The new crankset says it supports 73mm BB shells and has a wider chainline. I wonder what the q-factor is.

The 43-30 10-36 drivetrain sticks a gnarly 15% gap right in the "16T cog problem" window, although a desperate rider could bail to the small-ring straight block to split the difference.

150mm, or 5mm wider than the “standard” force eTap cranks.

Supposedly, the difference is all in the length of the axle, and you can put this spider/chainring combo on the shorter standard axle for a 145mm Q factor. This also supposedly allows (necessitates?) the standard force AXS front derailleur.

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"They're made of latex, not nitroglycerin"

On a 12 speed groupset I don't see the logic of combining closely spaced front rings an a wide spaced rear cassette. In my mind the better solution is to increase the size differential upfront and then decrease the cassette gaps on the back.

The Shimano 46/30 x 11-34 has the same range as the SRAM 43/30 10-33 executed with less gear overlap. I agree with SRAM the Shimano cassette is oddly spaced to many big cogs and not enough little cogs but it also avoids having the 10 tooth and needing to go 12 spd. It just seems like SRAM has drawn inspiration from the nearly dead 46/36 double option and I think this option has fallen out of favor for a reason.

Ya the TT implications are way more interesting to me than the gravel.

I’m very happy with my AXS 1x mullet setup on my gravel rig and it’s performed well on the mtb terrain I put it in.

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"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."
Hunter S. Thompson

I agree that SRAM's decision to keep the front chainring gaps at 13T means that the extra range potential of 2x12 is largely lost in the overlap. I haven't ridden AXS, so maybe it just feels better? Less drastic change in ratio on a front shift means fewer compensating shifts needed out back? It's pretty flat here, and I normally ride tight cassettes (12-27, and, more recently, 13-26 on my 10s road bike; 12-25 on my 11s TT bike), so I doubt the "shift shock" of a 43/28 front chainring and a mid-to-wide range gravel/road cassette would be much bother to me.

That said, this isn't about the 10-33, but the 10-36, which, when paired with the 43/30, is the first time SRAM actually uses some of the extra range potential of 2x12 to extend the low range below Shimano's equivalent offering.

Ironically, slapping a $70 SRAM 11-36 cassette on a GRX 2x11 with 46/30 crank gets you that same low climbing gear, almost the same top end, a more progressive cassette than Shimano's 11-34 (no 11T -> 13T jump), and probably the same # of useable gears. A 36T big cog exceeds Shimano's specs for the GRX 11-speed RD, but we all know it's only because Shimano doesn't offer an 11-36 11-speed cassette (and Shimano never specs something they can't sell you). The 10s GRX RD is spec'd for up to a 36T cog. You think the RD geometry is any different? I doubt it. But Shimano does have an 11-36 10-speed cassette in their mountain bike catalog that they can sell you, so 36t cog is OK in that application.

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"They're made of latex, not nitroglycerin"

A huge cassette on a TT bike?

Now all we need is one more cassette. a 40 or 42 cog would eliminate the FD for everything.

50T for MTB
40T for gravel 1x
36 for road 1x
33 or less for flat road 1x

The perfect solution and interchangeable parts across every bike option :)

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24 Hour World TT Champs-American record holder
Fat Bike Worlds - Race Director
Insta: chris.s.apex

I like where your head is at.. I ride primarily gravel with a little bit of road and was looking at upgrading the drivetrain for my 1x setup earlier this month but just can't justify the cost. I don't need a crankset so I priced out the individual pieces on the SRAM site. For example, if I went with their Mutt build and used Eagle AXS for the rear derailleur, chain, and cassette paired with the Force AXS for brakes and shifters you are looking at a little over $2200. If I went all Red components it was even more and all Force components were around $1700, but then I don't have the gearing necessary to get my fat butt up the hills. I think it's cheaper to buy the components as a set so I could always upgrade the crankset and transfer over my power meter (Quarq dZero). I love the idea of how simple the SRAM stuff is but I think Di2 can be found for substantially less, with the trade off being it's a little more complicated and requires running cable (if I understand correctly). I lose a bit of gearing with the 11sp compared to 12, but I have 11sp now so that's not a huge deal. I found an interesting read on the Wolf Tooth website where they recommend using their Road Link to allow for a larger cassette to be used on a 1x Shimano setup. I need to dig into that a bit further to see what that would cost.

Well now that I've hijacked the response to your post, does anyone have any experience or recommendations for a 1x electronic shifting group for gravel?

Rotor 1x13 almost does all that. Too bad all the reviews cite poor shift feel. Who knew that ~2 meters of hydraulic hose between the shift mechanism and the indexing mechanism would mute the tactile feedback?

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"They're made of latex, not nitroglycerin"

They could have fixed that with "fake" indexing at the shift lever. Basically just something to provide an audible and tactile shift that has nothing to actually do with shifting. The lever as it is now basically just floats which is weird.

I wonder if there are difficulties aligning tactile response mechanisms with the actual shift actuations. If it's not well-situated, it could cause more harm than good: false feedback is often worse than vague feedback.

Anyone know when these parts are going to hit stores? I don’t see the 10-36 cassette or new rear derailleur at any of their online dealers yet.

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Matt

I’m waiting as well.

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The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.

Is it possible to combine a 48t outer ring with the 33t inner ring on 2x AXS, or can the front derailleur not handle the 15t jump on the front shift? I shift into the little ring so infrequently on the road with a 48/35-10-28 that it would be fun to keep the top end with road tires and have more climbing range with a 33T front ring and up to 36t rear cog when I put 40mm tires on the gravel bike.

I've heard as late as early to mid July for some distributors.

your favorite bicycle retailer can purchase Force Wide components from SRAM Direct today.