11/22/2008

Words and photos by Stuart Kernaghan

SRAM rolled out its new X.O carbon fiber shifters and derailleurs at its media camp last March, but the goods have been particularly hard to come by. Racers, the odd shop, and a few lucky journos (including yours truly), got ahold of some. I've been riding them for a few months now, and thought I'd offer a more in-depth description of the product.

The Chicago-based component manufacturer is making a pretty big deal of the X.O gear. A whole section of the SRAM site is dedicated to the shifter alone, and there are lots of nifty little Flash animations to show you how it works. But since you're already reading this, I'll give you the lowdown - minus the animation, but with more words.

Carbon has been used on the 2006 X.O drivetrain parts for both fashion and function. It looks damn sexy but it also reduces weight and is strong yet flexible. The shifters receive a carbon cover, which is held in place with a large screw that goes through the cover and into the body of the shifter. Cable changes are a piece of cake, thanks to that system. One drawback, though, is that the cover can be damaged if you run it too close to your brake levers.

SRAM X.O shifter pods, with carbon goodness - note the chip on the top edge of the cover

The new shifters have a lot going for them, in addition to the carbon covers. Two different clamping positions are possible, allowing you to move the shifter about 5mm in one direction or the other to fine-tune your set-up. Finding the ideal position, either inboard or outboard of the brake lever clamp, is simpler. It's not perfect, because the shifter fits better under some brake levers than others, but it's pretty good.

The two shifter clamping options - remove small screw (left), remove clamp screw (right), move shifter,
reinstall screws. Simple, right?

The adjustable downshift lever (the larger one) is a nice touch. You can move the lever within a 30° +/- arc by loosening the screw that holds the lever itself onto the shifter body. Move it closer to, or further from, yourself to set the starting point for the shift wherever you want it. The notch in the clamp serves as the indicator line.

I tried a few different positions, but ended up going back to the neutral starting position. I've got big hands, and found that other settings - especially those with the up- and downshift levers closer together - weren't too comfortable. Racers and riders with smaller hands will really like this feature, though.

30° of swinging fun. And thanks to the handing markings, you can remember where you started.

Other technological enhancements on the X.Os include Zero Loss Travel, which is supposed to cut the seven to 15 degrees of play at the lever down to less than one degree. Zero Loss Travel means more responsive shifting, and that's been noticeable so far - regardless of the conditions or loads on the drivetrain during shifting.

The front shifter now sports a special Cable Cradle that's designed to equalize the effort and travel of shifts from small to middle ring, and from middle to large. At this point in time, I'm only running two rings and a bashguard, so it's hard to comment much on that. Moving on to the rear derailleur (there is no X.O front derailleur, but the X-Geneneration offers roughly equivalent quality). The biggest change for the '06 X.O rear derailleur is the carbon cage. According to SRAM, the carbon cage has four to five times higher impact energy absorption than aluminum, so it will flex during an impact rather than bending or breaking. It will still break if you really beat on it - just not as easily as aluminum. Which is a comforting thought.

A medium-caged X.O derailleur - stiff, light, and sexy

Carbon is an option for medium and small cages, but you're stuck with aluminum for the long cage. Weight is set at 210g for the long cage, 197g with the medium, and 192g for the short.

Close-up of the cage. Note the black composite on the inside of the plate, to protect against wear.

As I mentioned above, the carbon shifter cover is susceptible to chipping. So what stops that from happening to the derailleur - or more specifically, to the inside of the derailleur cage where the chain runs? Fear not, SRAM has used polyamid composite on the side of each plate to keep it from getting trashed. The exposed external edges of the cage have also been built up, for added protection. Thus far, the shifter has performed particularly well, and as you can see, it's in good shape after a few months in Whistler and some backcountry exploring. And now on to the important question. How much do these bad boys cost? The short answer is: a lot. Providing you can find them, that is. One mail order place in the States is selling the derailleur for about US$250, and the shifters for the same price. And is saying that they're in limited supply.

To put things in perspective, a 2005 X.O derailleur from that mail order company is selling for $120 at close-out prices (with an MSRP of $200), and the X.9 trigger shifters for $110.

Expect the prices to be higher in retail stores, and a fair bit higher in Canuck dollars. But take comfort in the fact that get what you pay for. The X.O package offers a lot of new technology that improves performance. And then there's the bling factor that comes with carbon parts... How can you put a price on that?

Stay tuned for a full review of the '06 X.O shifters and rear derailleur in the not-too-distant future.

Until then...

Stuart Kernaghan