SRAM XX1 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.

Let's face it. Not all of us like cable clutter in front of our bikes. SRAM's AXS ecosystem gets rid of shifting and dropper post cables. But is the performance worth it? Our friend, Doug, picked up the SRAM XX1 AXS kit not too long ago. See what they think!

Overview

I have secretly wanted to try wireless shifting since SRAM released the Eagle AXS group set. One less cable to route through my frame during routine maintenance and the promise of better shifting performance. However, I just couldn’t justify the price and risk for a derailleur that will get abused on the trail. In the last few years, I have managed to bend the cage on multiple Eagle GX derailleurs. Cheap and easy to replace. Less so with AXS. I was a skeptic.

Fast forward a year and the Eagle AXS upgrade kit was released for half the price. I decided to give it a try with my existing Eagle X01 cassette and XX1 crankset. I was most interested in the shorter cage which, in theory, will result in less East Coast gnar rock strikes. Additionally, the impact clutch mechanism is a huge benefit if your derailleur does manage to get smacked around every now and then on the trail.

I was instantly impressed with how quickly everything installed and the app made fine-tuning the shifting super easy and intuitive.

By my 2nd ride, I had already bashed the side of derailleur in a tight rock garden during descent. Despite some scratches, it still works like new. I have continued to put it to the test while riding in thunderstorms, mud, and greasy loam on the secret steeps of North Georgia. It just works flawlessly every time. No barrel adjustments needed due to cable stretch. I have put a few really big days on the bike with over 50 miles and 9,000’ of climbing and to my surprise, the battery is still at 75% after 8 hours on the go. I did purchase a 2nd battery for backup, but so far it’s been totally unnecessary. I simply charge the battery after each ride on my drive home even though you can easily set and forget it for weeks at a time.

One other cool feature worth mentioning is the Wahoo and Garmin support for AXS. I have my Wahoo Elemnt Bolt set-up to display the gearing in realtime on the main screen. I can quickly tap over to the menu settings to see the battery levels for added peace of mind.

Final Thoughts

This is no doubt an expensive upgrade for any trail bike that gets abused, but I’m confident I’ll see a longer life span out of this derailleur and shifter than my previously bashed GX derailleurs. I have a few other friends who are running AXS and properly abusing it daily too. On one ride, my friend's AXS derailleur was completely broken off the bike during an impact that snapped the hanger in half. Without any cables to mess with, putting a replacement hanger back on was quick and easy. Everything was back up and running with ease and it still works like that incident never happened. The build quality and ability to withstand so much abuse is impressive.