New bike with SRAM Force AXS eTap, and I have some impressions. Ultegra shifting feels crisper and the entire drivetrain smoother, however SRAM is 12 speed (flattop chain only, sigh) vs my 11 speed Ultegra and:
- SRAM Force with non-wide front derailleur only supports 4 chainrings in a 2x setup (46x33 and 48x35) which is annoying but not a show stopper. There is a wide 2x crank with bigger Q factor, but thats another crank. I just spent 3 weeks learning about compatibility.
- 33x36 low gear is one reason I wanted SRAM
- the Quarq power meter spider is the other reason I wanted it
- in 3 weeks I’ve already encountered a) a bug with AutoZero on the Quarq power meter (easy enough to turn it off), and b) a bunch of minor but annoying bugs with AXS app (they pulled firmware after I updated), and c) somewhat randomly a gear shift will cause headunit to have a 1-3 second dropout on power recording, so to be honest I’d rather have wires if it wasn’t for that nice clean look of only having two brake cables coming off the bars.
Like everything in life, its all about tradeoffs. Happy with my new Quarq PM, lower 33x36 gear, and no issues with 46x10 big gear. Wish the drivetrain and shifting felt smoother, no biggie. New bike, don’t care about Di2 wires vs eTap no wires. Overall I’d say its a wash between Force eTap and Di2.