How do you find the SRAM front derailleur? Is the dropped chain stuff applicable to AXS or is that from previous gen SRAM stuff. I really like 2x and only have 1x on my MTB but have heard the dropped chain stuff with SRAM so haven’t really considered the Rival AXS.
It can be problematic. I’ve never totally eliminated chain drop, though it is now rare.
There’s a pretty animated thread over on weightweenies which discusses it and the reasons/solutions at great length. TL; DR:
- there’s consensus that the optimal setup window is very narrow.
- there’s some speculation that a slightly out of spec FD hanger can result in a situation where the optimal setup is impossible.
- some argue that some FDs are simply faulty.
I know someone else with it and it’s been perfect since day one, and you don’t see widespread AXS chain drops in the peleton.
I have a 3T Strada, too! 
Love that bike to bits, by far one of the best two bikes I have ever ridden. (1st place is shared between the Strada and BMC’s Teammachine. These are very different bikes, so one isn’t better than the other.)
Does your buddy run stock gearing? If so, that’s a bit on the sporty side (44-tooth chainring coupled to a 10-33 cassette). I got a smaller 42-tooth chainring and a larger 10-36 cassette. My hardest gear, 42:10 = 4.20, corresponds to 50:12 = 4.17 whereas my easiest climbing gear, 42:36 = 1.17, corresponds to 34:29 = 1.17. Personally, I love 1x and hate front derailleurs. On two occasions during races my chain got stuck at 65-70 km/h on descents in the wet (Shimano Ultegra/105), which scared the living daylights out of me. Plus, no matter how “good” shifting in the front is, not shifting is better in my mind.
I live near the Japanese alps, so I can do proper climbing here. Although I do wish SRAM made a 10-39 cassette like Rotor does. Especially on days when I want to do very long climbs (think 1 hour plus) or want to do climbs in a more mellow pace, I sometimes wish for another gear. But that’s rare.
Regarding descents and gearing, same here, I am very conservative on descents: I have a family and I don’t have to prove anything to myself. Only on some descents do I really open the taps and let it rip. But that’s on descents where I know the road surface and know that there is little traffic. I don’t find any reason to pedal beyond 60-65 km/h.
As others have astutely pointed out, your local terrain, w/kg, and type of riding are the primary drivers for gearing setups. I live in an area with mainly rolling terrain and short 5min climbs around 5-7%, and I really like 50/34 with an 11-28 or 11/32.
I’m a 4.5-5w/kg rider depending on my power and weight, but I don’t think ‘standard gearing’ works very well for me. One of the things I really like about a 50t ring is I can stay in that ring way more compared to a 53t without being completely cross chained. I have had times where I’m spun out a bit in the 50-11, but it’s a very short period, and never a reason to get dropped.
I have another bike with a 53t ring, and I’m constantly shifting the front for the reasons I mention above - even worse when doing a z2 ride where you don’t want to jam the climbs.
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That’s such a good point. Even when I was on a compact double, I’d opt to stay in the big ring for as long as I could. That’s also why I opted for a 11-32 cassette as it allowed me to stay in the big ring for longer. Being in 50:28 to climb some rollers was pretty neat.
Not 100% sure but his chain ring looks big, maybe bigger than a 44?