Nice bikes. I'm ashamed to show mine now. It's kinda old but I modded it earlier this year. Good enough for roads and light trail riding.
Finally got a bike.......
- Thread starter Pablo
- Start date
That's all you need.
My bike is way more than I need when I ride with my wife, but when I ride with my son in law or by myself, it's perfect. Well it's perfect all the time. We did a bay and waterfront ride this AM. Man that was so much fun. My wife was somewhat afraid of uphill work before, as she is slender - says I have power thighs. Now she is a charger, a burner. She does GREAT! Just enough dirt and gravel trails for me to have a hoot of a time.
2.125 tires? How many teeth is the front sprocket? It looks small, 
Bikes have moved on from my old paper route cruiser
Bikes have moved on from my old paper route cruiser
2.6" tires and 32T is pretty common with just an enormous range. I rarely use the lowest or highest, but that low is a real granny gear.2.125 tires? How many teeth is the front sprocket? It looks small,
52T
www.sram.com
Traction and mental limitations. The first time I ASSUMED the climb would be too steep. I soon learned I was holding myself back. My tire will get traction, I just need get my body weight forward just enough to not wheelie and just back enough to get the mass centered over the rear hub for traction. Then dig in and crank.
Great work-out!
XG-1299 Eagle Cassette - CS-XG-1299-A2 - SRAM
XG-1299 Eagle Cassette, CS-XG-1299-A2, SRAM. The X-DOME™ Eagle™ cassette has no peer. It buried the last dangling shred of an argument in favor of a mountain bike front derailleur. And now, it’s ...
www.sram.com
Traction and mental limitations. The first time I ASSUMED the climb would be too steep. I soon learned I was holding myself back. My tire will get traction, I just need get my body weight forward just enough to not wheelie and just back enough to get the mass centered over the rear hub for traction. Then dig in and crank.
Great work-out!
50, 51 and 52 tooth largest cassette cogs (12-speed) are the current industry standard in mountain biking. The elimination of front derailleurs is one of the best advancements in mountain biking in the last decade. 
I’m running a 32t oval front and 11-50t SRAM 12-speed Eagle NX setup now. I have a 10-50t Eagle GX cassette and a Roval Carbon rear wheel ready to install when my current rear wears out or breaks.
I’m running a 32t oval front and 11-50t SRAM 12-speed Eagle NX setup now. I have a 10-50t Eagle GX cassette and a Roval Carbon rear wheel ready to install when my current rear wears out or breaks.
Well dang. Just went for a local ride on some logging roads and around a couple gravel pits. There are some extreme inclines at a couple of the "hidden" trail entrances. Sometime during the ride I broke a tooth tip on the 52! Nothing violent, no hard shifts. Went into low 5-6 times. Oddly I don't notice it when riding. Not in the mood to buy a $300 cassette!50, 51 and 52 tooth largest cassette cogs (12-speed) are the current industry standard in mountain biking. The elimination of front derailleurs is one of the best advancements in mountain biking in the last decade.
I’m running a 32t oval front and 11-50t SRAM 12-speed Eagle NX setup now. I have a 10-50t Eagle GX cassette and a Roval Carbon rear wheel ready to install when my current rear wears out or breaks.
Argh!!
That sucks, I've heard from some riders that the "lower-end" 12spd SRAM cassettes really suck as they make em razer thin and the top cassette is made of aluminum (vs titanium is the xx-1, or what i call the $$-1)
personally, I'm running the 11spd sram (gx) on my Cannondale and haven't had an issue, seems like a fluke to me.
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Pretty sure it's steel. Plan now is to clean it up and ride. Basically deburr it. Just use it up and then replace.
I may contact the bike shop for warranty but my expectations are below sea level.
I may contact the bike shop for warranty but my expectations are below sea level.
The top cog is aluminum, rest of the cassette is steel (why they do this i have no idea)
Honestly, bike shop will probably tell you its user error and "blah blah blah, not our problem"
Yes. I should know, 52T steel chainring is heavy. I should have researched it first................although on the SRAM website I don't see that detail anywhere I looked. I used a magnet!
When this cassette is worn to nothing, I will most likely upgrade.
What level do they move away from aluminum? Is the XG-1295 52T Titanium?
My apologies, I must of mistaken xx1 as titanium (I remember a old video mentioning it, was later told wrong)Yes. I should know, 52T steel chainring is heavy. I should have researched it first................although on the SRAM website I don't see that detail anywhere I looked. I used a magnet!
When this cassette is worn to nothing, I will most likely upgrade.
What level do they move away from aluminum? Is the XG-1295 52T Titanium?
It does however have a titanium COATING
Looks like the all the 520 cassettes have a aluminum cog, just a different coating process (and slight manufacturing change as well)
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No sweat. Gonna clean the toof and ride. Will shop and replace if things get nasty, may do new chain at that point as well.
I agree. 10, 11, 12 is all marketing. What matters is the ratio difference between the smallest & biggest (e.g. 10-42 = 4.2:1). Once you get 9 or 10 gears, the steps between ratios are plenty small enough that having more (like 11 or 12) is totally irrelevant. In fact, it's counterproductive as it makes the sprockets and chain thinner and less durable, and the derailleur tuning more sensitive, and the cog heavier.Yes. I should know, 52T steel chainring is heavy. I should have researched it first................although on the SRAM website I don't see that detail anywhere I looked. I used a magnet!
When this cassette is worn to nothing, I will most likely upgrade.
What level do they move away from aluminum? Is the XG-1295 52T Titanium?
Reasons:
1. The stress/wear on any cog is divided by the # of teeth engaged. Bigger cogs = more teeth = less wear.
2. Bigger cogs are heavier.
For these reasons, the big cogs can be made of Al without wearing out too fast while staying light.
That said, 50+ tooth cogs seem excessive. A 30F - 42R is low enough that the max slope is limited by traction not gearing. And those super big cogs require derailleurs with long cages, especially when the small cog is a 10 or 11.
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Nice bike! Its basically what I'm looking for in my next bike. Good enough suspension, brakes, and geometry for quite a high level of trails and riding. Not too terrible to climb with and will keep up with me on the downhills. I'm not thrilled with the idea of $300 cog sets either but I guess there's always cheaper heavier options, and some manufacturers are going with 11 spd on a decent full suspension bike.