SRAM Force AXS Wide test: The 2×12 groupset from the US manufacturer is extremely easy to assemble thanks to wireless shifting and, with different gear rim gradations, is suitable for all types of racing bikes, all-road and gravel bikes. In addition, the group was significantly reduced in price at the beginning of 2021, making it one of the most interesting offers on the market - and particularly suitable for retrofitting. Velomotion tried it.
Something is happening on the market for electronic road bike components. Shimano has just introduced a third electronic group with the new 105 Di2 R7150, and last year SRAM electrified its No. 3 group, the Rival. In the meantime, Campagnolo should not rest on the laurels of the Ekar 13-speed gravel groupset, but are working flat out on its electrification - after all, Shimano is very present in this market with the GRX Di2, as is SRAM with its 1×12 gravel groupsets . It is also not entirely impossible that the Italians will expand their EPS system again to include cheaper groupsets.
Anyone expecting complete bikes with third-tier electronic groupsets to be available at bargain prices was disappointed. Top-of-the-line racing bikes now cost five figures across the board, and the mid-range has caught up. A Cannondale SuperSix EVO with Shimano 105 Di2 and aluminum wheels costs €5.299; the SuperSix EVO SE gravel racer with SRAM Rival AXS 2×12 starts at €4.999 Euros are required. Trek even offers a new Madone SLR 6 with the new 105 Di2 for a whopping 7.599 euros.
SRAM Force AXS: After price reduction on the same level as the Shimano 105 Di2
What draws your attention to the prices of the cheap electronic groupsets, and here there is a surprise: while the SRAM Rival AXS is in the price list at 1.411 euros (2×12 without bottom bracket), the official price of the new Shimano 105 Di2 is included 1.845 euros. And so the number three in the Japanese range is not 50 euros cheaper than SRAM's second group, the Force AXS - which currently costs 1.889 euros (again 2×12 without bottom bracket), after it was subjected to a price reduction of a good 25% in April .
If you look at what complete bikes equipped with Force AXS cost – at Cannondale, for example, the softtail gravel bike Topstone Carbon 1 RLE currently costs 8.999 Euro—you might easily come up with the idea of getting a Force groupset plus a nice frame and building a custom racer from it, the old-school way. Or you could take an existing bike and modify it, and that's exactly what Velomotion has done: Raise the curtain on a Cannondale Synapse, which, with the electronic groupset, has blossomed into the perfect endurance all-road racer.
The SRAM Force, introduced in 2006, offered an answer to the question of what a third racing bike shifting system could look like alongside Shimano and Campagnolo. The DoubleTap principle - a lever for the two functions of shifting up and down - is still captivating in its simple elegance; it also laid the foundation for the brand's future electronic shifting systems. The SRAM Red eTap only came onto the market in 2016, and the group that Velomotion tested for a short time at the time proved both first-class functionality and super-simple assembly. Gear lever, rear derailleur and front derailleur communicated wirelessly and each had its own power supply, so that no cables had to be laid.
Of course, it still works that way today, and for that reason alone, a SRAM AXS, as the groups are now called, is particularly suitable for building or converting. The Force is a good choice: It doesn't even cost half as much as the Red premium group, which is listed at just under 4.000 euros. Compared to the Rival with its aluminum crankset, the Force can claim a weight saving of almost 300 grams.
Easy assembly thanks to wireless switching
A 2018 Cannondale Synapse Apex 1 SE served as the basis for our project – with the slightly heavier carbon frame and aluminum wheels available for around 3.000 euros at the time. It is a frame with the currently valid mounting standards and a screwed derailleur base, which can be bought as an accessory. In terms of stack and reach (590/386 mm), the 56 frame is still sporty enough if you remove all spacers under the stem and retrofit a flat headset cap. And although the wheelbase of the Synapse is less than one meter, 35 mm wide tires fit through the fork and rear triangle, making the bike almost "Gravel light". This makes the frame perfect for a still quite new variant of the SRAM AXS, called "Wide". This stands for super-compact chainrings with a gradation of 43/30 and a 5 mm wider bottom bracket spindle so that the crankset fits into gravel frames with a wider rear end.
