Sram Rival eTap AXS is the third-tier AXS groupset in the Sram range and was launched in the spring of 2021. The groupset is the most affordable AXS offering from Sram, aiming at providing an intuitive shift experience with simple, easy-to-use tech features. As a long-term Shimano user, I was certainly interested in spending some miles testing the groupset and seeing what it had to say for itself.
Rival is a 12-speed wireless groupset featuring hydraulic braking and is the more affordable, slightly less exotic younger sibling of the mid and upper-tier Force and Red eTap AXS groupsets above it. The Rival range is not solely pitched as being for road use, the groupsets are very much designed for gravel and adventure use as well. Sram has built on this with its XPLR range with AXS allowing you to mix and match from Force, Red and even the brand’s mountain bike groupsets.
The groupset comes in at around £1,400 or $1,300 with the left-sided power meter chainset included and depending on which spec you need. As the groupset has been out for a while already, you can usually shop around and find deals online.
Now, this amount isn’t exactly peanuts, but as the best road bike groupsets embrace electronic shifting and the inclusion of an integrated power meter is almost expected, this is the way prices are going for what is technically a mid-tier groupset. A direct competitor and the obvious comparison to make in terms of the competition is with the slightly newer Shimano 105 R7100 groupset.
Design and specification
Rival AXS is easy on the eye, being constructed mainly from aluminium, steel and plastic, ditching the more expensive carbon fibre that can be found on the higher-spec groupsets. It’s finished in mostly gloss black and dark grey with subtle Rival logos. The derailleurs are a little bigger overall than Shimano units, mainly due to the batteries mounting to the derailleurs. The shifters are a little bigger too.
The entire groupset comes in at just over 3kg, which means Rival is a little on the weighty side and around a couple of hundred grams heavier than the nearest Shimano 105 Di2 competition.
To keep costs down, there are a couple of features that Rival doesn’t have compared to Force and Red. One is that it uses a spring clutch for chain retention in the rear derailleur instead of the Orbit fluid damper the two higher-tier groupsets use.
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