Turns out “max 44t” is only a suggestion. Grabbed an apex AXS rear derailleur and some chains a few months ago to do some stress testing on SRAM compatibility after most of what I saw on the internet said XPLR couldn’t be stretched to 50t. Tested with flattop (RED) and eagle (GX) chains, both shifted like a dream in the stand and throughout rides. Derailleur doesn’t catch, rub, bind, or get overextended on the top cog. I will say it doesn’t perform any better than standard MTB AXS setups but what it does do is help with those who want to switch between 1x drivetrains and 2x drivetrains with only 1 rear derailleur. Also given the clear outs on previous gen XPLR components it’s a fairly low commitment test rig.
Parts list: Rival brifters, Red chain, Apex XPLR rear derailleur, sram X01 x-dome 10-50 cassette, sram descendant carbon cranks, garbaruk 40T 3-bolt chain ring, reverb AXS post (dumb but fun)
by Hot_Chemistry4829