SRAM Rival AXS review: Shimano 105 Di2 simply can't keep up

When Rival AXS first arrived back in 2021, it was the first electronic groupset at this third-tier level.

Shimano responded, with 105 Di2 arriving a year later, bringing lower weight and a more affordable price. Now, SRAM has taken the fight back to Shimano, with a hugely revamped Rival AXS that brings a new crankset, brakes and derailleurs, and shifters modeled on the hugely successful SRAM Red AXS version.

The new groupset looks impressive; it's lighter than the previous generation and than the equivalent 105 Di2 setup.

It's much better-looking, too, including carbon shifter levers and a cut-out crankset design.

Most importantly, it's now cheaper than Shimano 105 Di2.

I couldn’t wait to find out how it fares on the road. Can it take the crown from Shimano’s third-tier wonder when it comes to mid-range wireless electronic drivetrains? Read on to find out.

What’s new with Rival AXS?

The biggest change to Rival comes with the shifters – like the new Force AXS shifters, these have adopted the lower-profile and newly ergonomic lever shape from Red AXS.

The smaller hood design also means a lower weight. The combined shifter and brake units are 72g lighter per pair.

The crankset is the other major change that has helped to reduce weight and improve the appearance of Rival AXS.

Out has gone the rather bland matt aluminium unit, replaced by a fresh aluminium model. The new one is inspired by the angular sculpted X0 mountain bike crankset, replete with a cut-out in the centre of the arms and a scalloped back.

The Rival chainrings have also switched to the one-piece, two-ring design found on both Force and Red AXS. SRAM says this brings stiffness gains and more weight loss from the previous model. 

The crankset can be upgraded (or bought) with a power meter upgrade. Here, it's the spindle-based design, as found on the previous generation and SRAM's XPLR groupsets.

However, it means that, just like Force and Red AXS, chainring pairings are a single element – when it comes to replacement time, you’ll need to buy both. SRAM has confirmed prices of £120 / $140. Compared to Shimano’s replacement 12-speed 105 rings, at £79.99 for the larger ring and £15.99 for the inner, it's still a little more, although it's nothing like the gap between prices on the high-end groups.

At the top end, a SRAM Red 2x chainring combination is £300, compared to Dura-Ace's £192.99 for a large ring and £40 for the inner.

Elsewhere, the brakes have a new caliper design, with a two-piece body that has reduced the amount of material and lowered the profile of the caliper. The chain has been made lighter by 6g, thanks to new cut-outs on the link plates and a hard-chrome finish.

Rival’s big rival – 105 Di2 – had the edge when it came to the weight of the previous-generation groupsets. Now, when comparing like for like, Rival AXS with 46/35 chainrings, a 10-33t cassette and 160mm rotors, weighs 2,960g. 105 Di2, with 50/34, 11-34t and 160mm rotors, weighs in at 2,992g. This leaves Rival AXS 32g to the good.

Rival also has the edge on pricing. The difference is greater, coming in £154 / $126 cheaper. Even when you add the power meter options, it's still £9 / $39 less.

There isn’t a single element of Rival AXS carried over from the previous groupset, although it remains fully backwards-compatible across all SRAM AXS components.

SRAM Rival AXS performance

Rival AXS is so good, I’d find it hard to justify stepping up to more expensive groupsets.

Throughout my testing of Rival AXS, I’ve completed 298.6 miles, amassing a total of 2,548 rear shifts and 109 front shifts (data gleaned from the AXS app), and it hasn’t put a foot wrong. 

The chain control, thanks to the spring-clutch rear derailleur, has kept everything in check, even on broken surfaces and some light gravel excursions.

The braking has more power, more feel and more control, especially from the hoods, thanks to the new shifter shape – and front shifts are smooth and accurate, with no sign of chain rub, even when cross-chaining.

The 48/35-tooth chainring, paired with a 10-33 tooth, 12-speed cassette, offers a similarly sporty range to a Shimano 52/36-tooth crankset with an 11-28 tooth cassette, but with a lighter gear at the bottom end of 7.44 inches compared to Shimano's 9.03 inches. At the top end, SRAM also gets a higher gear by 0.5 of an inch, at 33.7.

In practice, that’s ample for my needs, providing both a light climbing gear and a tall gear for fast, flat roads and high-speed descents.

SRAM Rival AXS setup

Setup is as simple as ever, with no internal wiring or batteries to worry about. Assembling a frameset with AXS is simple. You bolt on the derailleurs, attach the shifters, and thread the brake hoses through the frame and fork, fit the chain, adjust the gears, and with a quick brake bleed, you're nearly ready to ride.

That said, the front derailleur required some care and the use of SRAM's alignment tool, which lines up the front derailleur with the chainrings and holds it in place while you torque up the bolts. 

