BREAKING NEWS!! from TEAM ROBOT

Chicago, IL:

SRAM makes X.01 11 speed cassette available to public for $399.99, down from $425.00 for XX.1.

Now everyone can afford it.





The new X.01 package also includes a reasonably-priced but mandatory purchase of:

A rebranded Shimano Airlines rear derailleur.

Shitty aluminum cranks with a graphics package and ano finish borrowed off Trek's newest $350 townie hybrid. As a bonus, they changed from XX.1's proprietary/impossible-to-source-chainrings-from-anywhere BCD to an older but still obscure and impossible to source BCD... for no apparent reason. Also, bonus points for backing down from their original "you don't need a chainguide or a bashring ever again" stance and offering a freaking bashring.

Because X.0 has been selling with carbon cranks for three years now, there's no time like the present to lower the quality of what used to be a flagship product line.

The privilege of buying a new freehub, hub, or an entirely new rear wheel. If you're running a complete factory built wheelset, you might even be looking at $1000-$3000 to ante up for a complete new wheelset. Don't have that sort of cash just yet, but you want to start running X.01 now? Don't worry, everyone has a friend with a spare rear wheel with an XD driver body on it that you can borrow until you get your new wheels.

A chain you can't buy anywhere, so you'll need to have a spare if you ever get into trouble away from your one trusted mountain bike shop. This bad dog probably retails for north of $70, so having a spare around should cost the equivalent of one new downhill tire, 10 tubes, or 14 five dollar footlongs.

None of this changes the fact that if you can't push a 32 x 11/36 1-10 up a climb you should kill yourself right now.