SRAM AXS Gearing

richard36

Would appreciate some advice. I'm shortly buying a 'summer' bike with SRAM Etap Force AXS. The gearing on my existing 'summer' bike is 50/34 and 11-25. With Force AXS 48/35 and 46/33 is available and 10-28 and 10-33. Where I live isn't super hilly so I was going to go for 48/35 and 10-28 but is there any disadvantage in going for 10-33? Thanks

the_jackalcp

48/35 is the equivalent of a traditional semi compact but you will be offsetting this with the 28t. The closest to what you have would be 46/33 and 10-26. This would allow you to benefit from 8 single tooth jumps. If you ride high cadence then this is probably ideal.

The 10-33 just gives you more climbing gears and less single tooth jumps. Your riding style will determine if this is a good thing or not.

richard36

Thanks for the reply but don't fully understand it!! I assumed 48/35 was nearer to 50/34 than 46/33 but you seem to be saying it's not, and that I should go for 46/33; is that right and if so why? I'm not a particularly high cadence rider but neither am I a 'grinder'

Any good articles/websites where I can learn more about gearing ratios and what might be best for me?

Thanks again

thecycleclinic

Gear ratios. Read up on gear ratios.

With 50/34 and 11 28t top gear is 50/11 and low gear is 34/28.so work this out as decimal and do the same for the axs gearing and see which options come.out closest to what you have

You can do that in a calculator. The higher the number the taller the gear the lower the number the lower the gear.

I wont tell the right answer as the right answer is whatever you decide.

the_jackalcp

As already suggested it comes down to gear ratios. SRAM has a nice info graphic that explains it pretty well.

In simple terms a 46/10 gives faster top speed than a 50/11 and a 33/26 an easier climbing gear than 34/25, effectively the best of both worlds. By using a 46t front for general riding it will mean you are further down the cassette for a given speed than if using traditional compact. This means you will most likely have more single tooth jumps (when on a 10-26) rather than shifting to a gear that’s too big and therefore slows your cadence too much. This is perhaps where the AXS ethos is at its strongest.

If you want the AXS gearing to be the closest match to what you have now then get 46/33 and a 10-26. If you think you need more gearing/speed on the flat then go 48/35. As mentioned above, input the data into a gear calculator, compare the different set ups and compare your average cadences.

richard36

Thanks for the advice

I've done the maths and think I'll go for a 10-33 cassette but not sure about the chainrings.

Force AXS offers either 48/35 or 46/33. My existing gearing is 50/34 and 11-25 and I manage okay with these gears though I would like an easier hill climbing gear hence the reason to go with a 10-33 cassette.

For the chainrings the number for 50/11 is 4.55. For 48/10 the number is 4.8 and for 46/10 it's 4.6. At the other end the number for 34/25 is 1.36, for 35/33 it's 1.06 and for 33/33 it's 1.00. Both of these numbers are below my existing gearing of 1.36.

My question is is 4.8 (48/10) for the chainring okay and not too much more than 4.55 (50/11) or should I stick to 46/10 which is 4.6?

Hope all this makes sense and thanks

the_jackalcp

Don’t get too caught up in the 10T cog. How often do you spin out the 50/11 currently?I’m guessing not very often. For me the real focus should be on how you use the midrange gears. I believe the best selection is the cassette/chainring combo that keeps you mid cassette as much as possible and gives you single tooth gear changes. This is probably a 46/33 with a 10-28 to give you an easier climbing gear. Equally if you went 48/35 it would just push you up the cassette a bit. You would then more likely want a 10-33 and you would lose the close ratios.

Difficult to really help you further without knowing your riding style/terrain etc but the above is my take on it