Let me just say how nice it is to have an actual discussion online instead of just two idiots disagreeing!
I’ll take the recommendation and try a sram road group when an opportunity arises. To date, I’ve ruled them out because of my experience w/ mtb. You are right to evaluate them separately.
Likewise!
Yup. Do try. Ride more bikes. What can go wrong? 
(Apart from wanting a new bike? 
)
My gravel bike has sram rival. Prior to that I’ve only had shimano tiagra and 105. Definitely prefer 105. I like the shifters a bit better and shifting just seems softer with shimano where sram the click of the shifting is loud and plasticky feeling if that makes sense. But it’s not like I hate sram.
Well, if you’re a size 56/ML and would like a mint Giant TCR Advanced Pro Disc with SRAM Red AXS, hit me up, haha. I’ll be looking to offload one soon.
To chime in on this topic, I have owned Shimano Di2 11 speed, Shimano mechanical, SRAM Red AXS (Road) and SRAM Rival AXS (XPLR), and I am in the process of going back to Shimano Di2 12 speed. I prefer Shimano for a number of reasons, and I’m glad they went at least semi-wireless. I find the shifting and braking better overall, and the main advantage that SRAM held over Shimano in my opinion was always setup/maintenance, being wireless. Don’t get me wrong, SRAM is great, and shifts really well. It’s just not as crisp/reliable as Shimano. Furthermore, with Shimano adding in 11-34 cassettes to their road groupsets, the issue of gear range isn’t as disparate anymore, unless you’re looking for something less than 1 to 1. In that case, you have to either 1) shell out for the Rotor 11-36 12 speed cassette; or 2) go with an aftermarket crank such as Praxis 48-32 for sub-compact chainrings.
Just my 2 cents.
I bought two bikes and a trainer last year. My wife would kill and divorce me (not sure in which order). 
I’m considering going the other direction with my gravel bike. I’ve currently got GRX Di2, and considering going to Force WIDE. The single tooth steps on the smaller end of the 10-36 cassette look very appealing compared to the Shimano 2 tooth steps.
Well, despite my rant/discussion of Shimano v. SRAM above, I will say that on gravel I think SRAM’s gearing offerings make sense. Especially in the configuration that you’ve mentioned. 46/33 and 10-36 give you a low end roughly equivalent to a 1x w/ a 38 chainring and a 42 cassette, while keeping smaller steps and a higher top end. I should have clarified that my rant was more aimed at the road sector.
Why Us Old Guys Like SRAM Etap
I’d like to address a couple of points that aren’t fully appreciated in this long running SRAM v Di2 discussion, but first, I digress. [WARNING He’s going to get maudlin, skip to the next section if this gets too much – editor.]
I turn 69 this September. 2022 marks my 50th year as a roadie. In ‘72 I scored/scammed a Gitane (w/Stronglight cranks, Simplex derailleurs, and Mavic tubulars) from a blossoming stoner living in my freshman dorm. Ever since, riding road became my church. For the next 4+ decades, I never had the disposable income nor time to train and compete (grad school, family, job, student loan debt, etc.) – but I always rode hard and long. In ’74 I bought the 1st set of Shimano Dur Ace brakes (before Shimano launched its group set – or maybe they did but I was too broke to afford it). In 1980, I worked in a bike shop while starting grad school and came away with a hand-built steel bike spec’d with Super Record. In the late ‘80s, Time pedals saved my knees. I rode that steel steed up to the 2003, when I bought online a used red S-Works E5 spec’d also with Campy Record. It accelerated like a rocket and was so much more responsive that I named it ‘Shadowfax’. [Geez! Who names their bikes? – editor.] I commuted to work on a fixie for 10 years until 2016 when arthritis in my right knee set in. I rode Shadowfax until its seat stay cracked in 2017, held a wake, and then spec’d out an Allez Sprint (replacement frame – bright blue with a red pearlescent overspray) with mechanical Ultegra & Stages L power meter. Great handling bike, but like its predecessor, after mile 50 my rear end felt the level-2 torture from all of the road shock transmitted by this damn aluminum frame. [Dummy, why didn’t you get a carbon fiber bike instead? Well, I had no $$; my wife and I were still putting kids through college.] In winter 2020, I put down a deposit at my LBS for a rose-gold Athena w/ SRAM Red Etap AXS (a long-promised graduation present to myself). Due to supply chain issues, the bike finally arrived at the shop in July 2021. The delay worked out quite well because I was able to pay off the bike by the time it arrived – which made my wife happy (well, maybe less harrumph-y). Now, all I think about is being on the Aethos, riding the Aethos, climbing on the Aethos, etc. Can’t wait to ride it in this summer’s Colorado’s Triple Bypass! I’m still working, so the Allez Sprint is now my bitchin,’ far out commuter bike. 2 more years to retirement.
To the issue at hand – Di2 vs Etap:
Both systems solve a serious repeated motion injury that I have been dealing with for almost 2 decades due to using Campy mechanical shifting – chronic tendinitis in my thumbs and some in my wrists. In 2016, an older rider queried Leonard Zinn column in VN on what he could do. Andy Pruitt’s suggestions were to go electronic and get therapeutic massage. I’m now able to do both. Pain-free shifting is a blessing.
