The all-new SRAM Eagle 90 Mechanical Transmission that debuted these days is strictly what I used to be searching for in a brand new drivetrain for my tremendous path motorbike. Remaining fall, I constructed up a killer lengthy journey mountain motorbike that would pedal up in addition to it shredded down. It used to be gonna see a large number of abuse. The ridden exhausting and put away rainy type.
So, I wished a drivetrain that used to be: automatically easy, constructed difficult, but in addition no longer so dear that it wouldn’t cost a fortune if/after I had to substitute it. I additionally didn’t need to sacrifice gearing vary or shift precision. And albeit, I didn’t need to have to bear in mind to stay it charged.
Remaining fall, there in reality wasn’t anything else that checked all the ones bins. Nowadays, Eagle 90 Mechanical modified that.
SRAM Eagle 90 Mechanical is inexpensive, easy & constructed difficult
(All footage/Cory Benson)
In past due 2024, I were given ahold of a brand new Scott Ransom frameset to increase into a motorcycle that I may just experience probably the most technical trails I may just in finding. Some days pedaling to the highest of mountains for all-mountain journey rides, different instances turning back-to-back enduro, freeride & DH laps in bikeparks.
This superb motorbike pedals like every mid-travel path mountain motorbike in its decreased journey Climb mode. Then, ‘volume spacers at the touch of a button’ Ramp Keep watch over mode turns it right into a poppy enduro or bikepark shredder. And in complete open Descend mode, smartly… it descends virtually like a DH motorbike.
Upload in probably the most plush MTB fork I’ve ever ridden with this 180mm double crown Formulation Belva and one of the maximum robust brakes ever made with the Trickstuff Maximas, and this motorbike shreds.
So, I sought after a drivetrain with top-tier shift high quality & vary to compare the motorbike. However on the identical time, one thing that wouldn’t really feel overly treasured. I knew I used to be going to bash my derailleur towards quite a lot of rocks, perhaps even crash the motorbike off one thing silly. So, I refused to place a 480€ GX AXS digital derailleur on a motorcycle that used to be gonna see such abuse. (I don’t even need to take into accounts the 700€ AXS derailleurs that debuted the Complete Mount that my body used to be eager for!)
You notice, I’d already relatively cracked a GX AXS derailleur closing season and struggled to determine what went fallacious because it progressively stopped transferring. I didn’t desire a repeat of that.
So input the go back of the mechanical derailleur, a lot to my pleasure.
Mechanical isn’t lifeless.
Eagle 90 Mechanical 12-speed derailleur
The center of this new groupset is in fact, the all-new SRAM Eagle 90 Mechanical Transmission rear derailleur that introduced previous these days.
I already wrote in nice element the whole lot that sticks out as necessary in my thoughts, for this somewhat uncommon product release this is each in truth cutting edge tech AND if truth be told inexpensive. Counter to maximum disposable consumerism developments, it’s additionally simply serviced and is rebuildable for while you inevitably spoil some a part of it whilst mountain cycling technical trails.
(SRAM graphic)
Learn the entire information about Eagle 90 Mechanical Transmission and its much more inexpensive Eagle 70 Mechanical little brother, right here.
It makes me satisfied to peer this exploded view from SRAM with all of the provider portions which are to be had, since I’m positive I’ll be purchasing a few of these portions down the road to rebuild or restore this factor!
In reality, I’ve most effective been driving this new SRAM Eagle 90 Mechanical Transmission for simply over one month now. And sure, I’ve already scraped it up a bit of on a few of our tight rocky enduro trails.
Sure, the ones scrapes are at the non-structural plastic skid plate fastened to the outer parallelogram hyperlink. And sure, this is a usual substitute phase to be had from SRAM.
A very easy substitute after I injury it a bit of extra.
SRAM Complete Mount advantages for mechanical too!
But even so the most obvious simplicity of mechanical actuation like any vintage derailleurs, and the brand new modular rebuild-ability, it’s the hanger-less direct mount (SRAM calls it Complete Mount) on your body that units the brand new SRAM Eagle 90 Mechanical Transmission except for all mechanical derailleurs earlier than it.
