Long-Term Review: SRAM Rival eTap AXS
First launched in 2021, SRAM’s third-tier wireless electronic groupset is the most affordable in its lineup. So how well does it perform and what’s it like to live with?
I’ve pretty much been a lifelong Shimano mechanical shifting road user which means I’ve grown accustomed to their gearing, ergonomics and reliability. From those early downtube shifters without indexing, to the oval-shaped BioPace system, you name it and I’ve probably ridden and/or raced it.
Last year I had a few rides on the middle-tier SRAM Force eTap AXS groupset which left me impressed and curious about the brand’s wallet-friendly version, Rival eTap AXS. I’m wondering just how good is wireless electronic road shifting when it’s at a lower price point. What are its shortcomings? What’s it like to own and live with? Also, I was very curious to find out what SRAM’s ‘alternate’ approach to gearing feels like on my local loop. A few months and 1500km later, the Trek Emonda equipped with Rival eTap AXS has answers.
Details
Rival eTap AXS is available as a 1x or 2x drivetrain, with wireless electronic shifting and hydraulic disc brakes. Its intended use is both road and gravel riding and it has all the gearing solutions for beginner or expert-level riders inside those applications.
SRAM Rival eTap AXS
| DESCRIPTION | Wireless, electronic shifting groupset with disc brakes |
| APPLICATION | Road or Gravel |
| CHAINRING OPTIONS | 48-35t (tested), 46-33t, 43-30t |
| CASSETTE OPTIONS | 10-30t or 10-36t (tested) |
| DRIVETRAIN OPTIONS | 1x or 2x compatible |
| WEIGHT | 3155grams (2x as tested) |
| RRP | ± R33000 (pricing varies) |
| MORE | sram.com |
Overview | Rival eTap AXS runs on the same hardware as its richer Force and top-tier Red electronic Gruppos; which means the shifting performance is very similar, if not identical. Cleverly, SRAM has made all the components across Rival, Force and Red, cross-compatible. Mixing and matching to optimize weights and costs is now very much a possibility. Essentially, the difference between the groupsets is in the materials used. That’s where the dollars were saved.
Brakes | The brakes feature a reach adjust to personalize fit and have textured paddles and hoods to improve comfort and control. Rival does not have a pad contact point adjust screw, that luxury is reserved for Force and Red. The 160mm paceline rotors are a full steel construction, it’s a flat-mount caliper design and the hydraulic system runs on DOT fluid.
Shifters | The shifting is different from Shimano yet quite intuitive. The left paddle shifts to an easier gear and the right paddle shifts to a harder gear. Touch both left and right paddles at the same time and it changes the front chainring. Inside the shifters, a small CR2032 battery (which lasts a very long time!) powers the connection with the derailleurs.
Gearing | The gearing is really different. The small 10t gear on the cassette allows SRAM to reduce chainring sizing (which saves weight) and coupled with the 12-speed cassette actually increases gear range. They’ve also kept the gap between the two chainrings at exactly 13t which is said to improve shifting. As a base-level gruppo, Rival naturally carries a little more weight than Red or Force do and most of that sits in the alloy crankset. The chain is nickel chrome plated for added strength and the flattop design is said to add yet more strength.
Derailleurs | Both front and rear derailleurs have rechargeable batteries that will last about 60 hours of riding. Small colour LED lights on each derailleur, indicate battery charge status. Green means there is up to 75% remaining battery life. Red means there’s between 10 and 25% of battery remaining and flashing red means there’s less than 10% remaining life. The rear derailleur has a spring clutch to keep the chain tensioned and running as silently as possible.
Power Meter | A Quarq power meter adds just 40 grams and is a single-sided affair. Strain gauges inside the spindle measure the force coming from your left leg and then doubles it to give your total output. It runs on a single AAA lithium battery that also sits inside the spindle.
Customization | Being electronic, there is obviously an App (SRAM AXS mobile app) that offers customization of the setup, some ride-tracking features and an analysis of gears used. For those who aren’t bothered, there is never any need to download or even use the App, but it does have a lot of cool features to play with. Setting up the App is easy. It’s a simple case of pairing the bike to your phone and you can then do things like check battery life, configure how you want the shifting to work, change what each paddle does and the number of shifts you want to happen. There’s also an ‘enhanced’ mode that gives you access to compensating and sequential shifting features. When pairing your groupset to a Garmin\Wahoo etc, you can record your rides in the AXS App and store ride data. Something that might come in handy (for rookies especially) is an analysis of your gear choice which at the very least is interesting but also might help you choose better gearing options next time you are shopping.
Impressions
Braking performance | First off, the ergonomics of the brake hoods and paddles are incredible – they are small enough so a full finger wrap around the hood is possible. There is plenty of power in the brakes and it feels like there is slightly more modulation than with Shimano’s Ultegra brakes which I have just climbed off of, but that is difficult to measure accurately and could just be my interpretation or experience. The brakes are also quiet when in use, that’s in wet or dry conditions and I have not experienced any rubbing. So far, there’s been no need for any adjustment on the brakes, at all.
Shifting and Gearing | Shifting is intuitive and easy – a simple ‘tap’ on the paddle is all that’s needed to change gears. There’s lots of range on offer and I like the fact that the larger gears on the cassette don’t have big steps or jumps between them. The benefit is that finding the perfect cadence on climbs is easy. The gearing is really different from what I’ve been riding on road bikes for decades and I was initially apprehensive about SRAM’s take on it – but it’s actually been a breath of fresh air. And I’m not sh*tting on Shimano here – I’m just saying this is a different approach and I like it more than I thought I would. I thought the gearing and range work really well on longer rides and 1-hour tempo efforts.
Throughout the test period and despite some intentional delinquent cross-chaining, I never experienced derailleur rub nor did I need to make any adjustments to the setup. Up or down shifting under power isn’t an issue and I will add that although the shifting is slick, solid and fast, it’s not an instantaneous event.
What’s it like to live with? | Flippen lekker and here’s why. Firstly, tapping a button uses less energy than pushing a cable shifter. Now I know you are laughing at that and yes it might not make a difference on short rides but on longer rides and during big efforts, once you’ve tried it, you’ll know what I mean. When it comes to all the batteries, they charge up to 100% in under an hour and I never found keeping them charged and ready to roll to be an irritation. Lastly, whilst mechanical shifting is easier on the wallet, it can be finicky to set and does require maintenance – not so with electronic. Set up is really easy, there are no cables or wires to feed and there’s little to no maintenance needed – at least so far.
Should you upgrade now or put it on your N+1 list? | Most riders don’t go and buy a completely new road Gruppo, the upgrade usually happens when shopping for a new bike. After my positive experience with Rival eTap, I do think it’s worth considering when buying a new whip. Of course, you’d need to weigh up the extra cost and affordability for yourself, but from a performance, reliability, maintenance and pure bling factor, it’s worth looking into.
SRAM’s wireless electronic shifting is around nine years old now and has been proven at the highest level on the road, gravel and mountain bike racing scene. So it’s perhaps not surprising that with around 1500km of testing, I couldn’t find any major flaws in the Rival eTap iteration.
Final takeout | I still own bikes with mechanical shifting and I’m not saying they are terrible but there is a clear difference in performance between mechanical and electronic shifting. That cannot be denied. If you don’t like it don’t buy it but I do think it’s amazing. Feel free to reach out to me with any questions or to share your experience with Rival eTap.
RELATED: Seven locally available SRAM Rival eTap equipped bikes worth checking out: Titan Racing Cannondale Canyon Specialized Giant Cabal and Trek
| WORDS: Myles Kelsey |