SRAM Rvial AXS Questions

j_vora

Have two questions with respect to the recently introduced SRAM Rival AXS Groupset - :

1. What is the “brake contact adjustment”, a feature that is depreciated for the Rival AXS, but exists on Force AXS & Red AXS. Is it the point of adjustibility when the brake pads touch the rotors ? How big a deal is not not having this adjustability ?

2. There is a difference in ways to bleed the brakes on Rival AXS when compared to Force AXS & Red AXS. - Not sure I understand the difference, kindly explain.


Thanks

Jai

whyamihere

1. Correct. On Red and Force, you can change this so you have more or less lever travel before the pads make contact. I'd say this is a nice to have. Whether it's important to you or not depends on how picky you are about brake feel. Some people like immediate contact with little lever movement, some don't or don't care. It's just preference rather than anything performance related. I have bikes with the adjustment and without it. It's nice on the ones where I have it, but the ones without it are fine too.

2. Rival calipers don't have the 'Bleeding Edge' port. These are quite nice, because the syringe connector is inserted, then the nipple is loosened and vice versa for removal, and that all happens in such a way that fluid doesn't really leak out. Using the method used on Rival calipers, the syringe threads in to the caliper using the same threaded connector as is used at the lever end, with a grub screw in the caliper acting as the seal. Some fluid loss can occur between taking off the syringe and getting the grub screw back in place - Not enough to affect the bleed generally, but it can be a bit messy. Again, not a deal breaker. I have bikes with both systems, and they're all pretty easy to bleed, just think about what you're doing, make sure everything's within reach etc.

EDIT: The one feature which would make me choose Red or Force over Rival is the ability to fit additional shift buttons. Red can have 2 extra sets, Force can have 1 extra set. On my Force equipped winter bike, I have a set of additional buttons next to the stem which means I can shift on the tops, which is great on a longer climb where I want to use that position. I've not bothered to fit any on the Red equipped summer bike as they don't really fit well on aero bars, but it's nice to have the option.

j_vora

Thanks whyamihere -

Your explanations were precisely the kind of answers I was looking for - clear, detailed and based on experience !

👌🏼