This article was produced in association with SRAM
It’s more difficult to stay on top than to get there, so they say. Having been attached to the bikes of every Grand Tour winner last year – both women’s and men’s – this is something SRAM will be acutely aware of. But not worried by. Resting on laurels is not something the US brand does. The unveiling of its next-generation flagship groupset, RED AXS, is designed around the concept of ‘effortless’. Yes, staying at the top is difficult, but with the effortless perfection that SRAM has spent the last four years developing, its riders will literally feel the pressure a little less: at their fingertips will not only be lighter brake feel, more comfortable ergonomics, smoother front shifting and expanded gearing choices but the new RED AXS is also the world’s lightest electronic groupset: SRAM quotes the new RED AXS at 2,496g about 153g lighter than outgoing RED eTap AXS.
Of course success is not just measured in Grand Tour wins – RED is for everyone looking for that effortless ride, and SRAM has refined every part of it with all types of riders and road-riding disciplines in mind. To complement the improvements in braking and shifting, there are features including better brake adjustability for more hand sizes, bonus buttons on the hoods so that you can shift with your thumbs and more crankarm lengths offered than ever before.
The things about RED eTap AXS that have proven so successful and that set it apart from the competition are still at the heart of it: fully wireless shifting with one battery for each derailleur, intuitive shift logic and the 12-speed innovative AXS gearing that’s designed for a wider range of ratios and closer progression.
As SRAM road drivetrain product manager Jason Fowler explains, the tech from 2019, when SRAM RED eTap AXS was launched, hasn’t simply been trickled down to the lower-tier groupsets while all the latest tech is saved up for the next flagship groupset. “We brought three additional price points of electronic wireless shifting to market – Force, Rival and Apex – which have built on RED, with the introduction of product improvements implemented along the way. We brought new features to each and a consistent theme in all those groupsets has been listening to the riders, listening to the market and feedback from pro racers and everyday riders. We’ve closed performance gaps and made the product better and along the way we’ve seen more and more pros and everyday riders adopt our tech.”
As well as responding to rider feedback, SRAM is itself a pioneer and trailblazer to which you might apply the famous Steve Jobs quote about people not knowing what they want until you show it to them. Fowler agrees with that. “When we think about product development, sometimes we are pushing the change and sometimes we’re responding to the way riders are changing. This new group is a great combination of both.”
Fowler explains that his team boiled down rider feedback along with its own ideas to a single aim that’s behind ‘effortless’: “We want to reduce the number of decisions a rider needs to make. Our products are quite complicated but we need to carry that burden, not the rider. And that’s what our engineers are waking up and thinking about each day. The rider first and the product has to support that. This is the focus of new R AXS.”
He sees it in terms of removing barriers to a more magical bike experience. “Shift, brake, measure power, change batteries, connect to head unit, build and maintain bike... all those interactions with your groupset should be as delightfully effortless as possible. Every bit of your energy that you dedicate to your ride matters, and we want to waste none of it. That’s why we designed SRAM RED AXS to be the most effortless drivetrain to use.”
Yes, the new lever architecture supplies a lighter feel and more useable power range, but SRAM has data to back up exactly how effortless the new RED AXS is: 80 per cent less effort when braking from the hoods and 33 per cent less effort when braking from the drops. One-finger braking from the hoods is positively encouraged, and the hood shape plays a key part. It’s slimmer than before, with a reduced overall circumference of the hood body, plus the pommel at the front is reduced in height. Overall it’s longer than it was previously, allowing for more fingers on the hood body leading to better control.
Fowler explains: “The new shifter moves the primary piston from the pommel into the body of the hood. The new piston is a push-piston design with a higher pivot on the brake lever. The rider benefit is that it takes less effort and less force to activate.”
The new ‘bonus buttons’ on the pommels are programmed out of the box to work as blips for shifting with the thumbs but can operate ANT+ devices – switching between head unit screens, for example.
The brake caliper itself is lighter and stiffer with more pad clearance for rub-free operation. Lever reach can be adjusted without affecting pad clearance. The shifters and calipers together save a total 83g. More grammes are shed via the chainset, which uses a new carbon layup for the crankarms, resulting in a 29g saving over the previous version without compromising stiffness. The one-piece 2x chainrings are available in 50/37, 48/35 and 46/33 ratios as before, and crankarms come in six sizes from 160mm up to 175mm, with the 160mm a new addition. There are also aftermar- ket upgrade options of 52/39, 54/41 and 56/43.
Ratios are expanded at the rear with two new cassettes – 10-30 and 10-36 added to the 10-28 and 10-33 – while the 10- 26 has gone.
“A lot of people think the 10 sprocket is for sprinting,” says Fowler. “It’s also use strategically. We saw Jumbo-Visma domestiques powering down descents to split up the race and you have Jonas [Vingegaard] using the 10 as a recovery feature, just turning the legs. You can see this in the AXS data where we can look at high and mid power.”
RED’s new Flattop chain now has hollow pins and cutouts, which save 13g. The inner link plates and rollers are hard chrome for reduced wear and a longer life. The chain and cassettes come in rainbow options for extra style points.
There’s one front derailleur and one rear derailleur for all gearing options. “The front derailleur is faster and more precise,” says Fowler, “with a narrower cage so there’s less distance to move and an auto-trim feature to eliminate rasp. All combine to provide a faster shift.”
The rear derailleur has a larger lower pulley wheel to reduce chain friction; an orbit fluid damper keeps the drivetrain quiet and secure over rough ground and it’s compatible with 1x and 2x setups. And it’s 16g lighter.
The new derailleurs are compatible with existing AXS batteries – and, like all the new components, are backwards compatible with existing SRAM AXS groupsets. Meanwhile, the AXS app has received ongoing updates for shift mode customisation, blips and ride analysis including time spent in gear as well as power.
And a new Hammerhead Karoo head unit has been developed alongside the new drivetrain, which promises better-than-ever integration. “You can configure your SRAM controls straight from the handlebar with no need to pull out your phone,” says Fowler.
“This is the culmination of the development we’ve conducted over the last four years – it’s a group that delivers on all fronts,” he concludes. “Bikes have got faster, gearing has got wider and riders push components to limits like never before.”
Judging by RED AXS, SRAM is looking pretty comfortable in that top spot.
For more information visit the SRAM website
