This review follows my initial trials and tribulations with a Carbon-Ti monoring and chainguide. (Review here.) XX1 was the big news from SRAM this year. It introduced 11 speed cassettes to mountain biking, but also an innovative chainring solution that claims to allow you to run a single chainring without the need for a chain guide. The teeth of the chain ring alternate between thicker and thinner gauge to improve the engagement with the chain. Sounds simple but would it work?
My mouse button was hovering over the “Buy” button on a set of XX1 cranks when I stumbled across a spider on ebay that would allow me to fit the XX1 chainrings to my existing S-Works cranks.
Given my previous experiences I’ll admit to a little anxiety as I headed to Peaslake with my brand new and untested chainring. The North Downs is quite a tough challenge for a chain, with plenty of drops, steps and technically challenging terrain. Within five minutes we were bouncing over roots and the chain was peacefully quite. The XTR Shadow Plus mech was doing an excellent job of stopping the chain from flapping around and I hadn’t missed a single pedal stroke. As the ride wore on I completely forgot about the chainring and just concentrated on riding, which I see as a great recommendation for any piece of kit.
Having now followed up the 2.5 hour thrashing around Peaslake with another 2 hours racing on an extremely challenging XC course, the chain hasn’t once skipped or dropped. I can categorically say that no chain guide is required!
I’m a weight weenie so the 37g extra weight of the spider and ring over my previous Carbon-Ti Monoring was making me twitchy, but this is cancelled out by the lack of chain guide. The performance has been flawless so far! The XX1 chainrings and the clutch rear mech have really revolutionised the mountain bike drivechain.
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