Riding with SRAM Rival eTap AXS shifting: Is the future of bikes wireless?

(Pocket-lint) - Bikes and exertion spell hand-in-hand. Not ever successful the integer consciousness that mightiness beryllium acquainted to readers of Pocket-lint, but with a changeless process oregon refining the design, materials and mechanics of each constituent of the humble bicycle, it's an manufacture that doesn't basal still.

While a tweak of the framework here, oregon the ongoing statement astir which width oregon unit of tyre is best, is ongoing, there's a cardinal displacement successful 1 facet of bikes underway - the drivetrain.

We've been riding SRAM's Rival eTap AXS groupset to spot what it's each about.

Where has wireless shifting travel from?

While a batch has changed successful bikes implicit caller years, the fundamentals haven't. For astir of cycling's past successful the modern era, cables person been utilized to displacement gears. From friction-based levers to smarter indexed systems, the principles were the aforesaid - tighten the cablegram oregon loosen the cablegram and fto springs successful the shifters determination your concatenation implicit the gears.

While the past of physics shifting tin beryllium traced backmost to the 1990s, it is the 2001 motorboat of Shimano's Di2 (Digital Integrated Intelligence) that truly brings america into the modern era, though it was 2009 earlier it truly made its mark.

SRAM's offering, the eTap system, was launched successful 2015 and has since evolved into 3 levels - Red, Force and Rival, reflecting the levels of SRAM's manual groupsets.

Understanding the 3 levels offered by SRAM

If you're acquainted with SRAM's roadworthy groupsets, you'll cognize that they tally successful the bid of Apex, Rival, Force, Red, from entry-level to nonrecreational grade.

The eTap strategy is disposable astatine Rival, Force and Red level, meaning it is disposable a signifier little than Shimano's Di2 system, which is lone connected Ultegra and Dura-Ace astatine the clip of writing.

That's important, due to the fact that Rival eTap is simply a much affordable wireless strategy and apt to beryllium the astir approachable for the astir riders arsenic a result, making its mode into mid-range bikes, specified arsenic the Boardman SLR 9.4 Disc, astatine the much affordable extremity of the spectrum, but with wide options crossed Trek - including the Domane we were riding - Specialized, and others.

For many, moving to physics shifting is thing that happens erstwhile you bargain a caller bike, though naturally, you tin bargain idiosyncratic parts of the strategy oregon the implicit groupset. As it's a 12-speed strategy alternatively than 11-speed, you can't conscionable upgrade successful a premix and lucifer fashion, you'd person to accommodate your rear instrumentality to instrumentality a 12-speed cassette, but it's a an upgrade enactment for those with an existing disc brake bike.

The implicit strategy has an RRP of astir £1,268.

As a constituent examination to those higher-spec systems, the Rival level doesn't connection distant shifting - there's nary transportation points for auxiliary shifting buttons. It has an alloy lever alternatively than c and doesn't person the Orbit fluid damper connected the rear derailleur that Force and Red offers - but otherwise, it's overmuch the aforesaid experience.

The halfway components

The Rival eTap AXS groupset is 12-speed, matching the Force and Red eTap systems and stepping up implicit the 11-speed manual groupsets.

This has brought astir a change, with a smaller chainring up beforehand and starting with a smaller 10T cogwheel connected the rear. There are 2 cassettes disposable successful the Rival family, 10-30T and 10-36T - and it's the 10-36T we've been riding - but determination is compatibility with immoderate Force and Red eTap cassettes too.

Like those higher-spec systems, the Rival besides uses a Flattop chain.

The different important things to enactment astir the Rival eTap AXS strategy is that it's designed for hydraulic disc brakes only. There's nary rim brake option. That mightiness disagreement immoderate riders who similar to instrumentality to their callipers, but that's not an enactment here.

The brakes person pronounced hoods, are powered by a CR2032 artillery (which should past a mates of years), with the cogwheel levers intuitively moving you done the gears sequentially similar paddle shifting connected an automatic gearbox connected a car.

A pat of the near lever moves the derailleur near and the close lever moves the derailleur right. Pressing some astatine the aforesaid clip shifts the beforehand derailleur. If you're utilized to manual shifting this mightiness dependable a small alien, but aft 10 minutes successful the saddle, you'll beryllium wholly connected committee with it - it's truly casual to get to grips with.

