All Things Bikes and Tacos! (...and every vehicle imaginable)

@RtacomaN buy with confidence.

@gdb85 is a solid seller. I’ll put my name in the hat as interested if you decide to pass. I don’t need a fork at all, but I’ve been curious to try out a DVO fork.

 

Thanks man. You’re on my A+ list too- if that pinkbike stalker of yours would quit beating me to stuff you sell…

 

I like the DVO stuff. If for no other reason that they are stupid simple to service compared to the others. I’m getting my D1 dialed in now, but have been running the Topaz in the rear for a bit on a couple bikes. I’m a fan so far of both the Topaz and the D1.

 

What do y’all think abt AXS? On a bike that’ll see 50% park riding?

So I’m looking at 2 examples,

one has Cush core pro front and rear with xo1 mechanical. Comes with a 27.5 wheel extra(race face atlas).Shimano XT brakes. And has a factory fox 38 on front. Comes with an extra exo+ assegai(could be used for end/early season rides for me when the gnarly stuff in Tahoe is still snowed in) DT Swiss xm 1700 wheels. Race face carbon bar and comes with stock carbon bar never used

other is xo1 AXS, no extra wheel, no cush core. Zeb ultimate on front. Owner thinks the 2023 x2 that has never been ridden is cavitated. Hunt Endurowide wheels. TRP brakes

both 2023’s. Both have a clear bra film on them. Both have a factory X2.


Edit: at the same price point I think I know my answer, but main question for me is drivetrains. I have no experience with AXS stuff

 

Regular axs? Or transmission axs?

Regular axs is cool to hear and it's fairly sturdy. My friends seem to like it.
Transmission is cool because it times your shifts for you rather than just shifting right away. Supposed to help with wear and tear, especially on the cassette

Overall, I'm not sure I'm sold. Having to worry about battery charge and if something were to happen, having an expensive derailleur replacement doesn't really jive with me.

I've blown up gx eagle shifters twice now and then I considered getting an axs system but decided to just keep blowing up cheap shifters if need be. Lol.

 

Non transmission. That was part of my thoughts too. Replacements. And batteries while they’re supposedly to last a long time. The one chance I forget and one dies, my ride would be screwed

 

FWIW, I had the same concerns. I blew up at least two derailleurs per season. Worried about batteries…
Got on AXS last year and the derailleur is still solid. It’s way more dependable than mech for me. This is on the big bike that sees lots of rocks and gnarly terrain.
Never forgot a battery. When you shift a light tells you if you’re getting low. Then you can just plug it in your car in the way to the trail. Full charge when you get home.
Bonus for not having to ever tune it, change cables or housing, perfect shifting every time is amazing.
That being said, on the new bike I built I went shimano. The price/performance is hard to beat. But I don’t ride that bike as much.

 

IMHO, AXS is not hard to keep charged at least for me. If your concerned carry an extra battery in your pack or pocket. I carry one and never used it myself but have bailed buddies out on occasion, 4x actually...

Another plus is if you have a thumb injury or if you're experiencing an arthritic thumb for whatever reason the action is so light its amazing. Not even close to the throw of cable shifter.

 

My buddy ran out once, I lent him my battery to get into a manageable gear, put it back on my bike.

 

I think the first option is more appealing mostly for the extras.

Pros if AXS:
-solid/reliable shifting
-buttons are better in every way
-setup is easy/set and forget
-batteries last a while which is probably why I have that last con below

Cons of AXS
-I don’t think the clutch is as strong, maybe that’s because it’s on a gravel bike with 42t front n/w chainring but hard to say. I drop chains fairly regularly compared to none on regular sram eagle. Both setups have Wolftooth oval chainrings.
-I have forgotten batteries, only once but it has happened
-I have also had a battery die mid ride, luckily I did have spare. Pretty much my fault though

 

That alone might be good enough reason. You can’t really index a mech derailleur without the shifter in a broken cable scenario. Technically you can but it would be tough to get the right tension.

 

Honestly, the only real con for me is the price.
Yeah, the clutch isnt as good. But the new transmission stuff fixes that.

 

I'd mostly agree. For me I wouldn't swap a bike to it unless the drivetrain was dead but two bikes similar spec and price with the only difference being AXS, I'd go axs.

In @cartter469 situation, I think the extra tire, wheel and DT swiss over Hunt wheels are worth it over AXS.

 

I was going to go biking but the stream next to the trailhead looked fishy so the bike stayed on the truck...

 

I’m going trout fishing here in Alabama tomorrow. All stockies though.

 

FYI it’s not the clutch. It’s because there is no cable providing resistance to the derailuer and it will rotate around its mount. If you look under the b screw you can see where it slams against the hanger.

you can jam a plastic washer in the mount aka the “Hall lock” but it makes taking the rear wheel off harder. I do this on my mtb and it reduces the chain slap significantly.

 

for me I prefer mechanical. Sold my bike with AXS. I only had one battery. It stays charged awhile. Even when it didn’t I would check it day if and a quick pop on the charger and it has enough to get me through.

maybe I’m OCD but I rode more tentative trying not to smash it. Mainly because I’m fine with a SLX or GX derailer if those get smashed… but the big thing for me was washing the bike. I was so worried about trashing an electronic I like double bagged it to do the drivetrain- necessary- probably not. But I am also the guy who’s life proof new iPhone in a zip lock bag got a few drops of ocean water in it snorkeling and fried my phone on my honeymoon a while back.. . Or maybe I’m just simple

 

That’s good to know, you’re talking a washer around the bolt that mounts to the hanger?

 

Went up to Port Angeles to preview the trails. Picked the wrong day, it ended up being a rather soggy one. The area is beautiful and the trails are killer. Dry hill has lots fast tech with some heavy G-outs. The runs shortish but taxing. Here's our last run of the day, we were both pretty smoked at this point. We're heading back in a few weeks for the races. Hopefully it's a lil less soupy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-tpYOShlKE

 

Yep. Here is a video that does it much more elegantly than mine but the theory/design is the same.

https://youtu.be/IChC4h8WDkA?si=at42ZX3JzI_QXSTH

I just pull the bolt out, put a plastic washer on the end and then sandwich it all in. The plastic washer deforms a little but no biggie.