I test rode Di2 on a Tarmac in Winter 2020 before ordering the Aethos. Great bike and great group set! However, with winter gloves on, the layout of the Di2 buttons on their shift levers caused me to mis-shift gears way too many times. Not so with Etap.
On my Allez I ride an Ultegra compact crank & 11-28 11sp cassette. When I shift from the big chain ring to the smaller one, I have found that the gear change is too big of a step – I’m spinning madly until I quickly shift the rear derailleur so as not to lose momentum. This has irritated me for years. SRAM’s innovations:
SRAM’s 2021 Red Etap AXS solved this problem by shrinking the size of the chain rings (my compact crank: 46t/33t) and the gap between them to 13t, while adding a 12th cog. This is path-breaking. In this last covid-plagued offseason (December-March), I trained on the flats around DC with a 10-26 12sp cassette. My Aethos’ gearing is identical to my brother’s Cervélo’s Ultegra semi-compact crank set & 11-28 11sp cassette. I have smaller gear steps and mostly seamless shifting. [OK, 2022 Shimano Dur Ace and Ultegra group sets added a 12th cog, but the 16t difference in chain rings does not fully solve the problem.]
Another innovation is the Red rear derailleur’s fluid clutch mechanism. I’m currently training for Colorado’s Triple Bypass on a 10-33 cassette. In switching from the 10-26 cassette to this one, I didn’t have to swap chains or worry if the rear derailleur cage is too small. I just adjusted the rear derailleur setting on my smartphone’s SRAM app. Seamless. In November I’ll switch back to the 10-26 cassette for the offseason.
FWIW: Easy way to clean a water bottle after a ride is to fill it with warm to hot water and pop in a denture cleaning tab (e.g., Efferdent). These tabs can even clean out gunk building up after a few days. I still run the lids through the dishwasher.
New Force AXS on my new road bike. GRX Di2 on my gravel bike.
Initial impressions;
Di2 rear shifting is better(being nit picky)
AXS front shifting is better(probably due to the smaller difference between chainrings)
Miss having the buttons to control my 530 on the AXS bike
Annoying that I can’t operate the FD and RD at the same time on the AXS bike. (I’ve managed to get along pretty good with the ‘compensating shift’ function though.)
Ultimately, IMO, one isn’t any better than the other, just slightly different. Now that there are going to be 4 AXS bikes in the house though, I’m seriously considering moving the gravel bike over to Force WIDE just so it’s not an odd ball parts bike.
I have to agree on both of your major points, the gearing and the clutch. I recently had to step back to Shimano after a while on Sram, and damn I miss it way more than I expected. The jump at the front chainrings is too big, the shifting isn’t noticeably better, the lack of a clutch has chipped a freshly painted frame.
I’d expected to feel some relief going back to shimano due to front shifting reliability, but it really hasn’t been the case. The gearing is a huge issue for me, losing a lowest gear of 35-33 to a 36-30 combined with that 16 tooth jump compared to the 13 tooth of Sram, it’s been huge for my ride experience.
I think that’s a first… 
But I do agree that AXS ratios make way more sense for most of us.
I’ve got about 500 miles on it so far with no issues. 
I agree. I marvel at SRAM’s ingenuity! Di2 better performance metrics may be important to racers, but they are irrelevant to me. I rode a 50 mile loop along Skyline Drive 2 Sundays ago. It was beautiful but I shredded my legs. I’m going to ride it again this Monday. Even though the DC area has some steeply graded climbs up to 20%, they are too short. I need these long, continuous climbing miles if I’m going to attempt the Triple Bypass in August. The 10-33 cassette is perfect for this. When I rode in the flats through DC’s Rock Creek Park this last Sunday (still climbed 2,000 ft over 60 miles), the gear steps of the 46/33 compact crank an the 10-33 cassette were still too big. I really like being able to switch to smaller cassette during the offseason.
Thanks for writing. Where are you based?
Cheers,
Steve
“I started out with nothing and still have most of it left.”
– Seasick Steve (Deller)
You made a great point with #3. I thought I was the only one who noticed this.
Yes and no, it was the gearing available to me (leftover from previous build) and also had the top end gearing that matched the 48-10 best, after all this is my ‘aero’ bike! But you’re right that if I had the choice a compact would be best. Doesn’t change my preference for the smaller front chainring jump though.
I’m based in Oxfordshire in the UK, where good gearing both up and down are a definite requirement!
I’m trying to project my total cost 
of switching from mechanical Ultegra 50/34 11-32 to SRAM eTap AXS 46/33 10-33.
My question is my turbo trainer(TNeo) will SRAM chains work on my Ultegra cassete or must I buy a SRAM cassette as well. What about the free hub ?
thanks
JB
I don’t know if the SRAM flat top chain will work with an Ultegra cassette, but I lean toward matching components. If you go this route, then you will need to purchase an XDR free hub for your trainer. $70USD for the Wahoo Kickr Core, but may vary based on your actual trainer, plus a matching cassette.
^^^ purchase XDR freehub. Install flattop chain compatible cassette.
As somebody in the Shimano ecosystem, this is one of the biggest hurdles for me trying out SRAM. All my wheels are Shimano. My trainer is Shimano. I can get a decent deal on Rival AXS, but I’d have to buy XDR drivers for my wheels, and many new cassettes on top of the groupset. It definitely adds up.
