It's the End of the Drivetrain as We Know It (And We Feel...)

It’s the End of the Drivetrain as We Know It (And We Feel…)

There's been a lot of news surrounding mountain bike drivetrains recently. We dive into the details.

By Jeff Barber
August 8, 2023 Last Updated: December 7, 2023

11 comments

Singletracks may receive compensation for purchases made through any affiliate links in this article.

In this episode, Matt and Jeff talk about the latest mountain bike drivetrain developments from electronic shifting to Eagle Transmission.

What are the advantages of electronic shifting? What are the disadvantages?
How does the new SRAM Eagle Transmission wireless electronic drivetrain compare to AXS?
What’s the deal with dropouts? Is UDH going to be the standard?
How have consumers and readers responded to the Eagle Transmission news?
How do you think Shimano will respond?

We’ll also recap some of the latest mountain bike trail and gear news at the top of the show.

The Singletracks podcast is brought to you by TPC — The Pro’s Closet.

Now is the perfect time to upgrade, and TPC has an industry-leading selection of new and Certified Pre-Owned bikes, plus frames, wheels and accessories. Each Certified, Pre-Owned bike is inspected, tested and serviced, and every bike includes thirty day returns. Visit tpc.bike/singletracks and enter code Singletracks40 to save forty dollars on every order over two hundred.

Never Miss an Episode

Listen on Spotify
Listen on Apple Podcasts
Listen on Google Podcasts
Listen on Stitcher
Listen on Overcast
Get the RSS Feed
View all Podcast Episodes

Drivetrain

SRAM Eagle Transmission Improves Modern MTB Drivetrains, but Don't Rush to Upgrade [Review]

Drivetrain

SRAM GX Eagle Transmission Drops $500 off X0, Offers Excellent Performance [Review]

Mountain Bikes and Gear

Shimano XTR Di2 Test Ride Impressions

Drivetrain

Trailside Fixes for SRAM AXS Wireless Shifting

11 Comments

Please log in or create a free account to join the discussion.

iBam Utah // 2010
Aug 11, 2023

Appreciate the podcast, the discussion hit good points on pros & cons with electronic vs mechanical, & AXS vs Transmission. My 2 cents since I switched from mechanical to AXS is that the pros on AXS heavily out weights the cons. Just the benefits of no cables to deal with (fraying, stretching, clogging, rusting, bending, routing, frame rubs, rattling, clutter, etc.), quick shifting (no tension between gears, it just shifts), no tension on the controller paddles, easy shifting under load, make easy micro shift adjustments while riding via paddle (also avail in App), love the overload clutch when smashing on rocks, & last is being compatible with all Eagle components to mix & match. Also my Garmin Edge can display which gear you are on & battery life on both controller & derailleur. One other thing you forgot to address is with the App, you can set & skip multiple gears both up & downshifts by holding the paddle for 2 secs, I have mine set to shift 2 gears low on quick inclines & skips 3 gears on the downhills. Oh you have a broken or dead controller, just dismount & press the button on the derailleur to shift up or down manually. Yes, you have to watch & recharge those batteries, but a spare is nice to have if you forgot. I also had to swap out the standard paddles on the controllers to mimic the actuated shifters. I think the Transmission is innovative & some way makes sense, but with the higher cost, extra weight, & proprietary components, plus there are some limitations in rebuilding or replacing broken parts where you have to buy the whole assembly just to replace the pulley cage, I love my AXS & makes it hard to go back to mechanical drivetrains.

1 reply

Bontrager fan 1972 New South Wales // 2023
Sep 5, 2023

Can you change the AXS shifting up and down patterns on-the- move as it were ?

0 reply

iBam Utah // 2010
Sep 5, 2023

If I understand your question correctly, any changes to how the gears shift is only done via the App, however to change the pulley alignment while riding, just hold on the AXS button shifter controller & shift up or down to micro-adjust pulley positions. Hope that answers your question.

I was referring to the scenario where you infend to shift down two gears at a time for a fairly immediate climb and immediately afterwards wish to shift up one or three gears at a time , for example .

iBam Utah // 2010
Sep 6, 2023

Ah my bad :) Yes, nice thing I like about the AXS or e-shifters, is that there is no tension or in-between stages when shifting or between gears, with a press of a button, the pulley just moves directly to the next gear position. That means, it just quickly shifts, even under load (not too much load tho, especially on the last 2 big cogs). That said, when you enable multishift & setup to shift 2, 3, or all gears, you can hold down the down shifter button for 2 sec to multishift down then immediately multishift up, it will just shift. Hope that answers your question.

Bontrager fan 1972 New South Wales // 2023
Sep 7, 2023

Not quite . I meant multi - mode shifting being used for a short period during a ride where conditions may change suddenly from technical to easy , for example . This would require multi gear shifting and then immediately changing to single gear shifting without having to access the downloaded application .

Jon Gustavson Oregon // 2016
Aug 9, 2023

Nice tech and progression in the mtb drivetrain world. Like the idea, especially with no more cables to fray and eventually tear prematurely and no deraileur/hanger bolts to eventually work it’s way lose, thus whacking out the shifting. My squabble is the long caged derailleir that hangs lower causes weak link in system (easily bent) due to increased leverage forces on system and longer cage and bigger cassette cog (52t) has tendency to pick up more debris and sticks as well. So, 11 spd mech for me that shifts great, reliable and affordable to replace as needed or when worn.

neko003 Manitoba // 2023
Aug 13, 2023

The technology is really cool, but as someone dealing with electronics as a living, it is something I don't want to deal with on my bike rides. In my (probably ignorant) opinion there's a million things that could go wrong with an electronic system and almost zero ways to deal with it in the trail setting, and the last thing I'd want happening is forgetting the battery while hours away going on a bike trip. I hope they don't kill the cable actuated shifters and derailleurs.

TCFlowClyde Arizona // 2017
Aug 22, 2023

I have old AXS...I'm now ready for either a gearbox or lightweight internally geared hub (Kindernay VII). Junk the rear mech entirely...it's time!🤛

weaselsmopar Georgia // 2022
Sep 5, 2023

So I was very skeptical about going from mechanical to axs in the beginning. I found that the shifting was better then I thought but what I also found out I was bending my hanger once a month. Which really sux. So when the sram transmission can out I just went for it. But I do admit that I did wait a little bit as I wanted to keep my cranks and I had just gotten era cranks and had to wait to get the type t chainring before I could.go to the transmission and the only.company making them is wolftooth. But I did get the transmission and it is so good and there are more pros then cons the shifting is super crisp and even underload you can shift to your hearts content. The spring rate is also so freaking awesome. Also just being able to finally rebuild the derailleur of you kill it makes it worth every penny. Yeah it is quite expensive but so are our bikes now days.

The SRAM transmission podcast discussion was good but the fact that Shimano HG-X cassettes shift more smoothly than SRAM's ones was not really looked at .

Never Miss an Episode

Featured Articles

11 Comments