If you were considering getting a new 2025 TT bike, would you go with a SRAM Red AXS build or Dura Ace Di2? They say the front derailleur has been improved, which has been a problem area in the past for SRAM. So, which 2025 group set wins for triathlon?
I still prefer Di2 on a TT bike. It is easier to get a totally hidden installation with buttons exactly where I want them. I dislike the blip box. If they integrate the blip box and buttons into brake levers, I will change my vote.
The blip box is history. You now have blips which you can put anywhere you want. Since one year ago at least.
Not sure where you’ve been…but you no longer need any blip box…or wires…for SRAM…
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The blip box is history. You now have blips which you can put anywhere you want. Since one year ago at least.
Not sure where you’ve been…but you no longer need any blip box…or wires…for SRAM…So, where is the radio part? Is it embedded in every blip?
I have not kept up. I have DiS, OG eTap, and AXS eTap. But no current eTap on a TT bike. They still sell the Blip Box, so I didn’t know it was obsolete.
The AXS app can control setting up the system/and any fine tuning…and there are wireless blip buttons now…although the are disposable. When the buttons die there is no replacing the batteries so you would just buy another pair…you can find a pair online for about $80 currently. Supposedly last a year/two.
I’m on my first ones so I’m curious to see how long they really last…
I thought you needed a blip box or some other shifter at least to pair them to the derailleur. Can you now do that with the axs app?
Yes you can pair with the app…but to the original point made earlier…if you use the wireless blip buttons you can be totally wireless…either using a blip box to pair/tune…or the AXS app.
I still prefer Di2 on a TT bike. It is easier to get a totally hidden installation with buttons exactly where I want them. I dislike the blip box. If they integrate the blip box and buttons into brake levers, I will change my vote.
the answer to the fellow who posted is: SRAM. the reason is that there hasn’t been the need for a blip box for, i’m not sure, maybe 5 years now on any new AXS drivetrains SRAM released. your shift system consists of: 4 wireless blips, an FD and an RD. no wires. at all. batteries are part of the derailleurs, so no wires to a central battery. on a road or gravel bike it’s just the shifters and the derailleurs. couldn’t be easier. builds on SRAM are super easy. the only thing that makes these builds hard is the continuous hydraulic brake lines. once this is solved - as i suspect it one day will be - you could build a bike from the bare from in an hour or two. in any case, right now it takes me more time to wrap the handlebar tape on the new road bike i just built from SRAM RED than it did to hang the drivetrain parts (shifters, derailleurs, crankset, chain). it takes 30 seconds to pair everything.
the OP is right: in my opinion and based on my own assembly of the FD and of the riding - and i have quite a few miles on this groupset - SRAM has finally solved FD shifting. one new thing on this, and i’d like to drill down on this a bit, is that there is “trim” in the new FD. there never was a trim feature previously and it was my impression that the “yaw FD” feature in SRAM’s FDs was the workaround for a patent on trim not available to SRAM. (just a guess on my part.) SRAM still does say it deploys “yaw” technology in it’s FD, but why does it now have trim in the FD? because it came off patent? because SRAM always had that available and decided to use it? i don’t know. i only know that FD is no longer compromised functionality for SRAM, beginning with this new RED groupset.
They say the front derailleur has been improved, which has been a problem area in the past for SRAM.
I’m riding on one-generation-ago now FORCE AXS eTap on my own road bike and I’ve never had any issues with the front derailleur shifting for over a year and a half since set up!
I see this knock generally on SRAM that Shimano Electronic is “Better” than SRAM - but in my experience, and I have ridden on a number of bikes with both, if set up really well - I really can’t tell the difference!
and I have ridden on a number of bikes with both, if set up really well - I really can’t tell the difference!
x2. I’ve spent about the last decade on 1st and 2nd gen eTap. If there was a problem with front shifting, I never experienced it. Not chain drops, not maintenance hassles…nothing.
I can’t say it’s as good as Shimano as I just don’t have enough experience with Shimano since the Dura Ace 7900 I had before 1st gen eTap. I can say that 1st gen eTap front shifting was far superior to DA 7900 (mechanical). Tthough 7900 was, I believe, a known poor performer for Shimano being their first attempt at routing shifter cables down through the levers instead of laterally out the side.
I feel like all this focus on the initial build is a bit of a red herring though. You build it…once, and then who cares if you had to run wires or not? You can use the di2 wire connectors to make it easy to remove the bars if needed. With wireless blips, there’s now 5 or 6 independent batteries to keep track of to make your shifting work.
I’ll admit, I’m a little anti-etap but that’s primarily because I hate how they changed their chain roller diameters. Mostly I just don’t see wireless as such an important addition.
I feel like all this focus on the initial build is a bit of a red herring though. You build it…once, and then who cares if you had to run wires or not?
Fair point, but the modern trends in all-internal-everything made me dread doing builds for a while. It’s gotten better in the past few years thanks to hydraulic and wireless/wired or the new Shimano “wiredless”. But SRAM captured me in the stupid easy setup of eTap. The first gen came out when I was just sick of routing mechanical shifting cable and housing through the byzantine internals of aero frames.
Granted I’m a “tinkerer.” I like playing with new bars and stuff. So I mess with bikes a fair amount in ways that require dealing with cable/wire/hose routing.
With wireless blips, there’s now 5 or 6 independent batteries to keep track of to make your shifting work.
It’s a bit of a bummer the new wireless blips do not have replaceable batteries. And they’re also slightly larger than I’d like. If you’re going to make the thing disposable, I want it small. And I’m a SRAM fanboi. I hope they come out with something even smaller at some point.
But overall in nearly a decade of eTap, battery management hasn’t been a big deal at all. I spend far more time and effort keeping my drivetrains clean and lubed.
