Gravel Grinder News: SRAM Announces 13 Speed Red AXS XPLR

The new 13spd Red AXS XPLR

 NOTE: Information and all images in this post were provided to Guitar Ted Productions by SRAM.

SRAM debuts its newest group,Red AXS XPLR, today and with it have raised the bar for gravel oriented componentry. This post will start out with an overview of the group and afterward I will give my comments and opinions on what SRAM has offered today to gravel riders. 

What It Is: This is a 1 X 13 speed group that features closer ratio jumps in the 10-46T cassette and is electronic using SRAM's longstanding AXS design, which uses the same batteries as all AXS components. 

SRAM offers several chain ring options, a couple crank set options with many lengths available, and a new brake lever and caliper which are claiming some pretty impressive gains on older SRAM road based brake designs. In conjunction with the SRAM drive train offerings there is a new Zipp wheel set designed in conjunction with Goodyear tire, a new Zipp handle bar, and the Karoo GPS by Hammerhead is now integrated with SRAM AXS controls. This post will focus on the Red AXS XPLR only. 

Full Mount: First let's look at the all new rear derailleur ($700.00USD). SRAM states that this 13 speed specific derailleur is not compatible with other SRAM AXS parts and is mated specifically to the new 13 speed cassette. By the way, there is one cassette choice, and because of these limitations SRAM can match the derailleur to the cassette and eliminate adjustment screws. More on the cassette in a minute. 

SRAM have now allowed for this derailleur to be supported with replacement parts. Most of the derailleur components can now be swapped in case of damage in a crash including the cage and outer plate of the parallelogram. It is notable that only the jockey wheels and one other small part are compatible with any other current SRAM rear mech. 

The new Full Mount, Transmission style rear derailleur is compatible only with UDH compatible frames or a UDH hangar. Older bikes probably will not be compatible with this newest group unless some aftermarket company comes up with a work-a-round. The SRAM "Magic Wheel" pulleys are one of the only Transmission features pulled over to Red AXS XPLR for the rear mech. That and UDH compatibility, and the battery seem to be the only common features here. 

Brands supporting the new Red AXS Xplr at launch.

The chart here shows current brands supporting this standard for gravel bikes. It is assumed that several others will be onboard in the coming months. 

By the way, the new group does not support a front derailleur.

AXS XPLR 13 Speed Cassette:

The new cassette ($600.00USD) features closer ratios for better "gear ratio progression", as SRAM puts it.  Again, there is but one choice in cassette. Ratio range can be changed by swapping to different chain rings. 

Cassette cogs from 10T to 46 teeth are spaced a bit more closely, so you could say that the reason for the 13th cog is not to increase range, but to better accommodate riders so they won't have such big cadence jumps between gears. (Something Shimano has hung their hat on for years, and something racers have wanted as well.) 

Jumps between gears are pretty evenly spaced out until you get to shifting into that low 46T cog. here are the cogs and their tooth counts: 10T, 11T, 12T, 13T, 15T, 17T, 19T, 21T, 24T, 28T, 32T, 38T, 46T. 

The cassette mounts on the SRAM XDR freehub body only. It requires use of the special road specific flat top chain as well. It is not compatible with the Eagle flat top chains. ($89.99 - $99.00USD)

Crank & Chain Ring Options:

SRAM has several crank set options and chain ring options. Crank sets can be had with ($1,100.00USD) or without ($650.00USD) power meters and all use the DUB spindle, of course. 

Chain rings ($150.00USD) come in 38T, 40T, 42T, 44T, or 46T sizes. Crank arms ($400.00USD for the set w/o chain ring) can be had in lengths including 160mm, 165mm, 167.5mm, 170mm, 172.5mm, and 175mm. 

Brakes & Levers:

The brakes have been redesigned starting at the levers. ($675.00USD each side w/hoses and calipers. Rotors are $70.00USD each extra) Traditional master cylinder placement within a SRAM hydraulic lever has been more or less vertical. Now with the new Red AXS XPLR it is more horizontally placed which allows SRAM to move the lever pivot to a place where the rider has more leverage from the hoods position. 