Once everything is fitted, it's simply a case of pairing all the components to the rear derailleur via presses of the AXS buttons on each component. Then, through the AXS app or your GPS head unit, select the gearing for the chainrings and cassette to enable the AXS app to capture your ride data accurately.

SRAM Rival AXS shifters

The new shifters are the biggest upgrade compared to the previous-generation Rival AXS; the more compact hood design, thanks to SRAM reorienting the hydraulic piston to horizontal from vertical, has enabled both a reduction in height and a slimmer width. 

This, combined with a new lever shape (with its indent at the top and slight outsweep), makes braking from both the drops and the hoods much more tactile than it was previously. You can ‘feel’ the braking progression much easier, which makes subtle speed control easier when cornering downhill, making you faster. 

The new shifters look far more premium now, with a new patterned hood cover and, most impressively at this level, carbon brake levers. 

Sadly, they don’t feature the bonus buttons on the inner face of the hoods, like Red or Force AXS, just as Shimano’s 105 Di2 R7100 shifters don’t feature the hidden buttons atop the hood pommel.  

The shifters have reach adjustment too, something missing from the previous Rival AXS groupset, so you can tune the feel of the braking even further.

SRAM Rival AXS derailleurs

The rear derailleur looks similar to the previous generation, although the cage has a new profile and a new clutch spring tensioner to control chain bounce. 

Shifts are swift and noticeably free of drama, settling into the gear quickly and shifting both up and down the block as quickly as you need. Under pressure, gear changes when out of the saddle sprinting or climbing are accurate and controlled. I haven’t yet encountered a missed shift or any chain chatter.

It’s the front derailleur that’s seen the biggest change, though, with a new cage profile and new firmware controlling shifts, bringing in a new auto-trim function that moves the derailleur cage subtly to minimise rubbing. Throughout my testing, this has effectively made chain rasp a thing of the past. 

Upshifts are noticeably quicker to settle, and dropping down into the smaller chainring is more controlled (the chain isn’t dumped down as harshly onto the small chainring), even when stressed with out-of-the-saddle climbing loads.

The rear shifts are easily a match for Shimano, and the front shifts are greatly improved over the old design. The SRAM shift logic of simultaneous button presses on the left and right shifters is still more involved than Shimano’s single-trigger press, but it doesn’t feel any slower.

SRAM AXS 10-33t cassette

The cassette retains the same construction as the previous generation, with the individual cogs pinned together to create a one-piece cassette, and it gets the same nickel-chrome plating on all but the largest (33-tooth) cog. It's good to see SRAM has widened the range of cassettes on both Rival and Force, which came fitted to my test bike, showing the AXS mix-and-match approach. Previously, the options were 10-30t and 10-36t, to now include a 10-33t.

The ratios are close where you need them, with a 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21, 24, 28, 33 progression. The top end has 1-tooth jumps across the first six cogs, followed by 2-tooth jumps for the next three.

SRAM Rival AXS brakes

The new brake calipers have the same ribbed-machined look as Force AXS and feature the same stiffer two-piece design (where the caliper body is a clamshell design bolted together). That's the same as you’ll find on Force and Red.

The braking feel is improved hugely over the previous generation, when used in combination with the new shifters. Most of that is down to the vastly improved ergonomics at the lever, but you need a solid, accurate caliper too; the pads retract to a safe, scuff-free distance once bedded in. They engage with the subtlest of touches at the lever and provide all the power I’d ever need in a very controlled manner.

Brake noise is kept to a minimum, too. I experienced a bit of light rub in the first hour or so of riding, but since then, they have settled into being a quiet, powerful set of brakes with excellent modulation. Single-finger braking is also a realistic possibility from the hoods.

SRAM Rival AXS bottom line

SRAM's third-tier road groupset has struggled compared to Shimano 105 Di2 R7100 since the latter launched – it was heavier and, on complete bikes, it tended to be more expensive.

This latest iteration, however, undercuts 105 Di2 by 32g (claimed), and as a full aftermarket groupset, it's £154 / $126 cheaper. Even when you add the power meter, it's still £9 / $39 less.

It remains to be seen how that pans out on complete bikes, but the bike I’ve been testing Rival AXS on is a new limited-edition Boardman 9.4 SLR with carbon wheels and a one-piece bar that’s set to retail for £3,100.

In comparison, Trek’s Domane SL 5 Gen 4, at £3,000, comes with a 105 R7100 mechanical groupset and alloy wheels, while Specialized’s Roubaix SL8 Comp with 105 Di2 and alloy DT Swiss wheels is £4,250. Canyon’s Aeroad CF SLX is £4,599 with 105 Di2 R7100.

SRAM originally conceived Rival as a rival to the mid-tier dominance of Shimano 105. With the upgrades to the crankset, the drop in weight and, most importantly, the vast improvement in brake ergonomics and feel, Rival AXS is a rival no more. 

SRAM should consider a name change, because for mid-level groupsets, SRAM Rival AXS is now the victor.