SRAM groupsets for road cycling, we take a look at all the options available

With the addition of Jumbo-Visma to its list of sponsored teams, which included Movistar Team and Trek-Segafredo, there are now three World Tour squads that rely on SRAM groupsets, which has gradually been taking over part of the cycling market in the tough fight to win the largest share it holds with Shimano, while the third in discord Campagnolo is barely surviving with an ever-decreasing presence on standard bikes.

Breaking with the classics

Not only among professional teams, but also in standard production, SRAM has been gaining more and more presence among road models thanks to the brand's policy of prioritising the OEM market by providing a rapid supply of product. If we add the distribution problems suffered by Shimano as a result of the pandemic, we arrive at the current situation in which even many top-of-the-range models now use SRAM Red as opposed to the once omnipresent Shimano Dura-Ace.

The American firm has also been able to present a good scaling of its models, while at the same time betting on its AXS wireless electronic shifting technology, which it has taken to the mid-range. Even so, some of its mechanical groupsets are still in the catalogue, and despite being 11-speed groupsets, they still perform exquisitely.

SRAM's innovations or peculiarities that make its groupsets a different option should be highlighted. First, with its mechanical groupsets, it was the Double-Tap operation, which with a single lever allowed both lowering and raising sprockets or chainrings. Now, in its electronic AXS groupsets, the eTap system, in which the same single button per lever is retained, with the left lever used to raise sprockets and the right lever to lower them, while the crankset is alternated by pressing both levers at the same time.

In addition, since its last renewal, SRAM has designed its road groupsets to be suitable for gravel as well, thanks to the gear ratios available, recently joined by the XPLR versions with greater ranges, or for features such as the damping system in the derailleur pulley, being the first brand to make a firm commitment to the single chainring since the creation of its Force 1 groupset, initially designed for cyclocross and which became the first groupset specifically for gravel.

Finally, among the specific specifications of the SRAM groupsets, we cannot forget their cassettes, which have definitively abandoned Shimano's HG system used in their mechanical groupsets in favour of the XDR cores with the characteristic 10-tooth sprocket that starts the range and which generated so much controversy among road professionals a few years ago, due to the gear ratios chosen for professionals when the current version of the SRAM Red arrived.

Here is the full SRAM road range so that you have all the facts when choosing the groupset for your next bike or upgrading your current machine.

Electronic groupsets

In 2016 SRAM launched into the electronic groupset market by presenting its first 11-speed Red eTap, which set the basis for the current AXS electronic groupsets that the brand launched in 2019, along with a powerful policy change to promote OEM assemblies, which currently have a large presence in the ranges, having extended their presence to the Force and Rival levels.

Groupsets which, thanks to the electronics, have an almost identical operation, changing the materials chosen for their construction and the qualities which, at user level, is essentially reflected in the available gearing options, the availability of potentiometers or the damping system of the pulley box used, as well as, obviously, the weight, which even in the top of the range SRAM Red eTap AXS is the Achilles heel of the American brand's groupsets, far from what was the main strong point of its previous mechanical groupsets.

SRAM Red eTap AXS

This is SRAM's flagship groupset and the one used by the professional cyclists of Jumbo-Visma, Movistar Team and Trek-Segafredo on their bikes.

It is characterised by aspects such as the spider crankset system used in its cranks, so that the chainrings form a fixed set which, although it simplifies the set and saves weight, reduces the gearing options. In any case, the brand has both dual and single chainring options, with aero chainring options for use on time trial bikes, as well as the option of a set that integrates the Quarq power meter.

The front derailleur to move the chain between them has the curious SRAM-specific feature, first used on the mechanical SRAM Red 10-speed of the Yaw movement, with which the derailleur not only moves laterally but also makes a small turning movement to avoid chain friction without having to change its position even at extreme chain crossings.

For its part, the rear derailleur stands out for the damping system of its Orbit pulley box, which, as opposed to the friction systems commonly used, employs a small hydraulic bushing with a tiny valve that slows down the fast movements produced by impacts while allowing the slow movements produced by the displacements of the chain. A chain that is striking for its curious design, with a flat outer part that, according to the brand, helps to extend the chain's life.

Last year SRAM added the XPLR version to this groupset, which is oriented towards gravel and light cycle touring and allows the use of a cassette with up to 44 teeth.

