A single word was SRAM’s goal when it launched the new version of its flagship groupset Red: effortless. SRAM’s philosophy is that your performance on the bike must represent 100% of what you put in. "One-finger braking, refined ergonomics, faster shifting, and lighter weight add up to an effortless ride,” says SRAM simply. When I reviewed Red after its launch this time last year, I said: "Effortless" is an accurate description of the new Red AXS. I’d say SRAM has achieved everything it set out to achieve in making all the components work easily, lightly, smoothly and harmoniously."
SRAM road product manager Dan Stefiuk explains: “Red was initially introduced to the WorldTour for pro riders but now we’re reaching thousands of new Red AXS riders and that’s due to that effortless experience that we wanted to deliver. The fewer decisions a rider has to make, thanks to simple shift logic, the perfect gear range and ultimate braking control – that’s the experience we want to deliver to the rider and we feel like that’s where we’re winning.”
Now SRAM is expanding its ‘effortless’ philosophy to the second and third-tier groupsets Force and Rival, in AXS road and XPLR gravel configurations, bringing the benefits of the latest version of the flagship group to a lower price point. Additionally, each tier will introduce features of its own, making essentially three drivetrain tiers that SRAM claims will bring the best drop-bar experience on the market to a wide range of budgets. What all have in common is their focus on comfort and control, and they’re all lighter than their predecessors – but crucially they’re still backwards compatible with the previous generation.
Braking is, of course, the principal means of control. Says Stefiuk: “Whether you’re riding elbow to elbow or pushing on that descent, effortless braking gives riders an even wider range of functional performance, both Force and Rival will deliver the same level of braking performance that’s celebrated in Red.” Both new groupsets feature a completely overhauled brake fluid and lever design as well as an updated calliper. Riders can custom-adjust reach so that they have the brake levers and shift paddles perfectly at their fingertips. Additionally, there’s significant weight reduction. Force with its carbon-fibre brake lever saves 75g over the previous Force D2 lever, and now Rival for the first time has a carbon lever, which saves 64g over the previous generation.
In the hands, the shifters of new Force and Rival deliver the same ergonomics of Red and, like the flagship groupset, they feature moulded hood cover textures that are designed not only for rider comfort and control but also to ensure that they can be set up and orientated correctly at the seven-degree angle that SRAM’s design team settled on for its factory builds. “There are so many handlebar shapes, reaches and drops that really by positioning the lever the way we designed it helps create consistency and places it in the most accessible position,” says Stefiuk. “We wanted ‘effortless’ to extend to the setup as well as the performance. In addition to the textures for vertical orientation, he explains, “when you’re looking top down there’s a line that you position at 90 degrees from the handlebar and that creates a really neutral wrist position… now Force and Rival have that too.” Additionally, the Force hoods gain the integrated Bonus Buttons introduced with Red last year. These can be used to shift with the thumbs while in the aero hoods position or reprogrammed through the AXS app to control a Hammerhead Karoo or other device so that you don’t have to take your hands off the bars.
“We improved front shifting performance for Red and now we’re doing it with new derailleurs, new chainrings and all-new crankarms for both Force and Rival while saving a significant amount of weight,” says Stefiuk. Starting with the front derailleur, Force and Rival both borrow from Red’s narrower cage that improves speed and precision; they auto-trim for rasp-free running and are designed for 46/33T, 48/35T, or 50/37 chainring combinations.
The new Force power meter crankset saves 33g over the older Force D2 power meter crank and 92 grams over the previous generation of Force non-power meter crank, while the Rival crankset saves 50g over the previous version, both in power and non-power variants. Stefiuk explains: “The weight savings come not only from the chainring design but we were also able to pull weight out of the overall crank design for Force and Rival. New Force is a carbon-fibre crankarm, stiff, lightweight, with a sculpted appearance. Rival – by completely overhauling the aluminium arm [and adding a striking ‘window’] we were able to save significant amounts and it also elevates the aesthetics.” Each crankset is offered in 160mm to 175mm lengths so that both bike fit trends and riders of different sizes can find their perfect setup.
