New SRAM Force and Rival AXS beat Shimano Ultegra and 105 on price and weight

SRAM's new Force and Rival AXS 2x road groupsets bring the improved ergonomics of Red AXS along with updated component design. The second- and third-tier SRAM groups have lost significant weight in the process, too.

It’s not only the weight that has been cut, though. SRAM’s pricing looks competitive, too, with Force AXS and Rival AXS both undercutting their Shimano equivalents.

New Force AXS is £160 cheaper than Ultegra Di2, with new Rival AXS undercutting 105 Di2 by £154 in standard guise – or £9 for the power meter option.

Every component of Force and Rival AXS has seen an overhaul. Each has a new shifter design, a faster-shifting front derailleur with built-in auto trim, and a new crankset, chainring and lighter chain. There’s also a new power meter option on Force that brings the thread-mount chainring design from Red.

Improved ergonomics

The most important part of each group's update is the inclusion of the new hood dimensions and lever shape that made Red AXS such a positive step forward for SRAM's premier road offering.

The new, more compact hood shape combines with a curvier and subtly flared brake lever. This results in an improvement to braking feel, especially from the hoods, where Shimano had taken the lead thanks to its updated lever shape and Servowave braking – tech that first debuted on the previous-generation GRX Di2.

The hood covers are distinct between Force and Rival, but both share a set of moulded-in indicator lines that will help you set up the hoods on a bar. When the indicator marks are set horizontally, it gives the levers a 7-degree upward pitch, which is how SRAM's designers intended the shifters to fit.

Force AXS gets the same bonus button on the inner face of the hood that can be customised through the AXS app. That brings Force in line with Shimano Ultegra Di2, which shares the same bonus button atop the hood as Dura-Ace Di2.

In a move that also mirrors Shimano, Rival AXS doesn’t get the bonus button addition, much the same as 105 Di2 doesn’t have the hood-top buttons.

Shifting smoothed

Red AXS' other major improvement came in the speed and accuracy of the front shifts, with a new front derailleur design that brings faster shifts thanks to a combination of improved architecture and a new narrower cage.

There was also an automated-trim function that set out to eliminate chain rub and rasp at extremes of the gear range. It's this design that has been adopted across both Rival and Force AXS.

This is combined with new direct-mount one-piece chainring designs, with highly machined tooth profiles. SRAM also claims the new Force and Rival chainrings are significantly lighter and stiffer than their predecessors.

The crank arms on Force are a new carbon design, with SRAM claiming both less weight and improved stiffness.

At the rear, the Force derailleur gets the same design updates as Red, With a new, lighter forged carbon pulley cage and oversized pulley wheels. It’s designed to work with both 1x and 2x drivetrains, and a single-cage option can be used with cassettes from 10-28 up to 10-36 teeth.

The cassette gets a new matt nickel chrome plating that SRAM claims brings quieter running and improved durability.

Even the chain has had a makeover, with a new ‘hard chrome’ plated inner link plate and cut-outs in both inner and outer plates to reduce weight over the previous Force-level chain.

Force AXS launches with a limited-edition full group that includes rear derailleur, front derailleur, shift-brake controls, chain, disc brake calipers, rotors, battery charger and special-edition Hammerhead Karoo finished with a livery to match the Force components.

SRAM has also put together an upgrade kit for existing AXS riders. It consists of the Force AXS shifters/brakes and a Hammerhead Karoo (£949/$1,099). 

Rival AXS gets the same lever and hood design as its more expensive cousins. The lever is upgraded to carbon over the alloy of the previous generation, resulting in a weight loss of 64g.

The new Rival crankset looks far more premium than the original Rival version. The new crank arms, with their machined backs and cut-out (taking inspiration from SRAM's X0 aluminium crankset), also result in a weight drop of 50g on both the standard and spindle power meter options.

The front derailleur gets the same Yaw cage design as Red and Force, and includes the same auto-trim function, too.

Even Rival’s chain gets a makeover, with new cut-out outer links and a ‘hard chrome’ finish for a 12g reduction in weight. The rear derailleur has had more of a facelift. Being based on an update to the previous Rival design, SRAM has still managed to shed 20g thanks to upgraded material choices.

That means, in total, Force AXS 2x with a power meter weighs in at 2,776g – 183g lighter than the previous generation.

Rival AXS 2x with a power meter weighs 2,993g – 213g lighter than the original Rival AXS 2x drivetrain.

Both the new Force and Rival AXS components are compatible with all existing AXS groupsets.

Weight comparisons

SRAM Force AXS with power meter (46/35, 10-30): 2,776g

SRAM Force AXS (46/35, 10-30): 2,689g

Shimano Ultegra Di2 R8170 (52/36, 11-30): 2,716.5g

SRAM Rival AXS with spindle-based power meter (46/35, 10-30): 2,993g

SRAM Rival AXS (46/35, 10-30,160mm rotors): 2,960g

Shimano 105 Di2 (50/34, 11-34,160mm rotors): 2,992g

Component details

Force AXS shifters

The new Force AXS shifters feature the hidden bonus button on the inner face of the shifter.

