Sense check… keep or remove SRAM AXS Transmission from a new bike

There’s a good YT video showing how to change the bushings.

Well I have some decent mileage on it now, interspersed with XT 12 speed albeit on a normal bike. I prefer the latter on the trail due to the shifter ergonomics and feedback, especially when things get hectic.

I couldn’t get the shifter pod on the infinity bar clamp positioned where I wanted it as my Hayes Dominion brake lever clamps are quite close to the grips. There’s no solution from Hayes or SRAM for this, which is pretty annoying. So I switched to the older rocker paddle type, still on a bar clamp but the positioning works. I prefer the shift feel of the pod though.

I had no prior interest in AXS, but recently got a clearance gravel bike that came with with Rival Etap. My experience so far is that it works reliably, even when things get a bit wet and muddy, but I can’t see any real performance advantage compared to a properly set up cable system.

The price is the biggest downside (I think the retail group set costs more than the total price of the entire bike I bought on sale).

I’ve no technical complaints about AXS, but I don’t think I would go out of my way to spec it if I was choosing the bits

kcrFree

The price is the biggest downside (I think the retail group set costs more than the total price of the entire bike I bought on sale).

I had planned to put GRX on my Secan, but Rival AXS was actually cheaper (and easier to get hold of) at the time.

Retail and actual pricing for SRAM are very different