REVIEW SRAM Transmission Drivetrain - Indestructible WIRELESS MTB Shifting

What's up, Vital MTBers! Today SRAM made their new wireless 12-speed Eagle drivetrain public, and it's called Transmission. In this video, we'll dive into the prices, the different models, the weights, the features, the install process, and how it performed out on the trail. Let's get into it. SRAM Transmission requires a bike with a UDH interface, so if your derailleur hanger isn't UDH, Transmission won't work for you. Aside from the controller and battery, Transmission is not backward-compatible with existing SRAM Eagle drivetrains, access or cable-actuated. The reason is that Transmission components require the SRAM flat-top T-type chain. But more on that later. SRAM Transmission comes in three group sets, XO, XX, and XXSL. We were sent an XX group to test. Components in the three group levels differ in construction, materials, or features, which impact weight, price, and performance. SRAM Transmission Pricing At the time of this video, all pieces to the group, minus the access pod controller, are required to run the system. Cassette, chain, derailleur, and crankset with chainrings are necessary, while the older Eagle access controller can shift the system. There are e-bike-specific crank and chainring configurations that won't be touched on here. All prices are in U.S. dollars. SRAM Transmission rear derailleur prices, battery not included. Transmission XO, $550. Transmission XX, $650. Transmission XXSL, $650. Cassette Prices Transmission XO, which is the XG1295 T-Type, $400. XX, which is the XS1297 T-Type, $550. XXSL, which is the XS1299 T-Type, $600. Controllers Access Pod, $150. Access Pod Ultimate, $200. SRAM Flat Top T-Type Chain Prices XO, $100. XX, $125. XXSL, $150. SRAM Dub Crankset Prices with Chainrings for Transmission XO, which are Q174, they're alloy, they include dual guards and a 32-tooth chainring, $300. XX, which are carbon, Q174, with dual bash guards and a 32-tooth chainring, $500. XXSL, which are carbon, Q168, without bash guards and 34-tooth chainring, $550. Chainring or spindle power meter options are available. SRAM Transmission Group Set Prices with derailleur battery and charger Transmission XO, $1,599. Transmission XX, like the one we have for testing, starts at $2,049. And the Transmission XXSL Group starts at $2,199. SRAM Transmission Weights We weigh the Transmission XX components that we received and have previous SRAM Eagle Access XO1 and Cable Actuated XO1 parts to compare for a ballpark of old versus new weights. Rear Derailleur Weights Transmission XX with Battery, 465 grams on our scale. SRAM Claimed Weights for Transmission Rear Derailleur XXSL, 440 grams. XX, 465 grams. XO, 475 grams. Since Transmission doesn't need a rear derailleur hanger, we've included the UDH hanger weight for the previous models. Original SRAM Access Eagle XO1 with Battery, 390 grams with no UDH, 417 grams with UDH. SRAM Eagle XO1 Cable Actuated Rear Derailleur, 287 grams, no UDH, 314 grams with UDH. Cassette Weights SRAM Transmission XX, 10-52 tooth, XS1297T type, 379 grams on our scale. SRAM Claimed Weights for Transmission Cassettes XXSL, 345 grams. XX, 380 grams. XO, 380 grams. SRAM Eagle XO1 Cassette, 10-52 tooth, XG1295, 375 grams. SRAM Access Controller Weights Transmission Access Pod with Discrete Infinity Clamp, 47 grams. Original Access with Discrete Clamp, 86 grams. Eagle XO1 with Cable, 124 grams. That's without Discrete Clamp or Matchmaker Clamp and does not include housing, which should be considered in system weight. SRAM Chain Weights We kept them in the cases just to keep things clean. SRAM XX T-Type, 126 links, 322 grams on our scale. SRAM Claimed Weights on the T-Top Chains are significantly less than what we found and they might be based on 108 link options in their spec sheet. SRAM XO1 Eagle, 126 links, 296 grams on our scale. SRAM Eagle Transmission XX Crankset Weight 175mm length with dual bash guards and 32 tooth chainring. 553 grams on our scale. SRAM did not have crankset weights available at this time and we also didn't have a previous Eagle crankset to weigh. Why isn't Eagle Transmission backwards compatible? Eagle Transmission runs on a T-Type chain interface which has a flat top, similar to the SRAM Road Group. The T-Type chain is required for the drivetrain as previous Eagle chains will not work with transmission. T-Type chains can be used with previous Eagle components, however. At the time of this video, the new crank and chainring interface uses 8 bolts compared to the 3 on previous Eagle. That means until SRAM or aftermarket brands make compatible chainrings you have to run SRAM cranks and chainrings to run transmission. The new Access Pod Controller will work with previous Eagle Access derailleurs or dropper posts. Previous Eagle Access Controllers will work with transmission. SRAM Transmission Features SRAM wanted transmission to have easy setup, easy maintenance unparalleled durability, while being able to shift under heavy load. The derailleur mounts around a bike's rear axle with contact points on both sides of the frame. This ensures perfect alignment between the derailleur and the cassette on any bike. The rear derailleur has an alleged 600-pound breakaway force. Vital