I feel like all this focus on the initial build is a bit of a red herring though. You build it…once, and then who cares if you had to run wires or not? You can use the di2 wire connectors to make it easy to remove the bars if needed. With wireless blips, there’s now 5 or 6 independent batteries to keep track of to make your shifting work.
I’ll admit, I’m a little anti-etap but that’s primarily because I hate how they changed their chain roller diameters. Mostly I just don’t see wireless as such an important addition.
i just put a pair of bikes on planes for a trip my wife and i took. these were shimano bikes. i love my di2 bike. but i was reminded of how easy SRAM bikes are to travel with.
I have Sram force AXS on 2 road bikes. My Tri bike is still Di2 from a couple years ago.
As far as SRAM, there are many thing I like better about it than AXS.
- No wires ! Completely a wireless system.
- Accessible batteries. Small battery on each the front and rear derailleur. They unclip and charge with a charging cradle. Watch batteries, like what’s in a Garmin sensor, is what is on the front brifter levers.
- The app actually works! Just log in on your phone and it’s quick and seamless. Shimano sucks and don’t say it doesn’t…. It’s clunky and I avoid using Shimano’s app.
- Easy to change between shift settings when on the bike.
- Shifting is crisp and zero complaints, but there are zero complaints about function of Ultegra or dura ace di2 either.
If I was building a new bike, I would go SRAM, but this is also because I prefer the carbon cranks and the ability to use a Quarq power meter seamlessly with the SRAM setup.
I’m a broken record on this, but the remarkable thing about the wireless thing as a whole is how SRAM nailed it from day 1. Prior to the release was a lot of hand-wringing and jokes about missed shifts, cross talk, interference, bugs.
But in ~10 years I’ve developed 100% confidence in it. You push the lever, the derailleur will move. Full stop. My power meters sometimes have dropouts. In Zwift I get drops, lags. I sometimes have to “re-pair” Bluetooth headphones for unkown reasons. As far as I know there is effectively no such thing as an eTap dropout or unpairing. (I’m sure it’s happened to people somewhere, but seemingly with a vanishingly small rate of occurence).
I’m a broken record on this, but the remarkable thing about the wireless thing as a whole is how SRAM nailed it from day 1. Prior to the release was a lot of hand-wringing and jokes about missed shifts, cross talk, interference, bugs.
But in ~10 years I’ve developed 100% confidence in it. You push the lever, the derailleur will move. Full stop. My power meters sometimes have dropouts. In Zwift I get drops, lags. I sometimes have to “re-pair” Bluetooth headphones for unkown reasons. As far as I know there is effectively no such thing as an eTap dropout or unpairing. (I’m sure it’s happened to people somewhere, but seemingly with a vanishingly small rate of occurence).
I loved my SRAM 10 and 11 speed setup’s. Never looked back to Shimano. When AXS came out, I took a chance on bike #1. I was sold in a couple rides. Bike #2 I went for SRAM by choice without concern. Sold my 2 bikes that were 11 speed Shimano Ultegra di2. Tri bike is still dura ace 12 speed and not planning to switch as it rides great and it’s a current model setup…. But, if I was buying, I’d go SRAM.
The app alone is worth it. Shimano app is really clunky.
1x is much more well suited for tri, so I suppose the front derailleur wouldn’t be a consideration for me.
For reference I have a Merida Time Warp Tri with Dura ace 12 speed 1x and a Cadex Tri with Force AXS 1x
Outside of all the good points already mentioned, I’ll add a few more small points:
- SRAM blips do not allow multi-shift, you must click individually
- Shimano hyperglide still feels like a smoother shifting experience to me
- SRAM Red build should come out a bit cheaper( rough guess 30%?)
- Shimano break feel on the 9180 is better than S900
i love running sram for triathlon. i used to be on dura ace di2 and now i have red 2x on road, eagle on gravel, xplr for commute, and switch between 1x and 2x on Tri.
- easy to change to 1x, just take off the front mech, change the rings over, resync and good to go
- when you put the front mech back on there’s an alignment tool they give you so it’s an easy process
- 10-36 cassette is great for 1x
- clutch mech in RD means no chain drops or slap with 1x (at least for me)
- no cables so easier front end adjustments and travel
- no cables to break or internal parts besides brake hoses
- great accompanying software which gives you readouts from every ride for better gearing selection
- you can always take a battery in your spares in case something dies, with di2 you’re screwed in this scenario
- i prefer running dot fluid for brakes and i think their rotors are superior
1x is much more well suited for tri, so I suppose the front derailleur wouldn’t be a consideration for me.
For reference I have a Merida Time Warp Tri with Dura ace 12 speed 1x and a Cadex Tri with Force AXS 1x
Outside of all the good points already mentioned, I’ll add a few more small points:
- SRAM blips do not allow multi-shift, you must click individually
- Shimano hyperglide still feels like a smoother shifting experience to me
- SRAM Red build should come out a bit cheaper( rough guess 30%?)
- Shimano break feel on the 9180 is better than S900
i so do NOT stipulate that 1x is better for tri. it’s better if you are a really strong cyclist, and/or of you don’t care about big jumps in gear inches, and if your bike has a long chainstay. where it is good is if you want to get yourself into an electronically shifted bike in the cheapest way possible and for this SRAM AXS XPLR is great. with the 10x44. for some reason i just fail to understand canyon’s top athletes - frodeno and sanders - were riding SRAM 1x, and the speedmax enjoys the longest chainstay (420mm) of any bike i’ve seen, canyon didn’t offer XPLR as an option. beyond this…
RED is priced where RED is priced because it’s RED. if you want it 30% cheaper wait for Force. and this is the big rush for SRAM: having RED be so good out the gate in so many ways is great, but how many people buy RED? i hope this groupset downstreams to Force pretty quickly.