Upgrade to sram gx axs - what's my shopping list?

jamied

Member
Mar 14, 2018
103
35
UK
Hi,

So I'm looking at upgrading to the sram gx axs wireless shifters and just trying to work out what I would need to get in order for it to work.

I appear to have a bit of a mix and match situation going on with my SAM2:

Sram NX derailleur
Sram X1 shifter
Sram 11 speed cassette
Shimano chain
Shimano motor, crank and chainring
Shimano deore rear hub

So obviously I would need to Sram GX axs upgrade kit. But I'm not sure if I'll be able to get a 12 speed cassette without changing the rear hub. I think if it involved changing the rear hub I won't bother upgrading as the cost will go up significantly.

I don't know what type of cassette fixing I have but I assume it is the spline version due to the Shimano hub? Can I get a sram 12 speed eagle cassette that will fit on my hub, or is there a Shimano 12 speed cassette that will work with the sram eagle derailleur?

Why do they have to constantly tinker with all of the standards these days, it makes it a nightmare to upgrade anything.
 

Doomanic

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NX cassette is 12 speed and fits the old 11 speed HG freehub. You'll also need a 12sp chain and you might as well fit a new chainring at the same time.
 

Stihldog

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Jun 10, 2020
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I use a AXS GX with the Shimano Hyper Glide 12 speed cassette and matching HG chain. I didn’t change the chain ring. Had to change the guide wheel (lower jockey wheel) to a 13 tooth wheel. I can’t remember if I changed the rear hub. Anyways …two problems with this setup, too quiet and too smooth.
You can google this setup to get more details.
I have an E-thirteen chainring but I never needed to put it on …yet. Chain suck only lasted for several km’s on the Sram chain ring. (Narrow/wide, probably wore in).

 
Last edited:

Doomanic

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That’s a great setup but the OP can’t use a Shimano 12sp cassette on his wheel.
 

Doomanic

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I doubt it. The NX cassette is your easiest option.
 

jamied

Member
Mar 14, 2018
103
35
UK
OK, so I hit the buy button on the upgrade kit, for £325 plus import duties I think it will come out about £400. Can't go wrong with £150 off the retail price!

I'm in two minds if I should get the NX cassette or if I should get a new wheel and put the GX cassette on it. I've heard you can get issues with the HG freehubs where one of the rings can cut through the splines as they are individual rings rather than 1 unit. I guess this is potentially even more of an issue with an ebike with the additional forces involved.

I'm considering the DT Swiss EX 1700 wheel if I do replace the wheel.
 

Doomanic

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I did over 1500 miles on my old wheel with an aluminium freehub and an NX cassette. The cassette did damage the freehub a bit, but not enough to make it unusable.
 

jamied

Member
Mar 14, 2018
103
35
UK
I did over 1500 miles on my old wheel with an aluminium freehub and an NX cassette. The cassette did damage the freehub a bit, but not enough to make it unusable.

My bike has a few miles on it now (need to check how many) so I'm wondering if the existing free hub may already be fairly worn. I guess I need to take it off and check the condition.

Mantel have the 1230 on offer at the moment and it's in stock.

Thanks, I'll bookmark that to get if I decide to keep my wheels and go the NX route.
 

ridesantacruz

Member
Feb 4, 2020
94
104
Santa Cruz
I use a AXS GX with the Shimano Hyper Glide 12 speed cassette and matching HG chain. I didn’t change the chain ring. Had to change the guide wheel (lower jockey wheel) to a 13 tooth wheel. I can’t remember if I changed the rear hub. Anyways …two problems with this setup, too quiet and too smooth.
You can google this setup to get more details.
I have an E-thirteen chainring but I never needed to put it on …yet. Chain suck only lasted for several km’s on the Sram chain ring. (Narrow/wide, probably wore in).

I thought that article was a hoax. It was posted on April 1st.
 
Last edited:

ajbalfe

Member
Sep 24, 2020
42
23
Wicklow, Ireland
OK, so I hit the buy button on the upgrade kit, for £325 plus import duties I think it will come out about £400. Can't go wrong with £150 off the retail price!

I'm in two minds if I should get the NX cassette or if I should get a new wheel and put the GX cassette on it. I've heard you can get issues with the HG freehubs where one of the rings can cut through the splines as they are individual rings rather than 1 unit. I guess this is potentially even more of an issue with an ebike with the additional forces involved.

I'm considering the DT Swiss EX 1700 wheel if I do replace the wheel.
Go NX to start, it's not an expensive cassette. It is supposed to be better for an E-bike, stronger and able to handle the extra torque. Heavier but makes little difference. You can always do the wheel or driver upgrade next time.

That's a great price on the Upgrade Kit.
 

iXi

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My bike has a few miles on it now (need to check how many) so I'm wondering if the existing free hub may already be fairly worn. I guess I need to take it off and check the condition.



