First impressions of the latest SRAM X9 kit weren’t the best – with a slightly bent rear mech cage and rattly shift levers, expectations were somewhat muted. The double chainset in this 39/26-tooth flavour is worthy of being in the SRAM upper echelons, though.
With its sleek looks, light weight and decent stiffness, it performs well – as does the cassette, which echoes the looks of the pricier X0 with its cutouts and drillings, though the soon to be released 11-36T version will be welcome. The shifters keep the clean looks, but the feel was atypical of SRAM, with shifts into larger cogs feeling less crisp and more stodgy than its rivals.
Changing to smaller sprockets felt better with that trademark ‘snap’, though the levers could take a bit of effort to shift. Shifting under power was impressive, a bonus as you do tend to work the X Glide twin rings more than a triple setup.