This cutaway shows SRAM's previous brake lever architecture (L) compared to the new Red AXS XPLR (R)

The calipers also were redesigned by moving the piston placement slightly outboard which allowed SRAM to give the pad to rotor clearances a boost, aiding in brake set up and allowing for better debris clearance. All these changes have resulted in a lever that SRAM claims needs 80%less effort to activate from the hoods and 33% less effort to activate from the drops. 

In the shifting department all Red AXS XPLR levers come set up with extra buttons - one on each lever - that are pre-programmed to activate the rear derailleur. The right side gives you a higher gear while the left side gives you a lower gear. These "Bonus Buttons" are located in the upper hood area. They can easily be reassigned to other functions via SRAMS AXS app. One could use them for any ANT+ compatible device, such as a dropper post, GPS, etc. 

SRAM estimates that the batteries will last up to 2 years at a riding rate of 15hrs/week. The batteries, as mentioned, are all the same as those the previously released SRAM electronic groups used. Of course, SRAM's Blips can be added to further customize the rider's experience.

Comments:

At some point it is bound to happen that the bicycle industry will grow and morph "standards" to something new. We went decades with a 135mm rear/100mm front spacing for MTB. Now it is Boost, Boost+, or DH standard. Add fat bikes in there, disc brake road, and well, you get the picture. 

So I see UDH/"Direct Mount" type rear derailleurs as being that "next" evolutionary change. SRAM has led the charge here, but at some point Shimano will have to come alongside and make the world right in this regard. It is a better way to mount a rear mech, and we've had hangars now for how long? Okay, it isn't the length of time thing I am concerned about, "Direct Mount" is a structurally better idea that needs to replace an old, weaker standard. Kudos to SRAM for bringing this to gravel riders. 

SRAM doesn't offer 2X for several reasons, but the thought that 1X is better than 2X is not one of those reasons. That said, at least SRAM used the opportunity to add an extra cog to tighten up ratio jumps instead of adding another 8 tooth gap to have a super-low gear rear cog. Yeah....yeah....I know. Certain folks will have YouTube vids and posts on social media decrying SRAM for not giving folks lower gears but more cogs and at more expensive prices. 

Closer gaps between gears is something racers appreciate but also something the average rider can benefit from as well. I've often thought Shimano was on a better trajectory with their drive train designs in this regard. That SRAM has also now followed suit, to a degree, shows me that this is the way a bicycle drive train gear set up should be done. Closer gaps between gears is a better reason for more cogs than the "extending gear ratio range". The one benefits how the rider can perform. The other is pretty much just grandstanding and really isn't rider focused, as far as making the bike more integrated with the rider's performance attributes. 

It seems all I've seen from SRAM in the last few years is more proprietary componentry. There is less compatibility between groups and no backward compatibility in some cases. SRAM seems more bent upon getting riders to buy into their eco-system which - in my opinion - locks the rider into SRAM parts with no options. This is ironic to me as that was the reason for the "Shimano Rebellion" that small companies engaged in back in the mid-1990's when we had several companies trying to make their own drive train components which were cross-compatible with each other, for the most part. Interestingly, SRAM was a part of that back in those days. Now one could accuse SRAM of being worse than Shimano ever was in this regard. 

Just how this new stuff holds up to gravel abuse, how long it works well before needing replacement, and if it gains spec on new bikes is yet to be seen. Obviously it will be expensive and likely only on top-of-the-range bikes costing around the 10K mark. That's my guess, and if that is true, this won't affect most gravel riders now at all. But what about the future?

Is 13 speed going to overtake the market? Will all top-range drive train options be electronic only? What about Far East competition from companies like Ltwoo that sell complete 12 speed gravel group-sets for less money than the 13 speed Red AXS XPLR derailleur cost? These questions and more will continue to plague newer, top-end introductions to gravel componentry. 

There is a growing consensus amongst many riders that this sort of electronic, high-end hardware is unnecessary and prohibitively expensive to buy and own.  SRAM and Shimano are starting to see the effects of the competition that brings similar high-tech stuff and groups with less gears for a lot cheaper than this new SRAM AXS XPLR or the new Di2 GRX. Sales are reportedly soft at both companies. Maybe it is a sign? 

The future in gravel componentry will definitely be dynamic and interesting to witness as time goes on.