The Rival XPLR E1 XG-1351 is SRAM's entry point into 13-speed gravel — it sits below the Force XG-1371 and the Red XG-1391 in the XPLR hierarchy, and it's the cassette most riders will end up with when they buy a complete gravel bike built around a Rival XPLR groupset. Same 10-46T range and 460% spread as the Force and Red versions, same XDR driver body, same Flattop chain compatibility — the difference is in the construction and the weight, not the gearing.

The cog spread runs 10-11-12-13-15-17-19-21-24-28-32-38-46, which is the same tooth-count layout SRAM uses across the XPLR 13-speed cassettes. That gives you single-tooth jumps through the first four cogs where you spend most of your time on the road or hardpack, then progressively bigger steps out to the 46T bailout for steep loose climbs. If you've ridden a 12-speed XPLR setup and felt the jumps in the middle of the cassette, the 13-speed layout closes those gaps meaningfully without sacrificing the climbing gear at the bottom.

Where Rival differs from Force and Red is the construction: this cassette is built with steel cogs throughout rather than the machined aluminum spider assembly used higher up the range. That's where the weight difference comes from — the XG-1351 comes in around 616 grams, roughly 250 grams heavier than the Force XG-1371 and about 240 grams heavier than the Red. The trade-off is durability and cost. Steel cogs handle grit, mud, and neglected chain hygiene better than the pinned aluminum-cluster designs, and the price point is where most of the savings versus Force live.... Read More