11 Likes
Seems like a nice evolution to me, though I am not sure it’s compelling enough to justify an upgrade for me. I am curious though if the FD is indeed notably improved. Will wait for reports from the field.
Saw it, immediately wanted it, checked price, had minor heart murmur, decided to maybe skip it, got sad.
All of those stages happened in about 48 seconds.
33 Likes
All seem like nice sensible updates. Was curious if they were going to go direct mount transmission style for road but glad they didn’t. You can clearly see some Transmission XX-SL tech infusions into the new Red though.
I have the now previous gen Red AXS on my current bike and definitely won’t be upgrading. I paid a pittance for it because it’s the rim / cable actuated groupset version they made that no one wanted. The good news for a fully wireless groupset though the only thing different about it are the levers, and there are some high end 4-piston mechanical disc brakes that are actually really good.
Seems like the 1 piece that might be worth upgrading would be the levers and calipers. Otherwise the remaining parts seem similar enough to the previous generation to make upgrading tough to justify
1 Like
I’m in the market for the levers and calipers. I’ve been collecting parts for a gravel build, and this is one of the main things I don’t have (well, other than the frame 
)
Granted everything’s just going live on the retailers’ sites now, but haven’t seen them listed separately yet.
3 Likes
Agree that I would probably enjoy this upgrade, but as nice as the upgraded braking would be, not at $1350 for the pair (plus labor, because I am not routing brake lines myself).
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braking from the hoods on now last gen RED wasn’t a good experience for me. glad they changed it and I’m definitely interested in upgrading those hoods.
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In the Escape Collective Q&A with SRAM they state that the new levers are backward-compatible with older calipers. So a minimal upgrade path would be to get just new levers (assuming they’re offered stand-alone at some point) and mate them with current calipers. Dave Rome at EC states that nearly all braking improvement comes from the levers (re-oriented piston, raised pivot point). This gets you new ergonomics and the “bonus buttons” too.
Agreed that most other updates aren’t really compelling enough to justify an upgrade. AXS is somewhat democratizing in terms of shift quality; all groups use the same motor and shift logic, so shift quality is basically the same from RED to Apex.
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I just really only want shorter reach without compromising brake power.
Well that was fast, was just able to find a discount on the frame I’m looking for and get confirmation I can get the Red Shifters and calipers from the same place. Couple that with a a big return credit I have, I guess I’m now even more poor
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Maybe Gaia Realini will finally be able to reach her brake levers from the drops.
I mean yes, she is small, but my understanding is that she seriously can’t do that on her current setup, and why did nobody try to address this, perhaps with a custom handlebar to start with.
New groupo, sweet! realises price…
6 Likes
For everyone thinking that they’d like just the levers, its worth noting that much as Shimano did with the latest Dura Ace Lever body, the “reach” on them is longer, 7mm on the new Sram versus the last gen Red… So while the brake lever reach might be more friendly from the hoods and drops, some fit sensitive people will be needing to size down their stem and/or bars to maintain the same hoods position.
Also, it’s a bit ironic how people blast Shimano for being so far behind Sram, yet it seems Sram almost copy-pasted Shimano’s now 6 year old GRX levers in shape and pivot location…
3 Likes
seems like the FD also has some good improvements with the autotrim and narrow cage. other than that, seems like not much to gain RD supposed to shift faster but likely marginally
rumor is that the xplr will come as direct mount udh, honestly I wish the red would have a direct mount udh as well but I’m not sure it would work with 2x drivetrain
Price easier to take on a Lauf Uthald, $6090 in black with Zipp 303S: Ăšthald - Lauf Cycles - gravel bikes, road bikes and lightweight suspension forks
3 Likes
All these reviews and not one mention of USB-C.
The big unanswered question:
Did SRAM finally remove the micro usb connection on the battery charger?
5 Likes
True this is a good call out.
likely gonna have to buy the 4 battery charger to get usb-c, honestly if you have more than one axs bike is a good investment
1 Like