SRAM’s top-tier road groupset, Red eTap AXS, was last updated in 2019. Despite fast approaching its fifth birthday, it’s still among the best road bike groupsets available today, but it appears SRAM has its replacement lined up. Following patents surfacing last year, there have been plenty of rumours suggesting a new version is on the way in 2024. The rumours appear to be true after photos were leaked on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday by user @MoBaohua.
The three photos show the rear cluster, including the rear derailleur with cassette and chain; a front shift/brake lever fitted to a road handlebar, and a disc brake rotor and caliper. We reached out to SRAM, but the brand chose not to comment on the matter, so at this stage, SRAM hasn’t confirmed the authenticity of the products in the photos, and their origin remains unclear. They appear to be from a studio photoshoot. The images also appear to match the patents which leaked late last year, as well as the photos of the prototype groupset that Movistar used at their December training camp back in 2022.
One of the biggest things given away is that SRAM is sticking with 12-speed, rather than pushing up to 13. Also noteworthy here is the 10-tooth small sprocket, as this cassette appears to be a 10-36T option, as exists in the current range. It makes sense, and maintains the impressive level of compatibility across SRAM’s road and gravel groupsets. It also suggests that SRAM will retain the XDR freehub standard. Finally, it suggests that SRAM has remained conscious of weight, with what appear to be holes milled out of the body of the parallelogram.
The second photo shows a totally new shifter shape, with what appears to be a smaller hood, a less bulky lever, and a sleeker shift paddle, in a design which matches those leaked in 2022 at the Movistar training camp. The single button suggests that SRAM is sticking with the DoubleTap shifting logic, and the button itself appears shallower, which should help to negate the problem found by those with small hands. The third photo shows a tightly cropped photo of the brake lever and brake rotor mounted to the fork of a Specialized Tarmac. The rotor appears to have had a total overhaul.
In short, we don’t know! On the assumption that these photos are legitimate, given they show a nearly-finished groupset, it would seem likely to expect a launch this year. We have recently been at the Tour Down Under – the first WorldTour race of the season – and as shown in our tech gallery from the race, none of the SRAM-sponsored teams were using it there, which suggests it’s not coming right away. The next big races to look out for it will be the Spring Classics, but we’ll be on the ground at various early-season races so we’ll be sure to keep an eye out.