SRAM's Official Stance: The Eagle GX Cassette has a lifespan of 700 to 1,000 miles

GuitsBoy · Jul 24, 2020

So heard it straight from the horses' mouth today (by way of the vendor). SRAM's official stance is that the Eagle GX cassette is only intended to last 700 to 1000 miles under normal use even with frequent chain swaps.

This is absolute INSANITY!

A $215 cassette wont last beyond 1,000 miles? And they're OK with that?!? It's even EXPECTED?!? That means it costs you 31 cents per mile, simply in cassette wear. A 30K car doesn't even depreciate that fast.

Now that said, I have happily put 4K+ miles on my xx1 cassette without it skipping a beat, though it did drop a tooth. My chain wear has been non-existent. XX1 and even X01 for that matter are great. The hardened steel makes a HUGE difference over the soft stamped steel. But still, not everyone can justify buying a $450 cassette. So what are they left with? Replace a $215 cassette two or three times a year?

I'm just frustrated. I wore out two Eagle GX cassettes before switching both f/s bikes to XX1, the first one was denied warranty early on, the second I didn't bother with. This most recent warranty denial was a buddy's bike, but it was the first time SRAMs response indicated they dont expect these to last beyond 700 to 1000 miles. My jaw is still on the floor.

Harold · Jul 24, 2020

well, how else do you think they're going to convince people to spend $450 on a cassette?

Lone Rager · Jul 24, 2020

Yeah. Better to under promise and over deliver. Say it'll last 1k and you're a hero if it lasts 1.2k. On 1x11 I've worn out one of two cassettes in 2100 miles, the first being an XG1195. The second, a GX, is still hanging tough. IDK how many miles on each of those two as they were on different wheels that I went back and forth between.

6thElement · Jul 25, 2020

I'm at about 2200 miles and 330000ft of climbing on my 11 speed GX 1150 cassette.

Sounds like they made the 12 speed versions with cheese.

Le Duke · Jul 25, 2020

Lone Rager said:
Yeah. Better to under promise and over deliver. Say it'll last 1k and you're a hero if it lasts 1.2k. On 1x11 I've worn out one of two cassettes in 2100 miles, the first being an XG1195. The second, a GX, is still hanging tough. IDK how many miles on each of those two as they were on different wheels that I went back and forth between.

I think I put 2+ years and 10,000+ miles into an 1195.

Weird.

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Outhouse · Jul 25, 2020

GuitsBoy said:
This is absolute INSANITY!

A $215 cassette wont last beyond 1,000 miles? .

LOL you sound insane as spun as you are, believe everything you read?

Your all would up, spun out over nothing.

They last 3 to 5X that long no matter what the company states.

I have 920 miles on mine and besides loosing a tooth, I still have 3-4 more chains to go. It shows almost no wear.

Im sure one could abuse one and have it fail early, but its not the norm CTFD

Jayem · Jul 25, 2020

I'm on year 5 of an X01 that I've moved from bike to bike, just recently got a wolftooth replacement 42 for it, seems to be going strong and meshed with the new chain. Amazing lifespan (compared to the old 1-season XTs I used to run).

FJSnoozer · Jul 25, 2020

Makes sense. I went through 7-8 gx 11s cassettes that lasted 500-800 mi before buying my first xx1/x01. Since then, I have had 4 of those last 5-7K miles

Spend money on the chain and cassette!

GX derraieur is fine

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GuitsBoy · Jul 25, 2020

Outhouse said:
LOL you sound insane as spun as you are, believe everything you read?

Your all would up, spun out over nothing.

They last 3 to 5X that long no matter what the company states.

I have 920 miles on mine and besides loosing a tooth, I still have 3-4 more chains to go. It shows almost no wear.

Im sure one could abuse one and have it fail early, but its not the norm CTFD

Beg your pardon, but I've already given you three examples (out of three) that met an early demise. Two of my own skipped to the point they were unusable at 1000 to 1200 miles, and now my buddies does the same at 700 ish. I know most of the othe rguys we ride with have moved away from eagle gx, towards x01 or xx1, but i dont know the the cassettes died, or what mileage they had.

My chains were replaced at .5 % stretch, and obviously when a cassette was replaced, which was in the 400 to 600 mile range for GX. I still have one more low mile GX cassette and a handful of gx chains, which I dont use, and just keep as backup. I had gone through probably 7 GX chains before finally going with the pricier stuff.

Since then, my oldest xx1 cassette and chain combo are both nearing 4k miles with no problems and absolutely ZERO chain stretch, which I cannot even wrap my head around. This is measured percentage, not just the drop in tool. Its still a press fit just to get the pins of the tool to seat. Yeah its a lot of money to lay out, but it sure has saved me a bunch in the long run.

I'm just amazed that SRAM considers 700 to be a long and fulfilled life for a $215 cassette. Thats barely two months casual riding in the summer for some guys.

