SRAM SHIFTERS/BRAKE LEVERS


2012 SRAM XX Trigger Shifters

When SRAM was developing XX, they were playing with the idea of bringing their Double-Tap road shifting technology to mountain biking. After all, they've already made Double-Tap shifters for flat bars. As much as we like DoubleTap, we think it's not perfect for the dirt. SRAM found that they and their testers agreed. Besides the sure-handedness that comes from triggers, there is the matter of speed. The throw of the push lever can be shorter with a trigger. Shorter throw is faster. It also means less time and thought thinking about the shift and more time riding.

Of course, they were going for speed, which is why they toyed with Double-Tap. The faster your bike shifts after your input, the faster you'll go, the less pressure you have to take off the pedals, the fewer shifts you'll miss. Helping with the speed is SRAM going away from the 1:1 shifting on SRAM X0 and their nine-speed systems, and embracing the Exact Actuation ratio that they developed for their ten-speed road groups. Exact Actuation means that for every centimeter of cable you pull, there's a centimeter of movement at the derailleur -- to be precise, there is exactly 3mm adjustment between each cog on the cassette. This reduces slop and keeps the cable pull identical from gear to gear.

XX trigger shifters feature light weight carbon-fiber levers, and can be mated with an XX-specific Matchmaker clamp, the Matchmaker X. The levers are stiff, light and strong -- lighter than X.0 because they're smaller, but they still feature the ergonomically-pleasing ability to set the lever exactly where you want it. Paired with the Matchmaker X, your precious cockpit space is freed. Brakes, shifters and XLoc can all mate to the same clamp. And you shave a gram or two in the process.

SRAM XX Trigger shifters are designed to work with SRAM XX 2x10 derailleurs -- the front shifter only works with double-chain ring cranks, and the rear with 10-speed Exact Actuation derailleurs (and compatible with SRAM Exact Actuation 2x10 road systems, too). The clamp hardware is made from 6061-T6 aluminum. The shifter hardware is made from 7075-T6 aluminum, stainless steel, and uses Torx T25 bolts for clamping mechanisms (the Torx bolt is already used on most disc brake calipers, it's a bit lighter than a similar-sized Allen-head bolt, and the same bolt head is used throughout XX). The body has a carbon fiber top cover and composite lower cover. The lever blade is made from carbon fiber, and the release button from composite. The shifters come with cables pre-installed. The claimed weight is 183g per pair.

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