Sram rival e tap axs 12 speed?

byrnem31

I had an option of a cube agree with mechanical 11 speed ultegra at 8.4kg ordrered for june, cost €2750.

The next option that i could have got right away was the cube agree pro with sram rival e tap axs at 9.2kg, its a heavy groupset, at €3150. 400 quid more yet nearly a 1kg heavier.

Ive heard poor reviews about sram rival etap. A guy from waterford with a pro model said its noisy and clunky. So i went with the mechanical ultegra model.

However, i feel i havent future proofed my bike as electronic shifting seems to be bees knees lately. A bit like tubless which i bloody hate by the way. Is sram e tap axs crap or how do people find it?

I think bicycles are getting a bit too complicated just like motorcycles. They made motorcycles like cars and they became more difficult to work on which took the fun out of having a motorcycle around your mates and trying to fix it before going out for a blast. I was a motorcyclist for 24 years.

fat bloke

There was a time when the bicycle industry thought lighter was better, and if you wanted lightness you paid through the nose for it.

You, on the other hand, have got yourself a significantly lighter version of bike for significantly less money. What a wonderful time to be alive! You made the right choice as far as I'm concerned.

I've only had the pleasure of riding a bike with electronic shifting twice and it's lovely but it's not the same feel or sound as mechanical is it? It's more like clicking a mouse on your computer but the shift is instant. I have to say I actually love moving up through the gears on Shimano mechanical.

I assume the pros using these have a best of both worlds, a heavy groupo and a frame and wheels that come in as close to 6.8kg minimum weight as possible and that's what 10k+ gets you. Maybe the groupo helps the lads on smaller bikes stay UCI legal now and they don't have to bulk it out with the deep section rims?

Weepsie

Do bikes need future proofing?

You'll be able to sort out any issues with that mechanical groupset handily enough for 20+ years if youre so inclined.

Your at the whim of srams support for the electronic one though

Euppy

Yep, I'm with Weepsie. Sram don't seem to have much/any replacement parts for their 11 speed etap. I think you are much more future proofed with the shimano mechanical