Sram Eagle Group Set

iwilldoit

Hi All.

A friend turn up at the house with his new Whyte G160 RS, my first thoughts were bloody hell that's nice and the second was look at the cassette on the rear of that, he told me it was a Sram Eagle 12 speed looking at the biggest cog it looked like you could ride up the side of a house, he wasn't as impressed as much as he thought he would be, he had a Giant Trance before with 2x10 with std front 2 chainrings 24 & 38 and 11 x 42 on the back which shouldn't be as good but he can't see a huge difference, I thought he was joking when he said the cassette was £300 so I had a look on the net and I can't get over the price of the SRAM Eagle stuff around £1000 - £1200 for a group set and a 1x11 Shimano group set is around £300 but you are supposed to save around 250 grams on the Eagle :shock:

Is The Sram Eagle worth the money, personally I would be gutted having to replace any of it when you could get a Shimno complete set up for the price of one of the Sram components.

cooldad

The people who buy them obviously feel they're worth it.

larkim

Surely the people who buy them obviously hope they're worth it.

fat daddy

Its worth it, to have the latest gear ... give it a couple of years and it will have dropped in price, everyone will have one and I'll be trying to wedge it on the back of a 25 year old retro MTB

rockmonkeysc

I wouldn't want a cassette costing £300. Far too expensive for a consumable part.

The Rookie

If you must have the ultimate then you have to pay the price.

My riding isn't, and never will be, good enough to justify that sort of spend.

I'm running 1x10 and a quick tot up suggests my groupset cost me less than £130 (XT cranks, Gamut ring, Tiagra shifter and XTR rear mech, Sunrace cassette and Miche chain) for what is a decently light setup, probably lighter than (but without the gear range of) the Eagle. All except the cranks and ring and rear mech were new.

YellaBelly

Racers like it for having a big gear spread at minimal weight. Personally I'd rather have 2x10 and the change in my pocket for a trail bike.

supersonic

500% gear range on a single ring is what the Eagle is about - if you have the cash. Some of the parts are impressively light, especially the crank. Not all need that range though so plenty of other single ring options, but if you do and can't stretch to the Eagle, then still life yet in the old front derailer.

I still think there is merit in going for a lightweight and relatively inexpensive 2x9 system on some bikes.

Hinaultscrapcousin

Is it worth the money? Probably not.

Dick Scruttock

Its great, I have it on both my bikes and a few extra cassette on the alloy wheels I use when I am not running enve's on either bike.

It means I can now easily run a 36 up front and the range is great now. Before on 10-42 I was on a 32/34 up front.

FishFish

Supersonic makes the point. You can have the technology or you can get the functionality cheaper without the technology. Like with a phone - some people want an expensive phone and some are not bothered but get similar connectivity cheaper. The question of is it worth it depends on the buyer. I would say that anyone that buys it thinks it is worth the money, some people who don't do consider it to be of value but can't afford it and the rest do not think it is good value.

It would be an interesting test to see how buyers would react if a bike was offered with two options - the 1*12 or 2*9 at a price difference less than the £300.

hsiaolc

iwilldoit wrote:

Hi All.

A friend turn up at the house with his new Whyte G160 RS, my first thoughts were bloody hell that's nice and the second was look at the cassette on the rear of that, he told me it was a Sram Eagle 12 speed looking at the biggest cog it looked like you could ride up the side of a house, he wasn't as impressed as much as he thought he would be, he had a Giant Trance before with 2x10 with std front 2 chainrings 24 & 38 and 11 x 42 on the back which shouldn't be as good but he can't see a huge difference, I thought he was joking when he said the cassette was £300 so I had a look on the net and I can't get over the price of the SRAM Eagle stuff around £1000 - £1200 for a group set and a 1x11 Shimano group set is around £300 but you are supposed to save around 250 grams on the Eagle :shock:

Is The Sram Eagle worth the money, personally I would be gutted having to replace any of it when you could get a Shimno complete set up for the price of one of the Sram components.

For those who bought it sure it is worth it.

For £1,000 I wouldn't invest in it compared to a DI2 Road which I have two.

If it comes with a bike with heavy discount sure of course.

Angus Young

Dick Scruttock wrote:

It means I can now easily run a 36 up front and the range is great now. Before on 10-42 I was on a 32/34 up front.

And what's the advantage of that set-up? If you put a bigger cog on the back but then add more teeth at the front, doesn't it just even itself out? But I'm guessing not, so what does that set-up get you?

doomanic

You get a higher top speed while retaining a gear low enough for climbs.

Angus Young

doomanic wrote:

You get a higher top speed while retaining a gear low enough for climbs.

How come it doesn't just cancel itself out, given that you gain some at one end and lose some at the other?

JGTR

Angus Young wrote:

doomanic wrote:

You get a higher top speed while retaining a gear low enough for climbs.

How come it doesn't just cancel itself out, given that you gain some at one end and lose some at the other?

Because it has a wider range on the rear casette.

Most 1x needs smaller front ring to keep the low climbing gear, Eagle has wide range so can go larger on the front to get your high gear back. Basically what he just said!

robertpb

I'd want to know the life span of these cassettes given that on average I get through two every year with an 11-32 which comes to £30 each.

The Eagle 12 speed cassette at around £250 would have to last about four years, I don't think so.

I have a 1 x 11 speed on my cyclocross which for 10-42 costs £75, but that doesn't get the abuse that the MTB does.

The Rookie

Crikey, how on earth do you get through 2 cassettes a year?

robertpb

The Rookie wrote:

Crikey, how on earth do you get through 2 cassettes a year?

Still on one this year, it's been very dry, when the rains come the ground stays wet for a very long time just doesn't drain.

The ground structure is heavy clay and grit once that has some liquid to it you have a pretty good grinding paste.

All around this area was traditional brick making, sand and ballast extraction and cement manufacturing, which in turn ended up as London's refuse dump, then when that stopped wildlife parks.

Hinaultscrapcousin

I think at least 1, commonly 2 cassettes a year is common up here (Glasgow) for people who ride a lot.

The Rookie

Crikey, I got over 4 years out of my last one!