Trek Rail 9.7 Sram upgrade question

[Bennett59]

I have a 2021 Trek rail 9.7 and it came with Nx sram I believe, I was curious if I can upgrade to Sram GX Eagle AXS Upgrade Kit? If it’s just a straight forward swap or does it need more changed?

 

[chrismechmaster]

Yes buy the GX asx upgrade kit
It will work with your chain ring and cassette and chain perfectly fine

simply pair the shifter and mech
set the B gap screw
Then It’s done

I have put this on two of my bikes now and it’s good didn't need to adjust the limit screws on either

 

[Bennett59]

Awesome my local bike shop has 2 kits left, I hear electric shifting is really good compared to cable. I was just worried someone told my my hub wouldn’t work it was shimano hub I’m new into mtb

 

[chrismechmaster]

It will work perfect fine on any 12 speed cassette

I have one on my Levo which has a sram nx cassette and one on my Rise which has a shimano cassette both work great
Shifting is perfect every single Time

One of the best upgrades I have made to the bikes

 

[LexC]

Awesome my local bike shop has 2 kits left, I hear electric shifting is really good compared to cable. I was just worried someone told my my hub wouldn’t work it was shimano hub I’m new into mtb

If you are simply fitting the AXS derailleur then you don’t need to change anything, but if you want to fit the 10-52 GX cassette you will need a XD freehub. If you’re running the stock Bontrager hubs you will need to get this part from your Trek dealer - it’s the same part that comes on the 9.8 and above.

The Shimano one only works with NX and lower. It can’t support a smaller cog than 11 tooth, hence the GX cassette don’t fit.

 

[Bennett59]

This what I need?

 

[LexC]

This what I need?

View attachment 59845

That’s the one

 

[Bennett59]

Does it just screw in and replace the other one? New to mtb come from motorcycles but I’ve been loving the Rail is the Wally fun bike

 

[LexC]

Does it just screw in and replace the other one? New to mtb come from motorcycles but I’ve been loving the Rail is the Wally fun bike

Yup exactly, very straight forward swap

 

[chrismechmaster]

I was told when converting my rise to gx asx that the xd driver isn’t rated for e bike use

That was On a lower powered rise as well so not sure how it will cope with the torque from the Bosch motor

I have no proof of this just passing on what I was told

 

[LexC]

Technically NX is the “official” ebike offering.

But GX and X01 come equipped on high end ebikes from factory such as 9.8 and 9.9 etc. so it surely does hold up to some degree

 

[sgtcurry]

I have a GX AXS on my Rail 9.7 and I haven't had any problems. I have maybe 50 miles on it. I didnt upgrade the cassette since I intend to only do so when the NX one wears out.

 

[Busterchops]

I have an interesting issue with my new 9.7 in that my NX deraillemur disintegrated in the first 100 miles. I was riding last weekend, no rock strikes but went through some brush. No issues for almost 5 miles and then the clutch failed and the locking pin fell apart. I was 7 miles from my truck so I limped it back most of the way but on a downhill section just coasting, the chain or something caught and ripped the whole derailleur off. Question, is the GX or X01 a stronger unit? This was really a disappointment. The carbon fiber is pretty trashed and the strike at the back is troubling for longevity. I have a warranty claim going but wonder if now is the time to go Shimano XTR?

 

[sgtcurry]

Thats interesting. Did you see if something got stuck in the derailleur when after you went through the bush? I did 300 miles on the NX that came with the rail before I swapped to the GX AXS.

 

[neiloxford]

I expect all derailleurs to fail around the same force.

I suggest you carry a multi tool with a chain tool and quick link in future. If you get some initial derailleur damage, you remove the derailleur, shorten the chain, and make the bike single speed.

P.S Bad luck on the damage.

 

[Busterchops]

Thats interesting. Did you see if something got stuck in the derailleur when after you went through the bush? I did 300 miles on the NX that came with the rail before I swapped to the GX AXS.

No there was nothing stuck in the derailleur after running through the sage brush. Obviously it weakened something. Good news is that sram is standing behind its product. They have authorized a free upgrade to the GX. Waiting to hear on replacing the lower control arm damage but Trek is pushing hard for sram to cover.

 

[Busterchops]

I expect all derailleurs to fail around the same force.

I suggest you carry a multi tool with a chain tool and quick link in future. If you get some initial derailleur damage, you remove the derailleur, shorten the chain, and make the bike single speed.

P.S Bad luck on the damage.

Probably a good idea. I have been riding these trails for ten years on my Giant NRS with XTR derailleur without an issue but obviously have a lot more torque with the emtb. Need to change my thought process a little.

 

[LexC]

Dang I think you just unlucky there. I don’t think this is a strength issue, it’s a probability problem