New SRAM Red on the horizon?

Professional cyclists continue to show product prototypes that unleash speculation about what we will see in 2023. The gear levers we have seen on the bikes of some cyclocross riders or the ones used by Movistar cyclists in their last training camp lead us to believe that something is coming from SRAM.

Several prototype levers could presage a renovation of SRAM groupsets

The training camps and winter competitions continue to show us prototypes of products from different brands. The latest new component we have been able to see is a new gear lever on bikes with SRAM groupsets.

First, on cyclocross bikes, with some cyclists such as Dutch rider Shirin van Anrooij using levers very similar to the SRAM Rival eTap AXS but modified with a carbon lever.

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In this case it could simply be a personal preference, as the SRAM Rival, being the last groupset to incorporate AXS wireless technology, is the most refined in its shape, with much slimmer levers that probably fit smaller hands better than the very bulky ones of the Red and Force groupsets, although we can also say that we have seen these same levers on Lars Van der Haar's bikes.

Completely different, however, are the levers that the Movistar riders showed at their last training camp. The levers have a completely different shape, much more stylised, with a visibly reduced size of the lever head that houses the hydraulic brake fluid reservoir.

In fact, these new SRAM levers are vaguely reminiscent of those used by its competitor Shimano on the GRX gravel groupsets, especially in the angle of the brake lever and the large size of the shift lever. In any case, the large size of the levers has been one of the main criticisms, not in the current Red and Force eTap AXS groupsets, but since the days of the first 11-speed Red eTap.

What would we ask the new SRAM Red eTap AXS?

In January 2023, 4 years will have passed since SRAM presented its current Red and Force eTap AXS, in which it incorporated the 12 sprockets and completely renewed the groupset with a total redesign of its derailleurs, also designed for off-road use thanks to the inclusion of a clutch system in the derailleur pulleys to prevent the chain from swinging.

They also generated controversy for their peculiar choice of gearing, based on the use of their XD-R cassettes with 10-tooth sprockets and smaller chainrings, which many saw as the cause of the poor performance of Movistar cyclists during that season. The brand had to react by making more conventional chainrings available to the riders.

SRAM groupsets have been increasing their presence in the market for series mounts, taking a good share of a market that years ago seemed to be dominated by Shimano. Groupsets that offer a solid performance, although not without some criticisms that are repeated in a general way.

The main one is the weight of its groupsets. The bulky front derailleurs, the need to use a battery in both groupsets as they are completely wireless and the use of a clutch system to maintain chain stability mean that the total weight of the top-of-the-range SRAM Red eTap AXS groupset is very similar to that of a Shimano Ultegra Di2, Shimano's second tier. Not to mention how much the scales on the Force and Rival models increase.

SRAM groupsets are also criticised for the slowness of their shifting, prioritising, in the brand's own words, their effectiveness. Although this is something that is not too noticeable in the rear derailleur except when we try to shift up or down several cogs at once, in the case of the rear derailleur it is quite noticeable. It is true that, in exchange, the operation is exquisite.

The last point on which criticism of these groupsets is focused is precisely the size of the levers, something which, in view of the prototypes we have been able to see, seems to be on the way to being solved.