Thanks, I'll bookmark that to get if I decide to keep my wheels and go the NX route.


I've done 12000ks on my alu freehub. It's had NX cassettes and more recently Shimano 10 speed cassettes. It's absolutely chewed to buggery but still works. Only issue I have is when I change cassettes they are usually wedged on so need a mallet to free the cassette from the freehub. I figure if it ain't slipping then it's still good.
 

jamied

Member
Mar 14, 2018
103
35
UK
Go NX to start, it's not an expensive cassette. It is supposed to be better for an E-bike, stronger and able to handle the extra torque. Heavier but makes little difference. You can always do the wheel or driver upgrade next time.

That's a great price on the Upgrade Kit.

I saw that is the only ebike rated eagle cassette.

I'd been 50/50 between getting new wheels or just the cassette for a couple of days, yesterday I hit the buy button on some DT Swiss wheels so I'm going the whole hog with a GX cassette. I figured that if quite a lot of higher end ebikes come with a GX eagle cassette then it must be ok to use.

Getting the NX cassette probably would have been the more sensible option lol
 

EMTBSEAN

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Feb 20, 2020
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Sheffield
Can I ask what country you bought your derailleur and shifter from please, this upgrade is high on my list and after importing my charger damper from America I have no problem importing this from abroad now
 

jamied

Member
Mar 14, 2018
103
35
UK
Can I ask what country you bought your derailleur and shifter from please, this upgrade is high on my list and after importing my charger damper from America I have no problem importing this from abroad now

I got mine here, it's the cheapest I've found it anywhere by a long way SRAM GX AXS Eagle 12-speed upgrade kit incl. battery lunar buying

It's not arrived yet so I can't say how good the company is, I got a dispatch notification the day after ordering so hopefully it will arrive at some point next week.
 

EMTBSEAN

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Thanks for the link mate, I’m gonna whisper sweet nothings to my misses and see if she’ll buy me that for Christmas 😁
 

Kernow

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I thought that article was a hoax. It was posted on April 1st.
Dam I just read through all that guys pointless ramblings , no wonder you thought it was a hoax , I nearly gave up too , but continued hoping for some kind of holy grail trick I hadn’t heard of , how can someone ramble so much on something we’ve been doing for years , using a shimano cassette with sram mech Or a sram cassette with shimano mech
 

jamied

Member
Mar 14, 2018
103
35
UK
Would anyone with an AXS shifter recommend the rocker paddle shifter upgrade? I'm just wondering if I'll get on with the standard buttons or if I should upgrade. Normally I'd just get the upgrade as it's only £20 but I can't find anywhere in the UK that has them in stock, the only place I've found with them is in France and it's £10 postage on top so makes it much less of a cheap upgrade.
 

ebsocalmtb

Active member
Sep 29, 2021
218
229
Southern-Cal
I do not use the upgraded/new axs paddle shifter on my GX AXS setup. It took me 3-5 rides to make the up/downshifts second nature and occasionally the first time I jump on my axs equipped bike, I have to remind myself... but it's mostly automatic now.

i'd just use the standard paddle, even if you're frustrated with it at first... keep at it for a few rides. Most people that i know that stuck with the original lever through the teething period, prefer the original axs paddle to the updated one.
 

EMTBSEAN

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Subscriber
Feb 20, 2020
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Sheffield
Nice one mate, mine is winging it’s way as I’m typing, I bought the upgrade rocker and a spare battery cover too, I figured that the battery cover is a removable part and in the event of a crash it could become dislodged plus it’s only an extremely cheap part so a spare is a good idea, when they first came out I wanted one so I’m really looking forward to it arriving
 

jamied

Member
Mar 14, 2018
103
35
UK
Nice one mate, mine is winging it’s way as I’m typing, I bought the upgrade rocker and a spare battery cover too, I figured that the battery cover is a removable part and in the event of a crash it could become dislodged plus it’s only an extremely cheap part so a spare is a good idea, when they first came out I wanted one so I’m really looking forward to it arriving

Nice, where did you get the upgrade rocker from? I couldn't find it anywhere in stock
 

EMTBSEAN

Well-known member
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Feb 20, 2020
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Yeah I had that problem too, but I did a Google search and in the end I got it from BikeInn, cost me £19.48, £7 of that was postage but I don’t suppose that’s bad from Germany
 

jamied

Member
Mar 14, 2018
103
35
UK
Yeah I had that problem too, but I did a Google search and in the end I got it from BikeInn, cost me £19.48, £7 of that was postage but I don’t suppose that’s bad from Germany

Every time I've looked on bikeinn they haven't had them in stock, you must have got lucky! Only places I can find them are for £30 including the postage.
 

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