Whilst many (myself incorporated) lament the lack of the sacrificial derailleur hanger in a crash, there’s no denying that getting rid of the hanger eliminates a large number of the woes of shifter adjustment. No prime/low set screws to forestall chains from leaping excessive or off the ground of your cassette. And far more uncomplicated shift tuning.
SRAM additionally touts not more want for a B-screw adjustment, however you continue to wish to get the knurled ring friction plate in the proper position earlier than you get started. It’s clean to do, and SRAM has an excellent troubleshooting web page to stroll you thru the right way to do it. However I can say that greater than part of the Transmission-equipped check motorcycles I’ve ridden up to now 2 years didn’t have the knurled ring appropriately aligned, whether or not for no longer adjusting them appropriately from the beginning in Setup Mode, or simply no longer greasing & torqueing the T-type derailleur to the entire 35Nm as required.
An all-new stealthy mechanical shifter
A posh, rebuildable mechanical derailleur is not anything with no just right shifter to actuate it.
The SRAM Eagle 90 Mechanical Transmission shifter is modest and useful, if a bit bit heavy and reputedly cumbersome. However in reality, it most effective seems to be giant on your hand or at the workbench earlier than set up.
The rationale the Eagle 90 Mechanical shifter seems to be a bit of larger is that SRAM redesigned the transferring mechanism to align the frame of the shifter and the cable go out with the handlebar, just like the Stealth hose routing on all the newest SRAM brakes. As soon as at the bar, the majority of the shifter all however disappears.
The opposite necessary bit about this shifter is that mine shifts 2 gears with one throw of the lever.
That makes its transferring if truth be told sooner than Eagle AXS Transmissions, but it surely does imply one limitation. You’ll be able to shift one equipment at a time underneath complete pedaling load. However to shift more than one gears, you need to ease again for your pedaling inputs, similar to all earlier non-Transmission/non-LinkGlide drivetrains.
That implies this 2-Click on shifter isn’t appropriate with motorcycles (which come to a decision on their very own when to prevent pedaling). And so there’s a separate Unmarried-Click on mechanical shifter for eMTB setups.
Burly alloy Eagle 90 crankset with metal chainring
The Eagle 90 Transmission crankset is a burly, no-nonsense affair. It’s only a 3-d-forged aluminum set of crankarms on a DUB backside bracket spindle. It options an 8-bolt direct mount interface, and is derived with a heavy-duty stamped metal chainring.
The Eagle 90 cranks include 2 composite bashguards that bolt on at once to the chainring (ring measurement particular). It’s the very same ones that come on X0 AXS and GX AXS T-type cranksets, too.
I used to be lovely excited to have one bash guard connected to my chainring since I virtually all the time bash into rocks & logs with my proper foot ahead. However I forgot that I wouldn’t have clearance as a result of my motorbike has a mini chainguide up peak.
It’s somewhat a disgrace that SRAM doesn’t come with some provision to house the bash guards out clear of the hoop, since an enormous selection of motorcycles come with an identical customized higher mini chainguides in this day and age. I would possibly glance into working out if there’s a 3-d revealed spacer so I may just nonetheless run the sort of?
Precise weights – mechanical transferring
The Eagle 90 Mechanical derailleur weighs in at 390g, with a mixture of aluminum, strengthened composite (most likely fiber strengthened nylon?), and metal development.
Its matching Eagle 90 shifter weighs any other at 142g, together with its personal band clamp and the uncut shift twine. Now not right here at the scale, my full-length 4mm shifter outer housing added an additional 45g. That makes for a 577g grand general to shift automatically.
I’m a bit shocked that this is someway heavier than the 539g shift gadget weight for T-type GX AXS (a 492g derailleur), the 521g gadget weight for X0 AXS (474g derailleur), or the 491g blended weight of XX SL AXS (444g derailleur) from the primary batch of T-type together with their 47g AXS Pod Controllers.
I are aware of it comes all the way down to heavier steel parts to align with the less expensive value level right here. Nevertheless it hurts a bit of to peer this heavier than all the ones wi-fi AXS shift setups when Eagle 90’s weight doesn’t come with two batteries, an impressive little electrical motor, or digital keep watch over methods.
I assume that simply manner Dangerholm could have so much to paintings with when he will get round to tuning the sort of for his subsequent extremely customized construct. Understand that the unique XX Eagle mechanical drivetrain used to be regularly constructed into the sector’s lightest mountain motorcycles!
