Polygon Cozmic CX3.0: SRAM GX Eagle Gripshift Setup

The Polygon Cozmic CX3.0 MTB gets yet another modification, so that I can try out different components! This time, it is the less common Gripshift that is made by SRAM. Most MTB shifters on the market are trigger type shifters, that are operated by thumb/thumb (SRAM) or thumb/finger (Shimano).

The benefits of trigger shifters is that you can keep a firm grip on the handlebars during shifters, as you only need to use your thumb and/or finger during shifting. However, the disadvantage is that multiple gear shifts take a bit longer as the shift lever needs to be pressed multiple times.

As for Gripshift, the whole hand is used to rotate the grip on the shifter, which also allows multiple gear shifts in both directions. The downside is a less solid grip on the handlebar as the hand needs to loosen the grip for shifting.

Most of the Revoshifters (Shimano) you see on the market are on entry level bikes, and also kids bikes, as it is easier for kids to shift compared to trigger shifters. They are also many other China and Taiwan brands which makes these shifters, such as Microshift. On the other hand, SRAM markets these Gripshift (SRAM) as a mid to high end product, which is completely different from other companies. Let's see how it works compared to other shifters!

I got the SRAM GX Gripshift and the rear derailleur as a set, and installed these new components onto the Polygon MTB. I had to move the whole SRAM NX groupset to another bike, so I had to swap the cassette to the S-Ride cassette as well.

The handlebar grips are included with the SRAM Gripshift as well, which allows it to blend and match nicely with the shifter. Overall length of the shifter + grip is quite long.

Still using the good old Deore M615 hydraulic disc brakes.

As there is only 1 right side shifter, the left side handlebar grip that is included is a full length normal grip. Might as well use it to complete the look.

As the overall length of the right side shifter + grip is long, the brake lever had to be shifted inwards. Subsequently, in order to maintain left and right symmetry, I also had to move the left side brake lever inwards. The ergonomics has been changed, from two-finger braking to one-finger braking. I will need to get used to this as I have not really used one-finger braking like the pros.

SRAM GX Eagle 12 speed rear derailleur. Looks slightly nicer than the SRAM NX RD, but the difference is not very big.

S-Ride 11-50T, 12 speed cassette back on the bike!

1x12 speed drivetrain. S-Ride cassette, SLX crankset, SRAM GX Eagle RD, unknown 12 speed chain (which came with the S-Ride groupset).

After testing, I found that the shifting action of the SRAM GX Gripshift is quite light! The shifting stroke is rather short, and the shifting force is quite low, which makes it easy to shift gears. Compared to other shifters, this one is definitely better.

However, it is best suited to urban usage only, as there is no need to have such a firm grip on the handlebars when riding in the city or park. When riding off road, I found that having to relax my grip on the handlebars to shift is not ideal, especially when going downhill. For serious off road riding, I would still prefer to use trigger shifters.

In summary, it is an interesting setup, and I would continue to use this setup, until the next experiment comes along!

S-Ride vs SRAM: 12 Speed MTB Groupset

In the recent few months, 1x12 speed MTB groupsets have become more popular and commonplace. It all started with the SRAM Eagle groupset a couple of years ago, followed by a few other upgrade kits by smaller manufacturers. Late last year, Shimano finally followed with a 12 speed XTR groupset.

On my Polygon Cozmic CX3.0 MTB, I have tried the S-Ride 12 speed upgrade kit, and also the SRAM NX Eagle 12 speed upgrade kit. The links showing the bike build can be found here.

Polygon Cozmic CX3.0 with S-Ride 1x12 Speed
Polygon Cozmic CX3.0 with SRAM NX Eagle 1x12 Speed

These two groupsets are actually very similar in terms of specifications, but the SRAM NX Eagle upgrade kit is slightly more expensive. Let's do a quick comparison of the 12 speed components!

For a 1x12 speed setup, there are only a few components to take note. The main component is definitely the 12 speed cassette, with super wide range cassettes the main selling point. The rear derailleur design is also important, as it has a really tough job to ensure good shifting across the wide gear range. A narrower 12 speed chain is needed to fit between the more closely-spaced sprockets. Finally, the shifter needs to shift across 12 gears accurately and efficiently.

S-Ride Cassette

S-Ride 12 speed cassette, with a 11-50T range. Only the top 2 sprockets (11T and 13T) are loose, the remaining 10 sprockets are riveted together.