As usual with SRAM 13-speed drives, there are 50 teeth between the large and small ring – 37/48, 35/46, 33/43 and 30/50. This has the advantage of smoother shifting at the front and fewer compensating shifts at the rear when changing chainrings. If you switch from the typical compact ratio of 34/43 to 30/50, you will find that the fast gear is now almost exactly between 11/50 and 12/30, i.e. it has become a little shorter. At the same time, a very easy mountain gear has been added: 28/34 as on the test bike corresponds almost exactly to the gear ratio 32/XNUMX.
SRAM Wide: Large gear ratio range with narrow gradations
A Sprinter ratio is of course not 43/10; the advantage of the wide gear lies in its large bandwidth with very narrow gradations at the same time. The 10-28 cassette offers eight sprockets in steps of one (10 to 17) and is therefore ideal for riders who value an even pedaling frequency. The 10-30 and 10-33 cassettes omit the 16 sprocket and are spread wider towards the back, but still narrow enough in the critical area.
With a 46/30 and 11-28 ring gear, a similar gear ratio can also be achieved with the Shimano GRX 16-speed group; then, however, the fast gear is shorter despite the larger chain ring and in the middle area the indispensable 10 sprocket is missing, which SRAM only omits from 30-XNUMX.
DUB: a new bottom bracket standard
With the current model generation, SRAM has introduced a new bottom bracket standard called DUB, which stands for "Durable Unifying Bottom Bracket". This is an axle with a diameter of 28,99 mm that, with the appropriate bottom bracket, fits in pretty much any bottom bracket shell. On the Cannondale, which still has a BB30 housing, the bottom bracket is pressed in; the bearings are no longer in the housing but on the outside, which increases the support width and thus improves stability. Incidentally, Cannondale has recently returned to the well-established BSA bearing, for which there is of course also a DUB bottom bracket.
Once you have chosen the right bottom bracket for your frame, the SRAM Force is mounted in a flash. The adjustment screws on the rear derailleur are perfectly preset; to ensure optimal function, you only have to cut the chain to length exactly according to the instructions. The front derailleur - once SRAM's problem child - works well too, although the red plastic jig that comes with it isn't ideal: it can only be used when the chain isn't already installed, so it's not great for precise adjustment. A special feature of the SRAM derailleurs are the "wedges": These are small plastic wedges of various shapes that come with the derailleur and can be screwed to its back so that the derailleur can be supported on the frame. In this way, delicate derailleur sockets are relieved; If you use a frame with a riveted base, you should definitely mount the wedges. When it comes to the front derailleur, it should be noted that there is also a "wide" version that was specially developed for gravel bikes with a wide rear end. The normal launcher also works on the Cannondale.
Easy pairing - even without an app
“Pairing” the levers, rear derailleur and front derailleur is a matter of less than a minute if you follow the instructions. The components communicate directly with each other and installation does not require the SRAM AXS app or anything else. You only have to use the app if you want to change the shift pattern or use additional functions such as a battery status check. Since the rear derailleur and front derailleur each have their own battery (the levers are powered by button cells), there are no cables to run, so installing the hydraulic disc brakes is the only slightly complicated step.
While Shimano and Campagnolo kept the familiar shifting scheme for their electronic groupsets, SRAM had to come up with something new to adapt the DoubleTap principle to the new technology with just two levers for two shifting functions each. And so the AXS shifter is even easier to operate than its mechanical predecessor: To shift to a heavier gear at the rear, you tap the right shift paddle, for an easier gear you tap the left. Pressing both switches activates the front derailleur.
It is a principle that is as simple as it is foolproof and that has quickly become second nature. Thanks to the large shift paddles, which can be reached from many grip positions, there is no mistake when changing gears; Even with thick gloves you are guaranteed to hit the button. A clear click and the tactile feedback indicate successful operation. The small buttons on the inside of the shift paddles are used to fine-tune the rear derailleur: If you operate the paddle while holding down the button, the rear derailleur moves 0,25 mm inwards (left paddle) or outwards (right paddle). If you want to reposition the derailleur, you can test its operation by pressing the button on the front of the derailleur that triggers the shifting process.
