Anyone using non-sram axs batteries? Seems like you can get a n offbrand battery for about 20 bucks as opposed to 60 from sram. Thoughts?
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No experience with the batteries. I have Makita knock offs that work just as good though so I belive in (some of) them. But… I have an off-brand charger that I bought when I lost mine (how?) and it’s a POS. The cord needs to be just so for it to work.
I wasn’t aware aftermarket AXS batteries were available. Can you post links or at least give name of brand? Thank you.
Might be worth a watch…
I have 2 of the MRX batteries and the charger (the ones in the video). For the past year, they’ve worked great. They may have less capacity than the Sram ones, but for 33% of the price you can get 2 of them. You’ll want a spare battery anyway, so just go this route.
Another good strategy if you’re scare of the non-SRAM battery, use the generic as your spare.
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I also use MRX batteries and have had no issues whatsoever. I’m convinced they’re the exact same as SRAM ones.
Won’t ever pay ridiculous SRAM battery prices as long as MRX are available.
Never knew there were off-brand SRAM batteries.
However, if they can hold a charge better than on-brand ones, I’m all in. I’m always amazed at the fact that if I leave a bike for a few weeks, the batteries are dead again. James Huang also outlined this somewhere as well. Super frustrating.
Is that for a few year old bike? For one that is stored outside subject to big temperature shifts?
Has not been my experience so far but I’ve only had AXS for just under 2 years so maybe it’s yet to come.
The biggest problem I’ve had with AXS so far was battery related, but with the shifter batteries dying in cold weather with very little warning.
The casing on the aftermarket ones are different. They’re 3D printed or made from a 3d printed mold. The edges on the battery retaining latch seat weren’t as well finished for example (the first latching breaks it in). The batteries inside, charging hardware, and connectors are probably all the same; the plastics are different.
The UCI might not allow the use of off-brand batteries.
They have a lot of rules.
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I don’t have experience with SRAM off-brand batteries, but with off-brand camera batteries. In short, it is a crapshoot: some are just as great as the original, from others I get about 1/3–1/2 the battery life.
Two batteries with 50% capacity is better than one with 100%. I have no idea how long they last, but I’ve got a spare on me for myself or a friend most outings
When I bought these cheap knock-offs, I had the same thought and bought two. But in practice, that didn’t pan out. It isn’t just a matter of capacity, they’d randomly crap out. E. g. on my Fuji X100s (a camera), the battery meter would read 100 % and suddenly, the battery is empty. Basically, I gave up on them. I bought a second third-party battery, but a quality one. It was still cheaper than an original and I cannot tell this battery apart from the original.
I never used a proper SRAM battery, but these are good and not that experience. It’s nice being able to wait till the battery is dead to swap it out and to have a backup (the other way is the Di2 experience). I carry a spare PM and Etap battery in my ride wallet. If I get a warning, I have the rest of the ride or the next 2-3 ride to replace; and I shift constantly. I think I used both once on a 5000 mile season and never sweated charging.
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The original SRAM AXS battery costs between 40€ and 45€ depending on the shop. The knock-offs cost 35€ to 40€ in amazon.de: the price difference is not significant enough.
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Yeah, I just ordered a genuine spare for that reason too (biggest difference I could find was 19 euros) . In general I think that with lithium batteries and USB chargers / cables it’s better to pay for the real product as some of Chinese knock offs can actually be quite dangerous (risk of electrocution, short circuiting, lithium batteries combusting etc) and that is just besides that they they might not properly seal and damage my expensive etap derailleurs because I could live with a poor capacity and slightly degraded shifting with a spare
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It’s for an older eTap, except, the batteries are cross-compatible, and I’ve bought newer AXS batteries along the way. Also, have a newish current gen AXS loaner bike dropped off this past summer and see the same thing.
All stored indoors at room temp. Not sure what @angryasian has/stores/etc
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My gravel bike has been in the cool (just above freezing) garage since the beginning of November and the battery is at 50%. Not sure what it was when I last rode it but definitely hasn’t died in the last couple months.
In my experience the SRAM AXS batteries are not very sensitive to cold temperatures. I have never had any battery issues with my AXS equipped mountain bike that I frequently use in sub-zero temperatures (zero to -15 deg C depending on the weather). My Garmin has died several times in the cold, but not the AXS rear derailleur.
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