I have a red 11 speed cassette on another bike with 1st gen eTap, so I had some idea of what to expect. First, the cassette is an engineering marvel, given that most of the cassette is machined as a single piece of steel. It's incredibly light. Finally the rubber elastomeric bands between the cogs do an amazing job of quieting the drivetrain. I have a force axs cassette on my gravel bike. I can't discern any difference in shift quality, which is excellent for both; however the red cassette is noticeably quieter (and lighter), making the whole drivetrain silky smooth.
I have now used both the Red 33T and Force 33T cassettes on my Red drive train. I bought the Force due to the high cost of the Red but, the Force wore faster than the Red. I had to replace it sooner. I got 21,000 miles on the original Red cassette (I generally run stuff longer than recommended) but I only got about 9,000 miles on the Force before it would not hold a gear with a new chain. So back to Red since the prices have started to drop for the Red level.
Living in Tucson allows year round riding and weekly rides to Mount Lemmon..
These roads and other Southwest routes have been the proving ground for these parts.
While I like performance of Red, its durability is suspect particularly if you like to put the power to the pedals. Riding high end stuff isn't cheap, so if this is a consideration, a Force cassette (XG-1270) would work equally well with a much better price point.
PROs
Lightweight
Clean shifting
CONs
Wears out quickly
$$
Just received this new cassette. Installation was a breeze. It's very light and shifts very smooth. Much better than the Force cassette that came with my Trek Emonda. The factory Force cassette was still shifting well with over 9,000 miles on it, and likely a lot of life left. I will keep it as a backup. I did not opt for the fancy multicolored cassette as I personally like the silver titanium sort of look. I'm sure this cassette will be as good as the factory cassette. I expect to get many many miles from it. Hope this helps
I purchased the new rainbow colored option to replace my XG-1290 silver one that was at the end of it's life. The rainbow and black looks great with my matte black bike frame and of course the shifting is excellent. As a side note I also love the very low weight, build quality and easy install. Of course all this comes at a cost to the pocket book but if properly cared for these cassettes last a really long time and are a good value overall IMO. I would highly recommend purchasing one if you are a total bike nerd like me and love running the best!
I only have a few hundred miles on the cassette, but so far it's performing great. I purchased the top line because I read that it runs more quietly than the other options, but I have no experience to know if this is true.
As a SRAM AXS Force drivetrain owner, I was always feeling it was a touch noisier that I would like. Upgraded front the Force to Red 10-33 cassette. What a difference! Smooth shifting, whisper quiet, giving me added confidence. A highly recommended upgrade, and the fact that it was on sale was just a bonus!
Big fan of this gearing changing from a 10-33. I'm 100kg+ living in a flat area and the smaller jump in gearing with the 16 tooth cog has helped limit the spikes in power, smoothing out my group rides and helping me conserve energy for when I want to put it down.
Had never run Sram red before but was impressed with the weight and shifting of the Sram Red cassette. Worth the extra cost in my opinion
Super strong and creak free. After running Dura ace 12 speed cassettes for awhike, they were frequently making creak nooses. The Sram Red cassette is better made and quiet, efficient , and lightweight.
Smooth quite beautiful!
The price is high, but the quality is worth it, super solid and light cassette and the gear ranges are perfect. I run the 11-26 for fast flat lands and the 11-33 for hilly areas. The 10 tooth cog is worthless until screaming down the backside of a mountain at full speed, then you learn to appreciate the 10 tooth cog. Its creak free unlike some of the dura-ace cassettes I have used in the past, Sram has nailed their cassette design!
Light weight work of art!
Great savings on a great cassette and the buying experience was just as good. Extremely fast shipping.
The SRAM Red XG-1290 D1 12-Speed Cassette is quiet, smooth and fast shifting. That's its job and it does it very well. Not much more to it. Have this cassette on my AXS compatible wheels.
An expensive, high-quality cassette that is a decent value when it goes on sale.
Works great. Light and bulletproof while it last. Wears out pretty quickly, doubt I would buy this group set again .
It's a nice unit, but has never lasted as long as my Ultegra cassettes. I would STAY AWAY, if you can
