Tuesday was the first real test ride of the SRAM X.9 drivetrain I put on the Carver 96er. I had gotten a couple smaller rides in before, but mainly to give all the new lines time to stretch out some before I really put them to the test. The night before we hit the trail I took my time to make sure both the front and rear derailleurs were dialed in correctly.

The ride was at a trail called Carvins Cove about an hour away. The trail consists of a few technical climbs, a good bit of mud and plenty of creek crossings. There is also plenty of pine trees which means lots of random limbs to jump up and get stuck. More then once I had a limb get jammed in the drivetrain. I also had plenty of mud and gunk flying around as you can see a bit in this picture.

The whole ride my shifting felt good and once I had arrived home I washed up the bike, threw it on the bike stand and ran through all the gears to see how it was shifting. Still spot on.

First impression: the SRAM X.9 drivetain did great on the first real test. More updates to come.