Standard Shimano 9 spline design enables this cassette to be retrofitted onto almost all older 8/9/10 speed MTB rear hubs.

Red aluminium spider makes this cassette stand out. This spider reduces weight and improves the stiffness of the larger sprockets.

4 sprockets are riveted to the aluminium spider. Last 2 sprockets are offset towards the non-drive side, overhanging the drive side flange of the rear hub.

S-Ride 11-50T 12 speed cassette weighs 596 grams, which is heavy compared to higher priced cassettes that weigh less than 400 grams.

SRAM NX Eagle Cassette

SRAM NX Eagle 11-50T cassette looks to be more lightweight, with the large cutouts on the sprockets. 

The 4 largest sprockets are riveted to the stamped/forged aluminium spider.

The remaining 8 sprockets are loose, which makes it easier to remove and clean thoroughly. I like the design of the cutouts which look like sport rims of cars.

Unfortunately, the SRAM NX Eagle 11-50T 12 speed cassette actually weighs more, at 613 grams.

S-Ride Rear Derailleur

S-Ride 12 speed rear derailleur with clutch weighs 265 grams, which is quite good.

Top and Low limit screws are located on the Outer Link. It is not of a low profile design unlike the Shadow construction of Shimano MTB rear derailleurs.

Resin cable guide to route the inner cable, similar to the design of SRAM MTB rear derailleurs.

Long cage rear derailleur with a small offset for the guide pulley. Both pulleys are 11T.

SRAM NX Eagle Rear Derailleur

SRAM NX Eagle rear derailleur weighs much more at 339 grams. 

Includes a Type 3 (version 3) clutch in the rear derailleur. Only Shimano Shadow+ rear derailleurs have an adjustable clutch resistance.

Cable roller and cable guide to route the inner cable to the cable fixing bolt.

Cage length seems to be shorter than the S-Ride. 12T guide pulley and 14T tension pulley. Large guide pulley offset to reach the larger sprockets.

S-Ride Shifter

S-Ride 12 speed shifter, with 2 way release lever. Just 108 grams!

Even though it is lightweight, the gear display is already included! Useful if you tend to get lost in the large number of gears like me.

Bottom view of the S-Ride shifter looks so much like a SRAM shifter.

SRAM NX Eagle Shifter

SRAM NX Eagle 12 speed shifter has a detachable clamp band.

With the clamp band installed. Clamp band looks very lightweight! No gear display on SRAM MTB shifters.

Resin levers makes this SRAM NX Eagle shifter even lighter than high end SRAM shifters which have aluminium main levers.

Weighs exactly the same as the S-Ride shifter, even though there is no gear display.

Based on this comparison, the S-Ride upgrade kit is more lightweight than the SRAM NX Eagle upgrade kit! The shifters weigh the same, while both the cassette and the rear derailleur of the S-Ride groupset weigh less than that of the SRAM NX Eagle groupset. I assume that the chain weight is the same.

S-Ride Rear Derailleur, Cassette, Shifter: 969 grams
SRAM NX Eagle Rear Derailleur, Cassette, Shifter: 1060 grams

The SRAM NX Eagle does have a more low profile rear derailleur, and a shifter that feels slightly better than the S-Ride shifter. Which groupset is better depends on your priority.

If your priority is on a very affordable 12 speed upgrade kit, the S-Ride is the better choice. Not only is it cheaper, as a bonus, it is also more lightweight! However, the SRAM NX Eagle components does look and feel better engineered than the S-Ride components, although it comes at a higher price.

Polygon Cozmic CX3.0: S-Ride 1x12 Speed, Maxxis Tires, ODI Grips

It has been 5 years since I bought the Polygon Cozmic CX3.0 mountain bike, and some components are way overdue for a change! For example, the tires are still the stock Kenda tires, and it is definitely time to change it after 5 years.

At the same time, I decided to install the 12 speed S-Ride upgrade kit, just to see how a 11-50T cassette feels like. As shown in detail in the previous post, this 11-50T 12 speed cassette can fit on a standard 9 spline freehub body, which means it can be installed on the my stock Shimano MT55 26" wheelset.

For the choice of new tires, there is not such a wide range of 26" tires available, as the market has mostly moved on to 27.5" and 29" wheels. Still, the range is wide enough to make it a tough choice to choose a new tire. After much research, I finally decided on the tires shown below.

