the lever alone is most of the price you are paying… $446 while the new calipers are $145, the rest is mounting bracket, hardware and hose to make up for the $675 lever/caliper combo.
11.7018.078.012
11.7018.078.013
probikesupply has the right available, but not the left so they are out there already. to be honest I’m not sure if I don’t put another $200 on top of it and try to sell my force d2 to recoup some of the money back
I ride my gravel bike on a lot of singletrack as well as dirt/gravel roads. I went from the current Force to the new Red shifters and calipers and my feelings are that the Red shifters are a) a lot more comfortable with more hand room, b) WAY less force needed when braking on the hoods. Most of the time I use one finger. Two fingers on really rough places. I used to need three fingers sometimes with Force. Braking from the drops feels easier but not dramatically so, c) the reshaped levers are easy to reach and never pinch your fingers between the lever and the bars and the shift paddles are bigger, and d) the hose goes right into the shifter body without the little adapter like Force has.
Only having experience with Shimano, I am wondering if any leeway exists with SRAM in regard to maximum cassette size.
For example, on Shimano DA or Ultegra I have never had an issue adjusting the B screw and installing a cassette 2 teeth over the maximum indicated by Shimano. Or go even higher by installing a Wolftooth Roadlink.
Is this something you cannot do with SRAM?
It looks like the Red AXS RD comes in a Max model if you want to ride 10-36 while the standard Red is limited to 10-33.
From what I understand the knuckle (?) on the Max model effectively lowers the hanger similar to installing a Roadlink for Shimano.
Does that mean 36T really is the max with SRAM Red? Or can you adjust a B-screw to exceed that limit?
Sidenote: Is USB-C in effect now?
I believe the 36 is the biggest 12s road cassette SRAM makes and the road RD isn’t compatible with the larger offroad cassettes (which all all 1x only). Maybe there is an aftermarket road cassette option larger than 36. Obviously unsupported territory once you go bigger/aftermarket, but maybe an option. Also, if coming from shimano, keep in mind that SRAM 12s has a bit different philosophy on gearing. You’ll have a 10 tooth cog in the back and options for smaller front chainrings. So, even though your biggest cog in the back is a 36, you can have a 33 front ring to pair it with.
On the usb-c, I recently got one of their battery chargers (the one that charges 4 at once) and it was USB-C. All the previous chargers I’ve gotten from them were the old syle mini usb (including one from a new bike in 2024). The charger is the only thing that requires a cord that I can think of.
You can also use an XPLR RD in a 2x system.
I have seen people use larger cassettes with SRAM rear derailleurs in the past, although not this specific groupset generation (yet). In the past when you needed a WIDE rear derailleur to officially use a 10–36 cassette, I have heard people here on on the 3T blog that a regular rear derailleur (first-gen Red/Force AXS) would work.
If memory serves, I have seen some people use a Rotor 11–39 cassette with a WIDE rear derailleur.
Personally, I would get the rear derailleur that accepts a wider cassette anyway.
I have heard Rotor’s 12-speed cassettes being used on SRAM groupsets. They offer
Not a road RD but the 12s XPLR RDs can use the E13 9-45t cassette (so +1 on the biggest gear and -1 on the smallest) with no modifications. So i wouldn’t be surprised if you could get an extra tooth or two without too much trouble if you can find a cassette.
On the roadside you can swap the cages out to run bigger cassettes as well (generally 1x only but I"m sure people have hacked stuff together).
My gravel bike has SRAM 43/30 chainrings and the 10-36 cassette to get a 30:36 lowest gear, if that’s the goal.
How does the Garabuk RD cage manage to raise maximum cassette size on a Red AXS RD from 33/36Tto 44T?
Is the top pulley wheel smaller or is it located lower somehow?
Is the SRAM Red RD bottom pulley supposed to slant in closer to the rear wheel when you shift into the lowest gear?
The SRAM bottom pulley is quite a bit further in when compared to a DA RD with same size cassette.
Is that normal?
That’s normal.
Anyone know the weight difference between a SRAM Red E1 crank arm set and SRAM Force for the same?
Just the arms with standard road DUB spindle not wide. No chainrings.
I tried researching multiple sites starting with SRAM but came up empty or found discrepancies between sites.
Weightweenies crankset listings appear outdated and there are no SRAM crank arms listed at all.
Essentially, I want to know if there is a significant difference between the crank arms or not.
There is a significant weight difference from the Red to the Force, and even more so with the newest E1 Red… Around 475g vs 310g. New Force E1 will be a bit lighter than the current D2 version, following the trajectory that the Red made.
Anyone know of a source to convert a Red 2x to 1x with smallest CR possible?
I’m finding lots of options to create a 1x setup with 38T and up, but not a 26, 24 or 22T ring on a road crankset.
Smallest I’ve seen online is 26T for a mountain bike crankset but it’s not suitable for a SRAM 8-bolt road crank.
If your hill climb events are strictly up and especially steep, wouldn’t it make sense to install a small ring that works with your current road crank, cassette, and derailleur?
For a short event I can see grinding up but that’s not practical for long climbs.
I found YT videos and media sites that highlight UK hill climbing builds with numerous drivetrain mods but not SRAM Force or Red 8-bolt road crank with standard cassette and derailleur. For example, 10-28, 10-33 or 10-36 paired with an appropriately sized ring for the event.
A small 1x with a small cassette is also the lightest combo. Win-win.
Is there a particular forum or subreddit where UK hill climb event participants gather?
Maybe I’ll have better luck locating a source there.
Maybe
Yeah, to mount smaller chainrings you need a MTB crank. As far as I know, this can be done, but I don’t have any first-hand experience.
A quality option might be a Rotor Kapic carbon crank with one of their round 26-tooth chainrings.
The most common/easy way to get that kind of gearing is to go mtb rd and cassette. It’s a very popular setup for gravel racing.
If you don’t like the big cassette, mtb crank is the only path I know of to get anywhere near that sized chainring. Most are going to push the Q factor out, but maybe you can put road arms/spindle on a mtb spider. Not sure on that, but the sram 8 bolt spider interface looks the same on both from what I can tell.
Possible solutions posted look promising, but you lose the 45mm road chainline with MTB options. I forgot about Q factor although that may not be noticeable when riding.
The Rotor crankset is only available with 34T CR with 26T as an add-on purchase. That may work okay but rather than risk it and spend money on another crankset and perhaps a different BB and chain required, I’m going to look into having a small CR made by a local CNC shop. Cost may be close to buying the additional components.
Advantages include a simple install with same crank, cassette, rear derailleur, and chain with some links removed plus FD removal.
Red crank with a 50g (?) ring must be the lightest solution too.
With Roror there is no risk, they are compatible with SRAM 12-speed drivetrains. Their stuff has Red-/Ultegra-level quality.
Their cranks are modular, and you just need to order the correct axle (30 mm DUB), then you can re-use the existing BB.