Speaking of teeth, SRAM introduced a paradigm shift with the incorporation of XRD cassettes with small 10-tooth sprockets, which was accompanied by a reduction in the size of the chainring sprockets, ensuring a greater range of gearing and better scaling with fewer jumps. However, the proposal brought criticism from professional cyclists for whom he had to exclusively produce chainrings with conventional sprockets which have now become available for sale to the public.

• Dual chainring: 46/33, 48/35, 50/37, 52/39 (power meter only), 54/41 (power meter only), 56/43 (power meter only)
• Single chainring: 50, 48, 46, 44, 42, 40, 38, 36. Option of power meter with aero chainring 52, 50, 48.
• Cranks: available in lengths of 165 mm, 167.5 mm, 170 mm, 172.5 mm, 175 mm and 177.5 mm
• Derailleur: conventional or XPLR version that accepts up to 44-tooth sprockets
• Cassette: Conventional 10-26, 10-28, 10-33; XPLR 10-44
• Discs: 140 or 160 mm
• Full groupset price: From 1.496 to 2.715 €.

SRAM Force eTap AXS

The second step in SRAM's range differs little from the top version, mainly in the quality of its materials, resulting in a more robust-looking groupset. However, operation is virtually identical to that of the Red.

In the SRAM Force eTap AXS, the cranks dispense with the chainring-spider system in the dual chainring configurations in order to use a conventional assembly, although with its specific anchor diameter and 4 arms. In any case, the cranks retain the removable spider and can be replaced by the specific one with power meter, suitable for single and dual chainring options.

The rear derailleur features a friction pulley case damping system and, like the Red, is available in conventional and XPLR versions.

• Dual chainring: 46/33, 48/35, Wide 43/30
• Single chainring: 46, 40; only with power meter 48, 44, 42, 38, 36; aero version with power meter 52, 50, 48
• Cranks: available in lengths of 165 mm, 167.5 mm, 170 mm, 172.5 mm, 175 mm and 177.5 mm
• Derailleur: conventional or XPLR version which accepts sprockets up to 44 teeth
• Cassette: conventional 10-28, 10-30, 10-33; XPLR 10-44
• Discs: 140 or 160 mm
• Full groupset price: From 543 to 1.385 €.

SRAM Rival eTap AXS

The latest addition to SRAM's wireless range is the Rival, with which the brand has sought to conquer the mid-range of bike catalogues. It offers many similarities with the Force, although we see changes in the power meters, in this case, integrated into the crank axle, which is attached to the left crank and can be purchased separately as an upgrade.

The cassettes lose the monolithic workmanship characteristic of the higher groups but share with them the use of the specific XDR core system.

• Dual chainring: 46/33, 48/35, Wide 43/30
• Single chainring: 46, 40; only with power meter 44, 42, 38
• Cranks: available in 160 mm, 165 mm, 170 mm, 172.5 mm, 175 mm lengths
• Derailleur: conventional or XPLR version which accepts sprockets up to 44 teeth
• Cassette: conventional 10-30, 10-36; XPLR 10-44
• Discs: 140 or 160 mm
• Full groupset price: Not available as full groupset, only individual components

Mechanical groupsets

Despite having fully committed to electronic groupsets, SRAM continues to maintain in its catalogue the mechanical groupsets with 10 and 11 sprockets that used to be the main feature of the set-ups years ago and have now been relegated to the background as an option for the few who still trust in mechanics or as a source of spare parts for those who still have bikes from those years.

In any case, the double tap operation, with its crisp, dry feel, is still extremely precise and offers an economical and, above all, gram-saving option compared to the electronic equivalents.

Besides, we have single chainring options that are completely solvent for gravel use although, having one less sprocket, we have to deal with more pronounced jumps between gear ratios.

In any case, here the single chainring version differs from the conventional version in that the derailleurs are not designed for dual chainrings with a damping system on the derailleur pulleys or more pronounced teeth on the chainwheels to guide the chain efficiently in a single chainring configuration.

In terms of cassettes, there are HG system cassettes, the same used by Shimano, with some XDR options such as the Force groupset single chainring cassette.

As a curiosity, the Rival 1 and Apex groupsets, both single and dual chainrings, are offered with optional shifters for use with flat handlebars. Of course, there are no power meters here.