I needed to take into account the tire width, as the latest generation of 26" tires are normally wider than the stock Kenda tires which are only 2.1" wide. Due to frame and fork limitations, it is not possible to run tires that are too wide.

Based on my visual estimation, there is enough space to fit in a 2.2" wide tire, instead of the stock 2.1" tire.

Maxxis Ardent Race tires, which is a good choice for most terrain, including some on-road riding. 2.2" wide which I think is the maximum that can be installed on my Polygon frame.

Some technical information on these tires. There are so many tire choices that it is hard to choose one.

679 grams per tire, which is on the heavy side for a 26" tire. Just for comparison, road bike tires are only about 260 grams each!

After removing the stock Kenda 2.1" tires, it is compared to the new Maxxis 2.2" tires.

Look at the big difference in width! The difference will be less once mounted on the rims. Not sure which tread pattern (along the central channel) will roll better on the road...

Comparing the new 2.2" Maxxis tires with the stock 2.1" Kenda tires, after mounting on the rims. Noticeable increase in width, hope it fits into the frame!

New Maxxis rear tire clearance with chain stays, only just enough! Less than a finger's width.

Front tire clearance with the arch on the front fork, also barely acceptable.

I am relieved that the new Maxxis Ardent Race tires, which are 2.2" in width, is able to fit my frame and fork. This extra width will provide extra grip when riding off road.

Other than new tires, I decided to get fresh grips as the previous grips were wearing out. No real need to change, but these new grips (as tested on other people's bikes) felt so much better in terms of grip and comfort, which was why I got new ones at the same time as the new Maxxis tires.

ODI Rogue lock on grips!

The clamps and bolts come unassembled. All the parts are the same, with no left/right or mirror designs.

Clamps and grips weigh 135 grams. Not for weight weenies...

To install the clamps, need to snap fit it over the ends of the grips.

The end caps also snap into the clamps. This needs to be done before installing the grips onto the handlebar.

Overall view of the grips

These grips have big chunky blocks that are soft and grippy, while the clamps are well designed. One little complaint is that the grips are exactly the same parts for left and right side, instead of being a mirror image of each other. This means that I cannot position them so that the clamp bolts and ODI logo are symmetrical on the bike. No function issue, just an aesthetic one.

Moving on to the new 12 speed drivetrain, the S-Ride rear derailleur requires a standard DATT hanger, which my Polygon mountain bike does not have. As previously shared, the Polygon comes with a Direct Mount hanger, which is good for Shimano mountain bike rear derailleurs but not others.

Therefore, if I wanted to use the S-Ride rear derailleur on the Polygon mountain bike, I needed to change the hanger to a DATT type. It may seem impossible to find, but I managed to find an online bike shop from Australia that has the hanger for my exact Polygon frame!

Comparing the stock Direct Mount hanger (left) with the new DATT hanger (right). Same mounting design to the frame.

The Direct Mount design places the attachment point further back, eliminating the need for an extra link on the rear derailleur.

Once the hanger has been switched, the rear derailleur could be installed without any problems. No problems either for cassette, shifter and chain installation. Let's see how the components look on the bike!

S-Ride rear derailleur, mounted on the new DATT hanger.

S-Ride rear derailleur. Looks quite good, except that it is not low profile like a Shadow rear derailleur. I also wonder how effective the clutch is.

The large 11-50T cassette mounted on the rear wheel, along with the 12 speed chain.

The new 12 speed drivetrain and the new Maxxis tires! Same SLX front single 34T crankset.

S-Ride 12 speed shifter installed! The gear display is nice to have, especially since there are so many gears on the cassette.

ODI Rogue grips installed. Looking good!

View of the full bike! The fresh, larger Maxxis tires makes the bike look new again!

How does the new gear range compare with the previous setup? Let's take a look.

Previous setup with 1x11 speed 11-46T cassette 

New setup with 1x12 speed 11-50T cassette

On this new 12 speed setup, there is a lower gear, courtesy of the large 50T sprocket. Other than that, the gear range and gear steps are similar to the previous 11 speed setup. In this case, the additional gear might not necessarily be better, as I give up the good performance of the Shimano 11 speed rear derailleur and shifter. In any case, it is worth trying out this 12 speed groupset which is not too expensive.