The rear and front derailleurs aren't exactly delicate, which is, of course, due in no small part to the batteries that are attached to the shifting components. The batteries are hooked in and clicked into place; a green indicator indicates that the respective battery is sufficiently charged when shifting. SRAM claims a 60-hour or 1.000 Kilometers on a single battery charge. If it lights up red when shifting, the battery is below 25%; if it flashes red, it's below 10%; but that still corresponds to several hours of riding time. It's not necessarily expected that both batteries will run out of power at the same time—the rear derailleur's will probably run out first, especially since you shift gears at the rear much more often. And if that happens while you're on the move, you can always attach the front derailleur battery to the rear derailleur. The small batteries in the shift levers (CR2032) are said to last two years.
Decentralized power supply and hidden switching heads
The SRAM levers gain additional functionality through the so-called blips: shift buttons that are hidden under the handlebar tape and allow shifting from an additional grip position. Sprinters place the blips in the handlebar arch, but on endurance racers they can be mounted on the inside of the top link. The blips are connected to the respective shift lever by cable and are then immediately ready for use; they disappear optically under the handlebar tape, but are large enough for safe operation, to which the clearly defined pressure point also contributes. It is somewhat unfavorable that the four cable lengths of the Blips (15, 23, 45, 65 cm) do not necessarily match the handlebar width or placement; on the Velomotion bike, a few loops have to be laid under the handlebar tape because 15 cm is too short, but 23 cm is too long. But recently there are also wireless blips, which are a bit larger and have to be "paired", but can also be used with shifters where the old blips were not intended to be plugged in - namely the new Rival levers. Shifting with the blips increases ease of use and is fun; the 114 (cable) or 100 euros (wireless) per set are therefore a good investment.
Strong brake with adjustment options
Even on racing bikes, there is no longer a way around disc brakes - there is no other way for bikes that are ridden with wider tires. Of course, SRAM still offers an AXS lever set for mechanical brake actuation, which can be used either with the appropriate rim brakes or with mechanically activated disc brakes. The latter still have many friends, especially in the bikepacking scene, as they are easy to repair or replace; in terms of function, however, the hydraulic SRAM stoppers are clearly superior. Whether braking gently or going full throttle: the performance is convincing from every grip position, without the brakes being uncomfortably snappy. In addition to the grip width, the "contact point" can be adjusted, i.e. the free travel of the lever until the pads are in contact with the brake discs. However, this adjustment option cannot be used to compensate for excessive idle travel caused by errors when bleeding the brake. At best, the normal path can be increased so that both brakes have the same free travel; in practice, however, the effect that can be achieved with this setting is small. There is about one centimeter of leeway when it comes to reach, measured at the tip of the lever – more would not work, otherwise the shift paddle would hit the handlebars. The free travel of the system remains constant if you choose a smaller grip width.
With the master cylinder of the hydraulic brakes, the shift-brake levers look quite bulky, but they feel good in the hand. The hump on the top is easy to grip with the hand and allows an aerodynamic brake handle position with almost horizontal forearms. The rubber has a fine structure in the palm area, which allows a secure grip even when sweating heavily and is smooth enough not to become uncomfortable even after several hours on the handlebars.
Single jumps from 28 km/h
After around 1.500 After 43 kilometers, the Force AXS can definitely be described as broken in – how has it performed during this time? First of all, the unusual gearing: Concerns that the 30/43 chainring combination might be too short proved to be unfounded. With 10 to 60 teeth, you can still put pressure on the pedals even at 43 km/h; on alpine descents you just have to let it roll, but the advantage of the close gearing and the easy uphill gears perhaps outweighs this. With the 17/28 gearing and a fluid pedaling frequency, you can travel at around 10 km/h, and from there you can upshift in single-speed increments and sensitively adapt to changes in pace, inclines, or changes in wind direction. Not finding the right gear at a "disgusting pace" on the flat is unlikely to happen with the 28-XNUMX cassette.
