Images appearing to show a new SRAM Red AXS groupset have leaked online.
The images show an updated rear derailleur, cassette and chain, as well as the new hydraulic disc brake calipers and rotors.
The new cassette looks to confirm that the new SRAM Red AXS groupset will remain 12-speed, while the new rear derailleur, chain, brake calipers and rotors appear to have had excess material removed to save weight.
The leaked images also confirm the prototype SRAM Red shifters we spotted in a patent last November are part of the Red AXS new groupset.
As things stand, we have just three images, all of which were uploaded to X (formerly known as Twitter) by user @MoBaohua. The original source of these images is unclear.
BikeRadar contacted SRAM for a response to this story but the brand declined to comment.
Drillium is back
Historically, SRAM’s Red groupsets were among the lightest available for road bikes. Its final mechanical iteration, Red 22, had a claimed weight of just 1,741g, for example.
The move to its wireless electronic form (which first occurred in 2015 with the launch of SRAM Red eTap), and the addition of hydraulic disc brakes, have seen the overall weight creep up in recent years, though.
SRAM’s current Red eTap AXS groupset, for example, is claimed to weigh 2,518g.
Perhaps as a result, SRAM looks to be focused on cutting weight from the various components for this new Red AXS groupset.
The new rear derailleur, for example, appears to have several areas hollowed out to save weight.
The design is reminiscent of Campagnolo’s Skeleton brakes or the ‘drillium’ modifications practised by weight weenies and hill climb obsessives.
The parallelogram linking the upper and lower pivots also appears to have large holes in both the inner and outer plates.
The derailleur cage also looks to have had excess material removed, with the new pulley wheels (which we’ll talk more about in the next section) looking a little more exposed.
At the rear of the derailleur, SRAM looks to be sticking with the same AXS battery layout as before. This sees it clip onto the rear of the derailleur's upper pivot.
The upper pivot also sees less black paint used and more polished metal (presumably aluminium, as on the current Red eTap AXS derailleur).
Will this be enough to see SRAM take the crown as the lightest electronic road bike groupset available?
As things stand, Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 R9200 holds that title by the tiniest margin (around 4g, if the manufacturer’s claimed weights are to be believed) over Red eTap AXS and Campagnolo Super Record Wireless.
Pulley wheels borrowed from XX SL Eagle Transmission?
One of the headline features of SRAM’s XX T-Type Eagle Transmission, which launched last year to much fanfare, was the ‘Magic Wheel’ pulley wheels.
With these, the toothed outer edge of the pulley wheel can rotate independently of the spoked inner section, enabling it to keep spinning even if something is blocking it.
While the chances of an errant stick or rock embedding itself in the pulley wheels are lower on the road compared to trails, could SRAM be porting the design over to its new flagship road groupset?
There’s certainly a distinct visual similarity between what we see in the leaked images and the jockey wheels used by SRAM’s flagship XX SL Eagle Transmission rear derailleur.
The new jockey wheels also use thinner spokes than before, suggesting they were also subject to the same weight weenie treatment as the rest of the derailleur.
12-speed and the 10t cog are here to stay
The cassette shown in the leaked images looks similar to the current generation SRAM Red XG-1290 12-speed cassette.
It starts with a 10t cog and looks to use tight, single-tooth jumps for the first six cogs on the block.
As with the current cassette, the new one appears to use SRAM’s X-DOME construction, which sees its cassettes machined from a single piece of metal to save weight.
This cassette design could bode well for backwards compatibility between existing SRAM Red eTap AXS parts and those from this new groupset.
Certainly, this suggests SRAM will be sticking with its XDR freehub standard and similar gear ratios.
If so, this could provide an easier upgrade path for owners of existing SRAM AXS groupsets, such as Red eTap AXS, Force AXS, Rival eTap AXS and Apex AXS.
The chain has been updated, however.
While it continues with SRAM’s Flattop design and hollow pins, the inner and outer link plates are now all drilled out, presumably to cut weight.
New shifters confirmed
As suspected, the new SRAM Red AXS groupset will get a new shifter design.
The new shifter body looks to have been notably slimmed down compared to the existing Red eTap AXS shifters, while the brake lever and shifter paddle have been redesigned.
The brake lever appears to have been elongated. It now curves out more towards the top, before sweeping back in and out at the bottom to create finger hooks for when riding in the drops.
The single shifter paddle looks to confirm SRAM is sticking with its ‘eTap’ shifting logic (one button each for shifting up and down the cassette and or both together for a front shift). It’s now taller and slimmer than before, though.
The increased height should help riders reach it from a great range of handlebar positions, while its shorter width should reduce the likelihood of it contacting the handlebar with the lever reach dialled in.
SRAM also looks to have updated the texture on the shifter paddle itself, with what appear to be prominent diagonal grooves running across it.
While the leaked images don’t show the new auxiliary button detailed in the patents, there is a small rubber cover on the new brake lever just in front of the pivot point.
Given the internal layout detailed in the shifter patent, we suspect this could be an access point for the hydraulic reservoir – perhaps for speeding up the bleeding process.
Skeleton brakes and rotors
Like the rear derailleur, the updated SRAM Red hydraulic disc brakes also appear to have had the drillium treatment.
The new calipers, for example, have two hollow points on each side and the area around the internal piston also appears to have been machined out more aggressively.
The updated disc brake rotors look to use a similar design to SRAM’s existing CenterLine XR rotors, but the inner section (on which the braking surface ‘floats’) has been more heavily machined.
Again, this is almost certainly a weight-saving measure.
It remains to be seen if SRAM has made any other improvements to its braking technology, such as greater pad clearance or adopting the thicker rotor design seen on its HS2 disc rotors for mountain bikes, which could enhance brake feel or help silence errant noises.
When will the new SRAM Red groupset be launched?
It’s nearly five years since SRAM revealed the current Red eTap AXS groupset.
Given the leaked images show what looks like a finished groupset, it’s reasonable to assume an official launch isn’t too far off.