Similar to SRAM’s mountain bike and Red XPLR power meter, the new Force power meter crankset includes chainrings that thread on and off so that riders can choose the right ratios for their needs – 46/33, 48/35 or 50/37. For those not looking for a ring-based power meter, SRAM is providing a second pricepoint of power for Force via spindle-based left-hand-only unit that still offers accuracy and stability. For Rival the one-sided spindle-based system is the sole option. There’s a Force 1 option using the same crankarms with aero chainrings, in power meter and non-power meter options.
Although cobbled sectors at 45kph are not generally on the average rider’s route, everyone and not just the pro riders in the Spring Classics benefit from chain management, and SRAM says the new Force and Rival rear derailleurs with the architecture ported from Red are designed to deliver a secure drivetrain through a clutch that ensures clean shifts whatever the terrain or wherever the chain is on the cassette. Thanks to this technology, the same derailleurs can be used in a 1x setup and they cover the whole spectrum of cassette sizes from 10-28 to 10-36. Material was machined where possible and SRAM was able to save 12g for Force and 20g for Rival in the rear derailleur. Force has a carbon-fibre cage while Rival’s is aluminium, slightly oversized pulley wheels and both include the spring clutch.
SRAM highlights the versatility of the rear derailleur: owners of a Force or Rival bike have access to all the cassette options with one derailleur from 10-28 to 10-36. “Pairing with three chainring offerings means it’s capable of any type of riding or gradient,” says Stefiuk. ”Each rider can truly make their bike their own.”
The new Force and Rival chains have the same strength and durability as before, and the same Flattop technology, but now the Force chain has holes in inner and outer links, like Red. The difference is that Red has hollow pins whereas Force has solid pins. Meanwhile, the Rival chain has holes in the outer links and solid pins. Stefiuk says the Force chain is 12g lighter than its previous version and Rival saves "about 10g". The rainbow version is available as before, but now SRAM is also introducing an apparently Prince-inspired purple option with Force. Purple chain, purple chain… The new chains are compatible with the new 12-speed road groupsets as well as the new 13-speed XPLR versions of Force and Rival.
The XPLR versions of Force and Rival are, like the new road AXS groups, direct descendants of the latest Red. Using SRAM’s tough-looking Full Mount derailleur that attaches to frames via the UDH system, they’re designed to be strong and resilient with gravel-specific 1x13 gearing and a 10-46 cassette with a 460% range, like Red’s, that's designed for all terrain. Stefiuk says: “There are one-tooth jumps at the lower end while the new cassettes are significantly lighter than the old 12-speed cassette, despite a wider range and a 13th cog. That comes down to adding aluminium cogs to the top three cogs of Force and last cog of Rival. When we chose to commit to the 10-46 cassette we really focused on the right range for gravel but we also wanted to have a range of chainring sizes that allowed riders to tailor to their needs and style. We see 40 and 42 chainrings are predominant but we offer them from 38 up to 46. Eagle transmission offers up to 10-52, and that complements our gravel offering and can be used too.”
The same crankarms as the road groupsets will be used by Force and Rival XPLR, but with XPLR spindle length designed around wider chainlines for gravel – and the spindle-based power meter is the sole power option for Force and Rival XPLR.
“We designed new XPLR AXS to be the ultimate gravel drivetrain, delivering a resilient, precise, light and fast effortless experience so that your energy goes into your ride,” says Stefiuk. Red XPLR landed in the market just over nine months ago and this has been highly anticipated, now we’re ready to make the best gravel solutions accessible to even more riders.”
We have a new SRAM Force AXS groupset that we've just built onto a Reap Vekta frameset. It promises to be a formidable combination. Stay tuned for our review.
Visit SRAM’s website for all the details and pricing.
