SRAM Breaks New Ground With 12-Speed Red eTap

Symon Lewis gets to grips with a new drivetrain that looks set to ring the changes.

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Spy shots of SRAM-equipped bikes with an extra sprocket have been popping up on social media since the end of last season, so it comes as no surprise that the US brand is now officially launching its new 12-speed group set — but what is surprising is that there’s so much more to it than just an extra gear.

SRAM says it has completely rethought gear ratios and has based its new approach around the use of a 10-tooth sprocket. There are two obvious advantages. A 10-26t 12-speed cassette paired with smaller chainrings — a 50/37 chainset is what SRAM’s race teams will be using — supplies a smaller and bigger gear at either end of the scale; a 50×10 is bigger than 53×11 and 37×26 is smaller than a 39×25.

The other advantage is that you get seven one-tooth steps in the 10-26 cassette compared to the four that an 11-speed, 11-28 cassette gives you.

Smaller rings equals less material in both the chainrings and cassette.