J.B. Weld · Jul 25, 2020

Jayem said:
I'm on year 5 of an X01 that I've moved from bike to bike, just recently got a wolftooth replacement 42 for it, seems to be going strong and meshed with the new chain. Amazing lifespan (compared to the old 1-season XTs I used to run).

X01 and GX are worlds apart, GX does wear pretty fast IME.

Outhouse · Jul 25, 2020

GuitsBoy said:
Beg your pardon,.

Humor man humor. I dont get serious over bicycle stuff lol

I find it funny my example has over 900 miles, and no real noticeable wear.

My buddies 18 fuel 9.8 has way over a 1000, and I just installed his second chain, and his is no where near 25% of its life cycle.

I do clean and oil chain every ride, maybe geographic location has something to do with abuse

GuitsBoy · Jul 25, 2020

Outhouse said:
Humor man humor. I dont get serious over bicycle stuff lol

I find it funny my example has over 900 miles, and no real noticeable wear.

My buddies 18 fuel 9.8 has way over a 1000, and I just installed his second chain, and his is no where near 25% of its life cycle.

I do clean and oil chain every ride, maybe geographic location has something to do with abuse

Oh, I didnt take offense if thats what you mean.

For what its worth, none of the cassettes look worn in the slightest. The skipping comes out of nowhere, seemingly overnight. They simply will not hold a chain any longer. The under load, the chain starts riding up and over the teeth of one cog at first, then others soon after. And again, these cassettes have never seen a chain with more than .5% stretch.

If you really carefully inspect each tooth, I would guess that the teeth are being deformed by the repeated contact with the chain rollers, and it creates a subtle angle the chain rides up and over. Heat treated milled out chromoly appears to be much more resistant than stamped steel.

Anyway, you and your buddy can probably expect a visit from the SRAM GX boogeyman..... soon.

J.B. Weld · Jul 25, 2020

Outhouse said:
My buddies 18 fuel 9.8 has way over a 1000, and I just installed his second chain, and his is no where near 25% of its life cycle.

I don't think cassette percentage wear can be accuracy determined.

Humor man!

wishiwasbiking · Jul 25, 2020

J.B. Weld said:
X01 and GX are worlds apart, GX does wear pretty fast IME.

Odd, I had the GX 11 speed on my last bike, never had a cassette last less than 4000 miles, but went through a chain about every 600 miles.

TylerVernon · Jul 25, 2020

That's just laziness on their part. A proper heat treat and/or case hardening like nitrocarburizing would be trivial at the volume they push. Although, now that I think about it, intentional devaluing happens in the bike industry. Shimano puts a crappy freestroke screw in their SLX brakes just to make it hard to use compared with the phillips (or JIS I can't remember) on XT and XTR.

speedygz · Jul 25, 2020

J.B. Weld said:
I don't think cassette percentage wear can be accuracy determined.

Humor man!

How do you measure cassette wear?

They amount of paint/anodising worn off? Measure thickness of the teeth? Disassemble the cassette and overlay a new gear over the old one?

Jayem · Jul 26, 2020

speedygz said:
How do you measure cassette wear? They amount of paint/anodising worn off? Measure thickness of the teeth? Disassemble the cassette and overlay a new gear over the old one?

You use a cassette wear tool.

TylerVernon · Jul 26, 2020

I hadn't looked into sprocket wear tools. This video from KMC makes it seem like any piece of new chain, properly tensioned, could be used.

speedygz · Jul 26, 2020

Jayem said:
You use a cassette wear tool.

Ha ha ha. So how do you know when it's at a specific wear point, like the 25% quoted?

I think I'll just stick to replacing it when the chain skips, & forget about % numbers

Outhouse · Jul 26, 2020

speedygz said:
So how do you know when it's at a specific wear point, like the 25% quoted? I think I'll just stick to replacing it when the chain skips, & forget about % numbers

Look at a cassette that needs replaced, then a new one, then its not hard to imagine how much life one has left.

On mine that I claim is 25%, the teeth have just the slightest visible wear, while some paint has been removed, I believe this will be able to last at least 4 chains and I just replaced a chain.

People that take care of their cassettes and chains [keeping them clean and lubed] often report 3-4 chains before the cassette needs to be replaced.

Its not hard to look at a cassette and figure out if its half worn or not. as a sharp mechanic and engine builder, if one cannot guess how much something is worn. he had better pack up his tools and sell them.

SRAM's Official Stance: The Eagle GX Cassette has a lifespan of 700 to 1,000 miles

GuitsBoy

Harold

Lone Rager

6thElement

Le Duke

Outhouse

Jayem

FJSnoozer

GuitsBoy

J.B. Weld

Outhouse

GuitsBoy

J.B. Weld

wishiwasbiking

TylerVernon

speedygz

Jayem

TylerVernon

speedygz

Outhouse

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