Tech Editor, Johnny Simonetti, who you'll hear from in a bit is 6'4", 220 pounds, and has walked on this derailleur countless times to highlight the durability. Like previous Access, there is a breakaway clutch so the derailleur can move out of the way on impact. SRAM Access App has a massive database of bikes to easily find chain length based on chain growth profiles. And riders are shown which setup key on the derailleur and which setup cog on the cassette to use while tuning. There are no limit screws, and setting B tension is simply a matter of lining up markers on the derailleur. And what I do is I tension the derailleur. And you'll see back here this plate, metal plate, the steel plate and the aluminum derailleur, there's two lines and they're not lined up right now. But as I tighten my derailleur mounting bolt, that steel plate jumps up and the two lines line up. Tighten it up. Use a torque wrench to go to 35 newton meters. 35 newton meters. Take it off the setup key. Tighten the rear axle so that everything's cinched down. Rear axle just gets tightened to the frame spec manufacturer spec. And that's it. The derailleur can be disassembled, so bent or broken parts can be replaced instead of scrapping the entire thing. Removing the derailleur cage does not require tools and allows easy access to jockey wheels and the clutch spring. The magic wheel is found on the XXSL and the XX transmission rear derailleur, but not the XO. It's the lower jockey wheel that's actually a two-piece design. The teeth will continue rotating under power even if the wheel is jammed. In addition to the visual construction differences, the biggest news on the cassette is the smoother jump to or from the 52 tooth cog. 44 and 38 tooth gears improve that progression. XXSL cassettes use aluminum for the 52, 44 and 38 tooth rings. XX uses aluminum for the 52 tooth and XO is nickel plated steel and rated for EMTB use. The access pod and discrete infinity clamps are symmetrical and simple. One T25 bolt mounts the pod to the bars and indicator lines help keep cockpit settings consistent. The pod and clamp can be used on the left or right side of the bars. Customizing button controls is done via the access app and the pod will communicate with reverb access dropper posts and RockShox flight attendant. Left and right MX mounts are available and pod ultimate buttons are removable with optional touch points. SRAM says the XX flat top T-type chains are the strongest chains they've ever made. The XXSL features drilled out links and hollow pins. XX has a hard chrome finish and hollow pins while XO uses solid pins and a dark finish with PVD coating for corrosion resistance. SRAM transmission is well thought out, well made, easy to install and if your wallet can take a punch to the face, how does it perform on the trail? Vital Tech editor Johnny Simonetti has been bashing it for a couple months now and gives his report. So after a little over three months of board transmission, what was our experience like? We know it's crazy expensive, so there's that, but what does that money get you? To start, setup was a breeze, making just about anyone capable of installing a new drivetrain without the nuance of fine tuning after the fact. By eliminating a derailleur hanger from the equation, durability is through the roof, the derailleur sits more inboard, and built-in skid plates are in place to help protect your investment. The all-new cassette tightens up gear ratios, eliminating the large jump from first to second gear found on the previous model, which provides much more useful options for pedaling gears. Now utilizing X-sync on the cassette allows the derailleur to shift only at the exact shift ramp locations. This made shifting under load so good that our first few shifts on trail had us questioning if we had even changed gears. While this was a positive, it did change the anticipated timing of the shifts and would often cue shifts that were three or more gears away. It took some getting used to the shifts taking longer than before, but shifts were also smoother than ever before. I guess great things are worth waiting for. Here's an off-the-bike example to show the difference in shifting speed between transmission and Eagle Access. The new shift pods were easy to get used to and allowed for some really cool customization with up and down functions on both sides. Our bike was not set up with the multi-shift function, which I prefer, but I did discover the capability to use it later in the test period, which helped slightly with the delay between shifts. Overall,performance is very impressive, most notably under load. The bike was dead silent descending and solidifies transmission as a massive improvement over the previous generation Access drivetrains. While it does boast that super upper-level price tag, so did the previous generation components. I think what validates it most in my mind is the durability focus, preventative measures SRAM took with this stuff to improve longevity of the components and take care of customers in the long run. Let us know if you have any questions about the new SRAM transmission in the comments and we'll do our best to answer them. We hope this video was helpful. In the meantime,we'll see you on the trails.