Available this September, the new NX Eagle drivetrain is compatible with all levels of Eagle and comes at a great price.
With a price of just $375 for an entire drivetrain, SRAM has done a great job of bringing many of their 1x12-speed technologies to their most affordable "NX" level. They've done this in part by making some material changes and using less costly manufacturing methods.
We love that the individual components can mix and match with any of the higher-priced XX1, X01 and GX Eagle drivetrains. Keep in mind that the cassette range is slightly reduced from the 500% to 455% (10-50 tooth vs 11-50 tooth on NX) and requires a standard freehub body, not the SRAM XD driver most often seen with SRAM drivetrains. It does keep that hill-crushing 50-tooth cog, however, which is important for many riders.
Dig into the specs and SRAM's claims, below. We've also provided key comparisons to the $495-545 GX Eagle drivetrain, which is the next step above NX.
This new NX Eagle derailleur features the proven SRAM 1X-specific X-HORIZON design. The larger, 14-tooth X-SYNC lower pulley easily facilitates 11-50 and 10-50 tooth cassette capacity, and also adds to NX Eagle’s overall smooth-pedaling feel. The Type-3 ROLLER BEARING CLUTCH provides quiet, consistent performance and durability.
Compared to GX Eagle rear derailleur: 48g heavier, $3 less expensive
Ride anywhere with the wide-range PG-1230, 11- to 50-tooth Eagle cassette. The NX cassette gives riders every bit of the climbing range that the Eagle ecosystem affords with a simple upgrade to splined-drive body wheels. The PG-1230 is the only Eagle cassette designed to be durable enough to withstand the increased demands of E-MTB applications and a perfect solution to heavy-duty use and abuse.
Compared to GX Eagle XG-1275 cassette: 170g heavier, $95 less expensive, 45% less range
New NX Eagle trigger shifter means on-demand gear selection throughout the entire wide range Eagle cassette. The massive range means you never have to worry about having the right gear for the terrain. NX Eagle means easy, intuitive shifting every time for every rider.
Compared to GX Eagle trigger shifter: 10g lighter, $2 less expensive
The SRAM NX crankset delivers Eagle styling and performance to the newest addition to the Eagle ecosystem. Designed for SRAM’s X-SYNC2 chainrings, the NX crankset is engineered for complete chain control—each tooth’s profile is precisely engineered to work quietly, efficiently and securely with the Eagle chain’s inner and outer links. DUB technology features a better-engineered bottom bracket and a new spindle design, which together allows for a more uniform approach to bottom bracket fitment, better sealing against contamination and forward and backward compatibility. Now everyone can benefit from a new measure of performance and durability.
Compared to 175mm, 32-tooth GX Eagle DUB crankset: 84g heavier, $30-64 less expensive
The basis of every Eagle drivetrain is its chain—and the NX Eagle chain is designed and manufactured using genuine SRAM’s Eagle architecture, so it is fully compatible with every other component in the Eagle ecosystem. The NX Eagle chain features solid pin construction, Eagle PowerLock and smooth, efficient shifting that you can count on every time out.
Compared to GX Eagle chain: 15g heavier, $4 less expensive
Visit www.sram.com for more details.
Photos by Adrian Marcoux
Roots_rider
6/16/2018 11:42 AM
I don’t understand the point of making everything other than the cassette honestly. You save $2,3,4 here and there for lower quality parts and manufacturing processes. Compare the build quality of an 11sp nx der to a gx der. The nx literally falls apart. If this crop of nx is anything like the last, it’s just more consumable parts to throw in the trash...
Shimano atleast believed in making a der that can survive multiple seasons of hard use without rattling itself apart.
onenerdykid*
6/17/2018 1:14 AM
Roots_rider
6/17/2018 10:14 AM
Of course. But when you’re buying in bulk it’s easy to get those additional points. The cranks and cassette are the big ones here that will bring the eagle gruppo to lower end builds. The previous 11sp gruppos, gx vs nx, at least had $20-$30 differences which helps the aftermarket consumer and shops get people onto a reasonably priced 1x drivetrain with varying budgets. If they truly used cheaper materials and processes, that shifter could be $25-$30 and the der should be $80ish. This would better reflect the “levels” that brands have built over the years. At the end of the day we’ll still be selling gx shift/der on a nx cassette.
I’m just bitter I guess, inventory is already a nightmare in the bike industry, where we’re flooded with thousands of small parts that are continuously changing. To have what’s essentially duplicate parts with different skus is frustrating.
casman86
6/16/2018 2:01 AM
andrew.macnaughton
6/15/2018 10:36 AM
casman86
6/16/2018 2:06 AM
rokkitan
6/17/2018 10:48 AM
Nic Cotton
6/15/2018 8:53 AM
ccolagio
6/15/2018 2:23 PM
rokkitan
6/17/2018 10:59 AM
ccolagio
6/14/2018 11:18 AM
MiSo11
6/14/2018 10:18 AM
ur_pal_al
6/14/2018 9:35 AM
Shimano: we are finally joining the wide range game with a 500 dollar alloy crankset and a proprietary free-hub body that will only be licensed to DT Swiss.
Sram: Here's an eagle drivetrain group for 375 bucks that will work on just about any wheel.
Billrideshisbike.
6/14/2018 6:12 PM
casman86
6/16/2018 2:03 AM
grinch
6/14/2018 7:57 PM
rokkitan
6/17/2018 11:18 AM
SLX could compete, but if Shimano follows their usual release schedule, it's 2 years before release. It is probably going to be very good, but Shimano will loose (some) sales to Sram until then. Current SLX isn't too far off with the 11-46 cassette, ~9% difference from Eagle NX in range, but the 9-tooth jump from 37 to 46 looks like they took the easy way out. Also 12 > 11 for many consumers.
Last Eagle eTAP is coming, while Di2 is not coming this year it seems. I think Sram is ahead currently, but competition is good.