This can be configured through the AXS app to suit your needs. Either use it as a secondary shift button or to switch between screens on your GPS.

The new levers are a reprofiled carbon and the new design has led to a 70g weight saving over the previous Force AXS shifters.

Force Flattop chain

The new chain features the same slotted link plates as Red, but uses solid rather than hollow pins. SRAM claims it is stronger and more durable than the previous design, thanks to new ‘hard chrome’ plated inner link plates and rollers.

It comes with a claimed 20g weight saving over the previous chain. It's also available in a special-edition purple chain – Prince would have approved.

Force AXS front derailleur

The design is based on the 2024 Red AXS derailleur and shares the same SRAM Yaw technology, which auto trims the shifting for quiet performance even when cross-chaining.

A new, narrower cage improves both accuracy and speed, and the derailleur is designed to work across a wide range of chainring options – 46/33T, 48/35T or 50/37T.

Force AXS rear derailleur

The new rear derailleur combines the pulley cage design and oversized pulley wheels from Red AXS with a new slimmer body compared to the previous version.

The result is a 12g saving. The Force derailleur comes in a single-cage option designed to work with cassettes from 10-28 up to 10–36 teeth and is compatible with both 1x and 2x drivetrains. It features chain-management technology using a spring clutch rather than the orbital fluid damper of old.

Force AXS cranksets and power meters

The new crankset uses the same direct-mount tech as SRAM Red and is available with three standard chainring combinations: 46/33, 48/35 and 50/37 teeth.

Aside from this, there’s a spider-based power meter option with the same thread-mount interface as Red AXS (with the same chainring combinations available). There is also a 1x crankset option with both direct-mount aero-rings and a direct-mount aero-ring/power meter combination.

The aero rings come in 44, 46, 48 and 50-teeth sizes.

The 1x options are in addition to the recently announced 1x XPLR versions. All the cranksets now come in a wider range of crank-arm lengths, with 160, 165, 170, 172.5 and 175mm options.

Force XG-1270 cassette

The XDR driver-body compatible Force cassette gains a new matt nickel chrome finish. The cassette’s X-Range gearing options are 10-28, 10-30, 10-33 and 10-36. The 10-28, 10-30 and 10-33 tooth cassettes all come with at least five one-tooth jumps.

Rival AXS shifters

Rival gets the same ergonomic upgrades from RED as Force. All three shifters now have the same hood shape and lever profiles. Rival omits the hidden bonus button found on Red and Force for cost reasons, much like Shimano left its bonus buttons off 105 Di2.

Rival also sees an upgrade to carbon fibre brake levers for the first time. That has led to a 64g reduction in weight over the old shifter design.

Rival chain

The new Rival-level Flattop chain gets cut-outs on the outer links and a hard-chrome finish. The changes have led to a 12g reduction in weight over the original Rival chain.

Rival crankset

SRAM claims the new Rival crankset is the most advanced aluminium crankset it has ever produced, with a new cut-out crank arm design that optimises the stiffness-to-weight ratio. 

In a first for SRAM’s third-tier group, the crankset is paired with a one-piece direct-mount chainring design, available in 46/33t and 48/35t combinations.

The new crank-arm design shaves 50g off the previous Rival crankset.

Rival also gets a power meter option using the same spindle-based design as the previous Rival AXS, with a single AAA lithium battery for more than 400 hours of use.

Rival AXS front derailleur

Rival's front derailleur uses the same SRAM Yaw cage movement and auto-trim as found on both Red and Force.

The narrower cage shape helps increase shift speed and the auto-trim is designed to cut out any chain rasp, even when cross-chaining gears. The new derailleur is compatible with 46/33T, 48/35T and 50/37T chainring combinations.

Rival AXS rear derailleur

The Rival rear derailleur is based on the same architecture as the previous Rival design, but updates to materials and construction have led to a 20g weight reduction. It's compatible with both 1x and 2x drivetrains, and cassettes from 10-28 to 10-36 teeth.

Paceline rotor

Both Rival and Force use the latest Paceline disc brake rotors, with brake-track venting and a new aluminium carrier that sheds 20g compared to the previous generation.

Prices

Complete groupset prices are somewhat irrelevant because significant discounts can be found online. However, Force AXS with a power meter retails at £2,528 / $2,842. Standard Force AXS is £2,168 / $2,432, compared to Shimano Ultegra Di2 at £2,328.88.

Rival AXS comes in at £1,721 / $1,929 with a power meter, or £1,576 / $1,764 without, compared to Shimano’s 105 Di2 at £1,730 / $1,890.

We’ve yet to see how that will pan out in complete bike prices. In the past, Shimano’s original equipment prices have been far more competitive than SRAM's, thanks to Shimano’s larger market share and economies of scale.