Wireless for the masses
Michelle Arthurs-brennan lifts the lid on the wireless, disc-brake only hydraulic groupset
SRAM has brought wireless electronic shifting to its Rival tier groupset, significantly dropping the cost of electronic shifting – with the option of adding crank-based power for another £230.
The American brand introduced its wireless, electronic shifting to the market via Red etap AXS in February 2019, closely followed by SRAM Force. The new offering sees the price of electronic shifting reduced dramatically with a full groupset from £1,102 for a 1x set-up or £1,314 for 2x.
SRAM is expecting to see most of its SRAM Rival AXS etap sales to come via OEM (original equipment manufacturer) sales – with a representative telling CW that the uptake had been “massive” already.
SRAM continues to offer the ‘X-range’ gearing it introduced with AXS promising a greater range of gear options.
A price hike of £322 (whole crankset) or £230 (crank-arm only) gains entry into power training with the SRAM Rival Power Meter.
Delays caused by paperwork required in the postbrexit world mean we’ve spent limited time riding this group. However, first impressions have been excellent – with the disparity in performance between this and SRAM Force looking pretty limited. Now, let’s look at the components.
Shifters and brake calipers
The brake hoods on the new SR AM Rival are smaller when compared with Force and Red, this has been made possible by the removal of the brake contact point adjustment but you can still adjust lever reach.
They also don’t come with auxiliary ‘blip’ buttons, commonly used as sprint shifters or in time trial set-ups.
The shifter is made using aluminium and steel – meaning it’s heavier than the carbon-infused SRAM Red and not far off SRAM Force as a result of the reduction in overall size.
The disc-brake caliper offers the same modulation and function, with a slightly different bleed port and differing materials meaning it’s heavier, too. A complete shift/brake set costs £185 and weighs 845g.
Cranksets and power meters
The SRAM Rival crankset (£120, 703g-844g) uses the brand’s DUB bottom bracket system as per its other offerings, and offers ‘X-range gearing’, which does provide a wider range of gear choices. SRAM has recently made the ‘pro’ options – with larger chainrings, available to the public, so it would be possible to swap these on.
Crank lengths are available from 160mm to 175mm across the range, the crank-arm is aluminum which is represented in the price reduction and weight increase.
The standard crankset comes in sizes 48/35T and 46/33T. For those riding wide tyres, the ‘Rival 43/30T wide crankset’ is designed to be paired with bikes running 700c wheels with tyres up to 45c, or 27.5 wheels with tyres up to 21.1”. This comes with a longer DUB crank spindle that accommodates both road and MTB width frame bottom
bracket standards, it requires the use of the wide front mech.
If one chainring is enough, there are 1x options with chainrings from 38-46T.
In perhaps one of the most exciting developments, customers will be able to either purchase a single-sided SRAM Rival Power Meter crankset (£322), or upgrade their existing crankset via a left- hand crank and spindle upgrade for £230.
The power meter is integrated into the spindle and uses similar tech to the wellreviewed Quarq options, seen on SRAM Red and Force groupsets, it weighs only an additional 40g with battery life at 400+ hours. The power meter feeds off AAA lithium batteries.
Front and rear derailleur
The front mech (180-182g, £162) comes in two guises: one for the standard chainring sizes, and one for those opting for the ‘wide’ option.
The clutch rear mech uses a spring mechanism to avoid chain clatter on rough surfaces and works with cassettes across 10-28, 10-30, 10-33 and 10-36T configurations.
In the past, the cost of a rear mech has been a major detractor from upgrading to wireless shifting, but SRAM has pretty much done away with that worry here.
Cassette and chain
The cassette (282g-338g, £112) is made entirely from steel, meaning there is a weight increase on the steel/ aluminum constructions in higher tiers. There is compatibility though so it would be possible to upgrade to a higher-end, lighter option. The cassettes are 12-speed, and come in sizes 10-28 through to 10-33.
Constructed from nickel, the SRAM Rival AXS etap chain (266g, £28) still uses the flat-top tech seen elsewhere in SRAM’S groupsets – it just doesn’t have the same hard chrome finish on both the outer and inner as the more expensive options. SRAM Force and Red chains are cross-compatible.