The narrow gradation also proves its worth on the mountain; Compared to the classic compact ratio of 50/34 with an 11-28 ring gear, you can also look forward to an additional mountain gear that is close to a 1:1 ratio. With the 10-30 cassette of the SRAM Rival AXS you would even have direct gear and would only have to do without the 16 sprocket. For the second wheelset of our all-road racer, with 35 tires tailored for gravel roads and dirt roads, this cassette would be an obvious choice.
2×12 = 23: one gear less because of the skew
As we are used to from various test bikes, the rear gear changes are quiet and quick, especially when you reduce the power a little. When shifting under load, the transmission is quite audible. The flat top chain with the characteristic smooth upper side runs very smoothly over the sprockets and chainrings. Switching between the latter doesn’t work quite as smoothly on the self-built bike, which could be due to the fact that the front derailleur on the Cannondale is a bit too high – the mounting standards of the 2018 frame don’t quite correspond to the current technology here. A brief failure of the electronic shifting system - the rear derailleur only responded after being asked several times - could be remedied by removing the battery: As soon as it was connected again, everything worked as usual. The blips ensure a lot of joy when changing gears; not having to change your grip means that you shift from the top link more often than usual. A special feature of the 2×12 groupsets from SRAM is that they only offer 23 gears – to avoid excessive chain skewing on the small chainring, the smallest sprocket cannot be shifted; on the test bike, 30/11 is the end.
Functionally, the group convinces all around, but it is noticeable that some surfaces are quite sensitive. The painted carbon cranks quickly get scratches, as does the plastic housing of the front derailleur. At the latest when riding with overshoes, the crank arms should be taped.
Was it worth building or converting the Cannondale Synapse yourself? We think so, especially since the combination of a 1x drivetrain with an 11-42 cassette and a maximum tire width of 35 mm wasn't all that practical. Thanks to the super-compact 2×12 gear ratio, on the other hand, the bike is very coherent and versatile, and last but not least, the radio transmission makes it look very tidy. With 28 tires on medium-high carbon rims, the Synapse is an agile racing machine that is extremely manoeuvrable on winding roads and can be moved lightly with a weight of eight kilos. You never run out of gears uphill, even if you're in creeper gear on steep climbs due to bad shape on the day. A solid aluminum wheel set with a 35mm Schwalbe G-One Allround packs a good 600 grams, but leads to an enormously expanded area of application: Now the bike also feels comfortable on coarse gravel, rolls smoothly over rooty forest paths and could even do the cyclocross bike in dry conditions substitute. Of course, the Synapse with the narrow tire clearance doesn't stand a mud pack.
Save big by building it yourself
At around €2.000 for the complete groupset, including Blips, it's certainly not cheap. Depending on the frame you want to build, you can save several hundred euros compared to a complete bike. Take the Specialized Allez Sprint, for example: The aluminum criterium racer with SRAM Force 1×12 drivetrain and Roval carbon wheels costs a whopping €7.500, while the frameset is available for just €1.800. Then, the groupset, a corresponding 1.500-Euro wheelset as well as cockpit, saddle and tires, and you already have around 1.500 You'll save 1.800 euros—or even 1 if you build the frame like the complete bike with 12x5.500. Or the Salsa Warroad, which, with its all-road concept, is very similar to the Cannondale Synapse: As a complete bike with SRAM Rival AXS and DT Swiss aluminum wheels, it costs around 2.200 euros, and the frameset costs 5.000 euros. So, a self-build with the Force is doable for under XNUMX euros.
So it's worth relying on the SRAM Force AXS: On the one hand, the group is very advanced compared to the competition because it's wireless and available with a wide range of gear ratios. And on the other hand, it's the best choice in the SRAM range, because while the heavier Rival is kept simpler in various details, the Force shares all relevant technologies with the super expensive Red. In addition to the looks, there is only a weight advantage of around 300 grams in the end the top model. This means that the Force is still perhaps the most interesting racing bike group on the market 16 years after it was first introduced - and now even more attractive after the price reduction.
https://www.velomotion.de/magazin/2016/11/test-sram-red-etap-funkverkehr/