The beforehand derailleur has its ain battery, arsenic does the rear, and each person tiny buttons to aftermath oregon brace the strategy and link to the AXS smartphone app - arsenic good arsenic letting you trim the derailleur if it's not shifting arsenic cleanly arsenic you'd like.

There's besides the enactment for a Quarq powermeter connected the Rival eTap system.

In the saddle

Coming from manual shifters - and usually riding Shimano - the eTap strategy is simply a satellite distant from what we'd see "normal". There's nary request for trepidation, however, due to the fact that that shifting is truthful intuitive, it lone takes a mates of shifts and you'll consciousness comfortable.

Just similar driving a car, the alteration from manual to physics shifting tin alteration the acquisition significantly. It's precise, it's ace responsive, and it lone takes a nudge of the lever to get the absorption you want.

That's large successful mean riding, slowing down to a reddish airy you tin hop down the gears without a immense swipe of a cogwheel lever, but the existent vantage to specified casual shifting comes connected the drops - you tin alteration cogwheel with a fingertip and that's heading successful some directions.

Changing gears has a earthy bias towards smaller gears; gravity helps arsenic the concatenation drops and connected manual gears, that means it's often much of an effort changing into your larger gears - it's slower, it's noisier, and that's often wherever you announcement imprecision coming successful done things similar cablegram stretch.

These are insignificant points to a seasoned rider, but with shifting successful some directions being truthful seamless, it's casual to leap connected physics shifting arsenic easier - and for newer riders, that smoothness mightiness beryllium truly appealing compared to the alternative.

We've truthful acold not talked astir the chainrings. With a 10-36T cassette connected the rear, we person to admit that successful our accustomed rides done the Surrey Hills there's not a immense calling to determination to the smaller chainring. But that's elemental excessively - pressing some levers astatine the aforesaid clip volition spot it hop down, oregon up, again with seamless efficiency.

A smarter ride

That each sounds large - and it is - but there's much to the Rival eTap strategy - there's the AXS part. AXS (said "access"), refers to the smartphone connectivity. Yes, you tin link your telephone done the Android oregon iOS app, allowing you to interface with your groupset.

Well, it's truly a transportation to the beforehand and rear derailleurs and the levers, allowing you to propulsion firmware updates, but besides opening up a mates of clever options.

Firstly, you tin archer it what cassette you're using. If you privation antithetic gearing, you tin archer the app, truthful the rear derailleur knows what's going connected - and that's important for the cogwheel management.

You tin alteration the behaviour of the levers too, swapping the near and close functions implicit if that's your preference.

Multishift

Then there's besides the enactment for multishift. This volition fto you alteration crossed gears successful a bigger bound with a property and clasp of the lever.

You tin crook this disconnected wholly (a property and clasp would conscionable beryllium 1 gear) oregon you tin acceptable it to two, 3 oregon "all". That's right, you tin clasp down the lever and the motorcycle volition effort to displacement done each of the rear gears arsenic you pedal.

That "all" enactment mightiness lone beryllium utile coming disconnected a acme erstwhile you privation to get each the mode backmost into your apical gears, but the 2 and 3 options tin beryllium useful.

Again, they let for an casual alteration astatine the bottommost of a elevation oregon coming implicit the apical of a hill, but the multishift down is besides utile erstwhile coasting towards a junction, to get you into a little cogwheel acceptable to propulsion distant again.

Compensating mode

In compensating mode, erstwhile you alteration the beforehand chainring, the rear volition set to marque it a creaseless modulation successful gearing for the rider and debar a large jump.

This avoids that classical happening of dropping into the smaller chainring, uncovering it excessively casual and requiring a displacement up of 2 gears astatine the rear - the eTap strategy volition bash it for you, making for a smoother rider. That's besides wherever it's important to archer the strategy what cassette is connected the bike, truthful it knows however to compensate successful this way.

Sequential mode

In sequential mode, you don't person to alteration the chainring astatine all, it volition automatically displacement arsenic you determination done the cassette connected the rear. That means that arsenic you attack the lowest cogwheel connected the large chainring, it volition driblet to the smaller chainring and compensate connected the rear, without you having to deliberation astir it - you conscionable support changing down.

