SRAM Leaks New 1x11 XX1 Drivetrain with Massive Range 17

Count 'em up, folks. How many cogs and teeth are there? 

SRAM sent over these teaser images this morning of a new 1x11 drivetrain, dubbed XX1. That's a 10x42 tooth cassette you're looking at, which is a huge range compared to current cassette offerings which max out at 9-36. Note that a special cassette body will be required to run it, becuase traditional cassettes can only go as low as 11 teeth. It borrows the XX designation so it's clearly geared (pun intended) at the XC and enduro crowd.

The rear derailleur is also new and appears to be based around their Type 2 offerings. What's different about it? The XX1 derailleur moves along the horizontal plane and doesn't go in and out, up and down like traditional parallelogram designs. Fancy fancy.

What's more interesting than the cassette are the teeth on the front chain ring. Every other tooth features a raised portion. Note that the entire tooth isn't raised, just the center part of it. The goal here is obviously to help with chain retention. The alternating teeth coincide with the wide and skinny links on a chain. Chances are pretty good that it'll be coupled with an upper 1X chainguide, but SRAM's images don't show one. How else would you keep the chain from hopping off during a bumpy descent?

The increased range provides a much closer overall range to 2X setups than 1x9 or 1x10 speed offerings. Have front derailleurs just gone the way of the dodo bird? Time will tell. Expect more details at Crankworx Les Deux Alpes, or head over to bikeradar for a better look at the system.