2 1/2 years after the launch of SRAM's 12-speed electronic AXS groups, it is finally perfect for 1x.
When SRAM’s AXS family launched, it was a great step forward for 2x drivetrains. 12-speed, electronic, great ergonomics, perfect cassette combos (well except that 10-26T nobody needs).
For 1x, the offering was a bit mixed. Remember that until the launch of AXS 12-speed, almost all 1x drivetrains used SRAM Force 1 groups or its Rival & Apex 1x derivatives. With 11-speed, 10-42T and 11-42T cassettes, 38T, 40T or 42T chainrings, they offered the perfect range for gravel bikes in most situations.
The saving grace for AXS was that its road shifters are compatible with its Eagle AXS mountain bike derailleurs and cassettes. This means you can run an Eagle cassette on your gravel dropbar bike with a 10-50T, 11-50T or even a 10-52T cassette.
Yet the holy grail was still missing. Those 11-42T and 10-42T 11-speed cassettes dominated the market for a reason: because they were perfect for so many.
Whatever the reason, that is now in the past. SRAM has launched XPLR – pronounced Explore. Explore of course is pretty close to Exploro, which you could view as either a trademark infringement or the ultimate tribute by the gravel drivetrain market leader for our little gravel frame that could!
So what is XPLR? It’s a derailleur and a cassette that sit in-between SRAM’s AXS road and AXS mountain bike parts. The XPLR cassette is 10-44T, 12-speed of course, and the XPLR rear derailleur is capable of shifting both that cassette and the 10-36T cassette.
