Force AXS 2023: the evolution of SRAM's electronic road groupset is here!

SRAM renews the second step of its range. Intended to equip road and gravel bikes, the American firm seeks to bring this group out of the lack of definition in which it had fallen after the launch of the formidable Rival AXS. To do so, it takes features from both the Red and the more modern Rival.

SRAM Force AXS, the logical option

In January 2019, in a surprising landing with which SRAM sought to take a good bite of market share to its Japanese competitor, the American brand presented its Red and Force AXS groupsets. Renewal of technology and a firm commitment to electronics that in the future was to be the keystone of its range.

We were able to test the Red and it appeared on a lot of bikes from the very first moment, while for the Force we had to wait several months before tasting its features. When it arrived it left us a bit puzzled. Yes, as a good electronic groupset it perfectly fulfilled its function of providing us with the desired gear ratio at every moment of our ride but, in exchange, we were faced with a groupset with technical solutions and finishes that were too far from its big brother. And, the main criticism, a groupset that was too heavy for a high-end groupset, and that took its toll on the final setups of the bikes.

RECOMENDADO

Black Friday 2024 for cyclists

When do helmets have to be changed? Do they have an expiration date?

Cycling sunglasses on the outside or inside the helmet?

Profile wheels: advantages, disadvantages and which ones are better

Top 5 gravel pedals

Garmin Edge GPS range, which one to choose?

The launch in 2021 of the Rival AXS as a third option, which extended the electronic shifting technology to the mid-range, only affected the weaknesses of the Force by offering practically the same thing at a lower price. It was up to SRAM to step up to the plate and give the Force a good revamp to make it a truly attractive option.

The result of the development is already on the table, with a really attractive new aesthetic, with more angular lines that bring it closer to its big brother and iridescent tones that have made us fall in love from the first glance. Beyond the look, this new Force AXS also inherits several technical features from the Red AXS and also takes advantage of some technical solutions developed for the more modern Rival.

One-piece design

The crankset is perhaps the first thing we look at when analyzing this new SRAM Force AXS. With design lines very similar to those of the SRAM Red, it inherits from this the use of crank-arm spider set instead of the traditional assembly of chainrings bolted to the crank. Although this solution requires replacing the entire assembly in the event of having to change a chainring, it results in a stiffer set and, above all, shaves a few grams off the scales.

This type of mounting means that we also find changes in the power meters, becoming integrated into the chainring assembly as is the case with the upper groupset. However, SRAM wanted to offer more flexibility in this aspect and will also offer, as an upgrade option, a power meter integrated in the left crank similar to that of the Rival AXS groupset.

In addition to the standard dual chainring set, available in the usual 50/37, 48/35 and 46/33 gearing, the brand continues to offer the latest Wide, which remains unchanged, with its 43/30 combination in which the conventional anchoring of the chainrings is maintained. We also have the single chainring options, designed for both road and gravel use, covering a wide range of chainring development options with 50, 48, these two with aero chainring option; 46, 44, 42, 40 and 38, to which we add the Wide version, with a modified chain line to make it compatible with mountain bike bottom brackets and Boost rear axle widths, which is available in 46, 44, 42, 40 and 38 chainrings.

More compact

Another major change in this SRAM Force AXS is the shift and brake levers that take advantage of the general design lines of the Rival AXS and that we had already seen in prototype phase in the bikes of some professionals, which made us think that we were facing the renewal of the Red AXS.

The new levers are much more compact and also vary the ergonomics of the lever, which is made of carbon instead of aluminum as on the Rival, and the push buttons, less prominent to avoid accidental presses but with a larger surface along the length to make it easier to find them when shifting.

A reduction in size that is not free and has as a toll to lose the pad contact point adjustment that the previous version had. An adjustment that, in the case of the SRAM Red AXS works really efficiently allowing us to achieve exactly the desired feel in your brakes. A necessary step back in the search for slimmer and lighter levers. You can't have everything.

The new Force AXS levers also lose the connectors for the wired Blips auxiliary pushbuttons in this new version, although there is still the possibility of linking the wireless version of the same.

Related to the levers, the brake calipers also undergo a major redesign, being manufactured in two pieces instead of being a monobloc assembly. A solution that, according to SRAM, allows greater precision in its machining, especially with regard to the housing of the pistons, getting them to retract better, even when we subject them to significant heating. An aspect that solves another of the points that had given more than one headache to users of the previous Force.

More precise

In the shifting section itself there are no major changes, although there are some subtle improvements to bring the operation closer to that of the SRAM Red. The rear derailleur, beyond the aesthetic changes, incorporates the Orbit system for damping chain movements as in the upper groupset, by means of a hydraulic cartridge that slows down violent movements while allowing smooth shifting. As before, it is available in two versions: conventional, compatible with 10-28, 10-30, 10-33 and 10-36 cassettes; and the XPLR, designed to be used with 10-36 or 10-44 cassettes to offer a more gravel-friendly gear ratio.

In any case, the Force AXS continues to maintain compatibility with the rest of the brand's groupsets with AXS technology, which allows, as we see in many gravel bike setups, the use of an Eagle mountain bike rear derailleur and cassette to obtain a much wider range of gear ratios.

For its part, the front derailleur, also available in conventional or XPLR version, slightly redesigns the shape of its plates to achieve a more precious and silent operation. Of course, it continues to maintain the characteristic Yaw offset that adds a small twist to the plates to avoid friction when crossing the chain without the need for micro-adjustments as Shimano does on its front derailleurs.

With all these small changes, in addition to improving the appearance and achieving a more rounded operation, SRAM manages to shave around 100 grams off a groupset destined to be a top seller within the brand's range and with which it tries to recover that aura of a star groupset that once had the name Force which, let's not forget, for many years was the name of its top of the range groupset.

SRAM Force AXS: prices and options