawless, the modern machined shifting ramps mean no lag with an important downshift, just click and go.

Conclusion

"I am very happy with my purchase from WWC, the information online made my decision so much easier and the customer service just can’t be beaten. So if it is time to freshen up your whip for spring, I can, without doubt, recommend the XO1 cassette." - Bill