SRAM's new wide-range option for its Force eTap AXS group is potentially perfect for a whole new range of road and gravel riders. We've put hundreds of on- and off-road kilometres into it to see how it works in the real world
Next-level wireless functionality, blissfully easy set-up, realistic ratios and mostly fantastic shifting extends SRAM's benchmark lockdown ꦆfurther into both on- and off-road riding
Pros
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Flawless wireless comms
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Blissful set-up
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Excellent ratios
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Increased tyre space
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Quiet security
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Impressive reliability
Cons
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High price
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Simultaneous shifts can be clunky
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No power meter option
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Whether you see it as a logical extension of the existing Force eTap AXS 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:groupset from SRAM or a response to the popularity of 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Shimano's GRX double gravel group, adding lower ratios to the SRAM 'ecosystem', making cadence smo🧸other, is a definite win for a lot of riders. It's not just a new set of cogs, though: tyre and frame clearance has also been increased with a new front mech and axle standard. When you put it all together, it's a fantastically smooth, intuitive, reliable and customisable shifti♒ng system for wherever you take your dropped-bar bike.
With wireless communication and batteries mounted on the mechs themselves, rather than on or in the frame, the totally ca🐻ble-free eTap AXS has always been blissfully easy to set up and install. The Wide Range chainset uses a wider-than-normal 47.5mm chain line that needs a specific wider version of the DUB bottom bracket, and the front mech also sits out wider. This allows better chain clearance for wider tyres and better chainring clearance on frames designed to work with capacious tyre spacing.
That started with three days of 400km on the gravel/borderline MTB tracks of the new King Alfred's Way route in the south of England in typically English weather. Rain, shine, grind or spin, the results were outstanding. We had ratios low enough to crawl a loaded bike up hills we'd grumble about if ꦇwe had to walk, but at the top end we could reach 55kph wiওthout getting silly with cadence.
Shifting was always super accurate and well-measured, too, so while it wasn't sometimes as instant as we expected, it dropped in at just the right point to be seamless and quiet, rather than an ugly clunk. The Orbit fluid damper on the rear mech kept the chain very quiet and secure, even on the fastest flint-rock or tractor-tread descents. We deliberately didn't clean th♏e drivetrain beyond a quick chain wipe and re-lube each night, either, but despite a good coating of chalk and mud, there was no issue with mech mobility or accuracy.
The better tyre clear🎐ance (we were running Zipp 40mm tyres), large diameter rollers and the flat-top chain kept things quiet and efficient in feel, even on very slow-speed, dirt🍸y climbs, which was a real morale boost compared to having a noisy, grinding set-up. Even when we accidentally clobbered the rear mech on a fence post, re-trimming from the shifters was easy until we could sort a more accurate hanger alignment. The Multiclic levers on the bar tops were super useful for changing gear on tempo climbs, too.
Despite a good dose o⛄f muck, th🍸e system still ran smoothly and shifted accuratly (Image credit: Guy Kesteven)
The only glitch we did have was that the 'fully automatic' option in the shifting occasionally clunked really obviously when it made a simultaneous front and rear shift at slow speeds under heavy load. That meant that while we loved it for its brain-free sequential management of the full 24-gear spread on less taxing terrain and road, we did stop using it for more technical and/or steeper sections. Going back to the default set-up is just a simpl🦩e matter of a button-press on the shifters, thꦏough, so it's really no issue if you do find it struggling.
Restoring preferred shifting and checking battery life via the SRAM AXS app i🐬s easy. While we took spare batteries, just in case, we still had plenty of front and rear charge left after three days of roller-coaster riding with no recharging. If we had to niggle, being able to get an exact percentage-charge-remaining reading via the app would be useful, rather than just a warning alert, but front and rear batteries can be swapped if you do run dry.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, road use since its rather brutal initiation on prehistoric drove trails, flint singletrack and the sandy forests of the Surrey Hills has been equally trouble-free. While we've only been using it for a relatively short time, the Wahoo data collection has proved what we were already thinking: that for mixed ridi꧙ng, the new Wide Range ratios are right in the cadence and comfort sweet-spot if you're governed by efficiency, and not ego, when it comes to gear choice.
The closer ratios of t꧅he doubl🌠e chainset helped keep cadence comfortable (Image credit: Guy Kesteven)
Verdict
Going almost straight from unboxing into a tough, three-day gravel adventure was a big ask, but SRAM's new Wide Range never faltered. Out of thousands of wet, dry, spinning or gurning shifts, there were just a handful of ugly clunk movements when we didn't back off the power and it was trying𓃲 to double shift in 'auto' mode (we were testing not tickling, OK?). Otherwise, it took flat-out blasting along technical singletrack and washboard tractor ruts, regular undergrowth entanglement and a fence post slap totally in its stride.
While I'd consider myself to be a single-ring evangelist – even on the road – a tighter twin-ring ratio range undoubtedly keeps cadence a lot smoother and more efficient, whether that's winching up the last sunset hill of a long day or playing pro peloton on a training thrash. The plug-and-play versatility of the whꦉole AXS ecosystem, the app (and now web-data collection) elements for tuning the exact function of your gearing are also genuinely valuable additions to your bike life – not just show-and-tell gim🔜micks.
In other words, if you can afford it, SRAM eTap AXS Wide Range is undoubtedly the ultimate in♈ on/off-road traꦓnsmission versatility for the further/wilder drop-bar riders.
Tech spec: SRAM Force eTap AXS Wide Range
SRAM Force eTap AXS rear mech: 325g (including battery), €465
SRAM Force eTap AXS Wide Range front mech: 178g (including battery), €325
