SRAM NX - a More Affordable 1x11 Option

By John Hardwick | 12 February 2016

Around 10 months ago SRAM released GX; a groupset that was designed to make their 1x11 drivetrain more affordable and accessible. Now they’ve done it again by introducing the new NX drivetrain.

While NX slots in below GX (and all the others), it’s still a purpose built 1x11 group offering a wide range cassette and a 1X specific X-Sync chainring up front.

Pricing wise the complete 1x11 drivetrain sells for around $580; that’s around $270 cheaper than the GX group and $1,600 less than the flagship XX1 setup!

So it’s 1x11 on a VB beer budget but what do you actually miss out on? Well individually each component has a cheaper finish. The trigger shifters have a wide built-in clamp rather than piggybacking off the brake lever via their tidy Matchmaker system. The rear derailleur shares the aesthetics and features of the higher end groups but is heavier; 322g versus 265g for GX or 245g for XX1. In some areas however the difference is barely discernible; the cranks use the same 6000 series alloy as the GX version and fit a wide range of X-Sync chainrings — from 28 up to 40T via a 94mm bolt circle.

The most obvious area of compromise with NX is in the cassette. Rather than having the full 10-42 tooth gear spread found on SRAM’s other 1x11 groups, it offers a more limited 11-42 range. One tooth less mightn’t sound like much but it makes a distinct difference at the smaller end of the cassette. The 10 cog found on GX and the other SRAM cassettes provides a top gear that’s 10% higher; as a result you can use a smaller chainring and gain a lower hill climbing gear if you wish.

Not that a 11-42 gear spread is terrible; it’s as wide as you can get with a Shimano cassette and as a side-benefit, the NX cassette will fit to any regular 10 speed freehub (you don’t need a XD driver body). Probably a smart move by SRAM, as the NX parts are likely to find their way onto some pretty affordable bikes with lower end wheels that don’t cater to the XD system.

There’s a fair chunk of extra weight in the 11 speed cassette too. It comes in at 538g; that’s 144g more than the 10-42 GX cassette and a whopping 270g more than X01 or XX1. Of course it’s a ton cheaper too; you can expect the NX cassette to go for around $125 versus $400 plus for XX1. The NX cassette is quite a bit cheaper than a Shimano XT 11 speed cassette too but around 110g heavier.

At the end of the day the slightly reduced gear spread and weight shouldn’t reduce its appeal and it’ll be great to see 1x11 coming on even more affordable bikes in the future.