The aforesaid happens arsenic you commencement shifting into higher gears - you'll deed a constituent erstwhile you'll automatically determination onto the large ring, with a rear compensation. To immoderate grade this is to debar transverse chaining, but it truly gives you little to deliberation astir and you don't request that treble property to to determination the beforehand deraileur.

This is wherever it tin beryllium find a small clunky, arsenic it's a spot of a unsmooth modulation onto the large beforehand ring, particularly arsenic astatine that constituent you're astir apt picking up velocity again and pedalling rather hard. Granted, that's astir apt the noisiest displacement connected immoderate gearing system.

It's each successful the app

These options are each successful the app and for those who are a small much techy it's thing to play astir with to spot what suits your riding benignant and to a definite extent, the benignant of thrust you bash astir often.

Some mightiness spot it arsenic lazy and seasoned riders volition cognize that successful a manual strategy you'll cognize each this worldly and it becomes 2nd nature, but there's inactive a seamless easiness to the full strategy present that volition rapidly marque your alteration your mind.

Wider connectivity

The app itself is ok. Once you've logged successful you tin setup a motorcycle and delegate components to that bike, but there's nary different existent information that comes done the app - not adjacent from the Quarq powerfulness metre you tin person fitted arsenic portion of the system.

Instead you'll person to link compatible motorcycle computers oregon apps to get entree to this data. It supports Bluetooth and ANT+, truthful it volition broadly enactment with the main players connected the market, allowing you to entree that powerfulness metre data, arsenic good arsenic gearing data.

If your motorcycle machine supports it (we utilized the Hammerhead Karoo 2), you'll beryllium capable to get a readout of the cogwheel you're successful and the fig of shifts per ride, if that information is utile to you. Otherwise the powerfulness information volition beryllium logged arsenic it would from immoderate different powerfulness meter, but enactment that successful the Rival eTap system, it's a single-side recording, taking the information from the near crank.

Battery life

There are batteries successful the levers, which volition past astir 2 years based connected riding for 15 hours a week, portion the batteries successful the beforehand and rear derailer volition past for a mates of months - depending connected however overmuch you displacement and however overmuch you ride.

Sure, it's thing other to deliberation astir and the casual statement against this benignant of strategy is that erstwhile the batteries tally out, you'll beryllium near riding a fixed cogwheel bike. With truthful galore radical carrying physics devices truthful often - you mightiness person a motorcycle computer, phone, bosom complaint monitor, lights connected each thrust - it's not a immense leap to person to retrieve to complaint your bike's batteries too.

Summing up

Riding with wireless shifting has a fig of advantages. There's a simplification successful cables which tin bring immoderate advantages successful framework design, which mightiness spot wireless shifting arsenic a fashionable enactment successful the future.

The astute broadside of things is apt to person wide appeal, though determination volition ever beryllium those who deliberation that the strategy lacks the "feel" of manual shifting. The aforesaid applies to cars, with galore purists hanging onto manual shifting arsenic superior - but automatic shifting is intelligibly easier connected the driver.

The entreaty of wireless shifting and things similar sequential shifting mightiness attrach caller riders mode than seasoned veterans, but equally, for those touring who privation to deliberation somewhat less, there's entreaty again.

Yes, it's much costly than accepted systems, but the information that we're looking astatine 12-speed advancements successful wireless shifting but not successful manual shifting suggests that this is wherever SRAM is putting its efforts. Of course, with a strategy similar Rival eTap, designed to beryllium much affordable, you mightiness beryllium capable to get a motorcycle equipped with this system, alternatively than a higher-spec groupset from a rival manufacturer.

Ultimately, SRAM Rival eTap AXS makes a invaluable contribution: it's the cleanable illustration of trickle down technology, bringing thing caller to entreaty to those looking to bargain a caller motorcycle and alteration the riding acquisition for them.

We can't assistance feeling that slowly, wireless shifting volition go much and much prevalent implicit the coming years - bringing much data, much riding options and much decisions to marque earlier you bargain your adjacent bike.  

Writing by Chris Hall. Originally published connected 27 September 2021.