Do you want to upgrade your road bike with a new SRAM 12-speed groupset? Especially if you want to run the super-lightweight AXS cassette? To run AXS cassettes, you will need an XDR freebody.

What is XDR?

XDR stands for XDRoad and is based on SRAM's highly successful XD driver for mountain bikes. The simple idea behind both the XD and XDR driver is to allow SRAM to achieve a wider gear range by enabling smaller cogs to be run than are currently fitted to a standard freehub body.

The main problem with fitting a 10t cog to the HG style freehub bodies we use is that the main body of the freehub is larger than the size of a 10t cog, making it pretty much impossible to fit one. We have already had a warning about having to re-dish wheels when we went to 11-speed as 11-speed was slightly longer.

These are the problems that the XDR driver tries to alleviate. The XDR driver allows you to fit a 12-speed cassette, which is the same width as an 11-speed cassette, onto your freehub. This means you can just pop one on and fit a cassette and not have to worry about re-dishing your wheel. It is also worth noting that the XDR driver is 1.8mm longer than an XD driver because it is based on the 11-speed HG freehub.

The XDR cassette screws onto the driver, and the 10t low cog then sits just behind the driver body. By working this way, the bearings will last longer as the cogs have not been shrunk down to fit, and the driver body has the same length as an HG freehub.

Which wheels will an XDR driver fit?

The XDR driver is designed to fit most of our FL and Aero series wheels. The XDR driver that we have designed will fit Novatec and our own brand hubs, if you are not sure what you have purchased then please email us.

The Novatec codes that our drivers will fit are the Road Bike Hubs AS511SB/FS522SB, Road Disc Hubs D411SB/D412SB, D791SB/D792SB and the Fat Bike Hubs D201SB/S202SB.

We also know that DTSwiss make their own XDR driver for their 240S and 350S hubsets. So if you have bought one of those wheelsets, you will not be left out. Again, if you need help or want to know more, please email us, and we will try and help you as much as we can.

As you can see, it is fairly simple to swap your wheels out to feature the new SRAM AXS groupset, and it does not cost as much as you might think to convert your wheels. SRAM has made a short video showing how easy it is to change your freehub body over to an XDR driver body. It literally takes minutes.

Now wouldn't you convert to a 12-speed road bike?