Chain wear on a 12-speed Eagle drivetrain shows up as sloppy shifting long before the chain itself fails, which is why SRAM built the GX Eagle 12-Speed Chain with the same core Flattop-style link geometry as the XX1 Eagle version at the top of the hierarchy. The GX shares solid pin construction with XX1 Eagle and swaps in a more modest finish treatment to hit a lower price point. If you're running an Eagle drivetrain and want a replacement chain that matches shifting quality across the range without stepping up to X01 or XX1, this is where GX lands.

The chain uses solid pin construction, Eagle PowerLock, and Flowlink inner plates to keep the drivetrain quiet and reduce friction across the 10-52T cassette range. Flowlink eliminates square edges on the inner plates, which cuts friction and extends chain life on Eagle cassettes and X-Sync chainrings. The solid pins handle the lateral loads that come with shifting across a wide-range 12-speed cassette without the flex that accelerates wear on hollow-pin designs.

The chain ships with 126 links, which covers most Eagle drivetrain configurations out of the box. You'll pull a few links depending on your chainstay length and cassette size, but 126 gives you enough headroom for longer-travel bikes with extended chainstays. The included Eagle PowerLock connector is a tool-free, single-use master link — once it's installed and loaded, it stays put. If you break the chain later for cleaning or repair, plan on a fresh PowerLock rather than reusing the old one.... Read More