Precise crankset weight
The 90 crankset & metal chainring isn’t precisely mild both, at 808g for 165mm hands with bash guards, in comparison to 733g for a similar GX setup. Even if, I did get my cranks all the way down to 728g via putting off the two units of 40g bash guards. I might have beloved to have them, in the event that they didn’t conflict with my motorbike’s mini chain information, which took useful precedence.
Weight-wise, the remainder of the SRAM Eagle 90 Mechanical groupset reuses some of the identical portions immediately from GX AXS, together with the 443g 10-52T T-type cassette, the 285g FlatTop chain, and in my case in this motorbike, a 76g PressFit DUB backside bracket.
First Impressions
My first concept used to be this can be a lovely great feeling drivetrain for its $670 / 730€ entire groupset pricetag.
It would also be extra inexpensive than that too, in case you had been upgrading a present SRAM mountain motorbike groupset. Purchase a $190/205€ 90 derailleur, $50/55€ 90 shifter, $30/35€ 70 chain, a $215-250/240-300€ 1275 or 1270 cassette relying for your present wheels, and $18-20/20-22€ 70 or 90 chainring relying for your present cranks. A minimal improve price of $503/55€.
(It’s wild that the costliest factor on this new team is the carry-over T-type cassettes from GX or S1000, proper?)
Subsequent to note used to be how easy it used to be to place this at the motorbike.
Without a set screws and no derailleur hangers, you simply bolt this pet on your motorbike and cross. SRAM calls it “prepare, hang, tighten”. Their app will allow you to set your chain size, otherwise you do exactly it oldschool like me. You then hold the derailleur unfastened in its setup pin place, attach the chain, unencumber the cage spring, and tighten the derailleur into position. Then, merely rigidity the shift cable and tighten that down, and easy-peasy derailleur adjustment with the shifter’s barrel adjuster.
It used to be weirdly fast and clean. As soon as at the path, it most effective required a couple of quarter turns of that barrel to make transferring best.
Without a doubt the very best mechanical derailleur setup I’ve put in within the closing 30 years.
On Path Driving Ideas
Out at the path, it simply works. Shifts are crisp, with certain lever comments. And it used to be clean to fine-tune.
Eagle 90 Mechanical simply does its activity, turning in the similar transferring and driving really feel as GX AXS Transmission. It feels the similar as a result of you will have the similar chainring, flattop chain, and the very same XS-1275 Transmission cassette with the similar shift issues and ramps.
The largest distinction in comparison to the digital T-Kind drivetrains is that the Eagle 90 setup right here on a pedal-powered motorbike if truth be told shifts sooner, with extra certain shift comments at your thumb. Since mine isn’t an eMTB-approved shifter, I am getting 2 shifts with one throw of the lever, which I in reality recognize after I’m about to briefly cross up hill and need to sell off a host of gears.
After which, there’s the sturdiness – each actual and perceived.
After wheels almost certainly, the rear derailleur is the one element that sees probably the most abuse, how and the place I experience. Nearly each and every season, I’ve to interchange an MTB derailleur cage, or no less than bend one again into form. It’s reassuring that if I do spoil this factor, it’ll be clean to get substitute portions for it. And even supposing I needed to substitute the entire thing, it’s no longer all that dear both.
Parting ideas on Eagle 90 Mechanical Evaluate
Glance, the brand new SRAM Eagle 90 Mechanical Transmission isn’t totally best. I’d love to peer the derailleur and shifter to every be a bit of lighter. There’s no reason why but even so marketplace positioning that SRAM couldn’t have made this lighter than a GX AXS shifter/derailleur combo, what with out a batteries or electrical motors to account for.
And realistically, Eagle 90 would pair in reality smartly with an XX crankset for extra weight financial savings and a extra top class really feel.
However what makes this groupset nice is so exhausting to argue with: no batteries to price, no firmware to stay up to the moment, and a lot more inexpensive pricing. Simply easy vintage cable-actuated shifts. A cast direct Complete Mount set up that calls for little or no setup adjustment. And now with a strong modular development that are supposed to be clean to stay working for years yet to come!
SRAM.com
