Hello, and welcome to Meet the Range. I'm Jen Whalen, your host with the most - gears that is.
I'm here today to help you explore and expand your gravel gearing choices. What they mean,
how to spot them, and what works best for you. SRAM has a variety of gravel drivetrain options
to let you tailor your ride. To help you figure out what works best for you, we've broken down
our gravel gearing offerings into three main choices. There’re infinite possibilities here,
but these are the three that have gotten the most traction lately. Setup number one: This is
your adventure rig with wide range Eagle gearing. Setup number two is that sweet spot gravel bike
with an XPLR drivetrain. And finally, setup number three is your fat tire road bike with 2x gearing.
First, we'll start with the most rugged end of the spectrum: An ultra-wide range Eagle drivetrain
that will help you climb up, over, and out of anything. Are you the adventure traveler type?
Grinding your way up some remote alpine trail with your bike bags on. Got wide tires to
help cushion you over chonky trails, or even some suspension like this RockShox Rudy fork?
Well then, you're gonna appreciate this 1x setup with super easy gears and an ultra-robust 1x Eagle
AXS rear derailleur. So, you may be saying, Jen, “all this gear is gonna overload my poor bike.”
Well, that's where we come in. Bring in the big ones!
These 10-50T or 10-52T cassettes will do most of the work for you. So, you can spin and enjoy
your breathtaking surroundings. And when we say 10-50T or 10-52T, we're talking about the
number of teeth on the first cog here, and the number of teeth on the last cog here.
Okay, so we've covered how this drivetrain works for adventurous riders. That can be part of it
but there's also folks that are out here that live in places where extreme climbs or rugged terrain
is just simply unavoidable, even on daily lunch loops - and this works for them too.
This very same ultra-wide range Eagle cassette keeps you feeling fresh on the steepest climbs,
even if it's just your driveway. If you like the simplicity and clean look of
this 1x setup but don't need all that range, this next option is probably right for you.
Meet XPLR, the newest addition to the SRAM gravel family. Pronounced “explore” not X – P – L – R.
We created this gearing for the real sweet spot that hits most gravel rider’s needs. It's based
around a 10-44T cassette, which is wider than a typical road cassette but not quite as wide as
the Eagle cassette. And for a lot of riders, it ends up being just right. There's an easy enough
gear to climb comfortably and closer steps between those gears. So you can keep that perfect cadence.
XPLR is also a great setup for racing too. Whether it's a big event in Kansas,
or just spicing things up on your weeknight group ride. Get me a glass of non-dairy milk!
If you're worried that a single chainring means you won't have all the gears you need,
check this out: This XPLR gearing has a 440% range which is basically as wide or wider than most 2x
systems. The 10-tooth cog gives you a hard enough gear for just about any gravel riding situation,
and the 44-tooth cog means that you have an easier gear than your classic road bike. So,
fewer chainrings, but all the range? Now that's magic.
OK, that's enough math for now I think you get the point.
But it really is that sweet spot option for a lot of gravel riders and gravel bikes.
After covering all these one by options you might think it really is true what they say.
SRAM did kill the front derailleur. Not true! We still love these little guys. That's why the third
and final gravel gearing option we'll cover is this: The 2x all-road setup. The 2x setup should
have even the hungriest hippos salivating for some crunch and munch gravel granola.
This gearing setup is more like a mindset adjustment to your typical road bike.
One where we've realized that people just want more out of their bikes,
and that's why we say “all-road”, because bikes like this are ready for all the roads. They can
ride the pavement comfortably…they can leave the pavement comfortably. This build with a
46-33T chainring combo and a 10-36T cassette is a great way to go. The small, tighter steps
between the cassette cogs make for a ton of choices to allow a very comfortable cadence.
If you want all the range but all the steps too, this is the setup that makes you say, “yes,
I really can have it all.” So, now that we've covered all of the most common gearing options,
the rest is really up to you. And if you're having trouble deciding, you know, just remember the six
g's. Great Gear Guarantees Grand Gravel Grinding. Great Gear Guarantees Grand Gravel Grinding.
Say it with me now. Great Gear Guarantees Grand Gravel Grinding. Great Gear Guarantees Grand
Gravel Grinding. Great Gear Guarantees Grand Gravel Grinding. Whoa! Great Gear Guarantees
Grand Gravel Grinding. Great Gear Guarantees Grand Gravel Grinding. Was that too much?