Sram Force AXS

Sram's second-tier groupset gets some premium upgrades

- Words Laurence Kilpatrick Photography Joe McGorty

Sram's new Force AXS road groupset has borrowed some of the clothes of its older sibling Red AXS while adding a few neat touches of its own. Measured against Force's previous update in 2023, which mostly just changed the look, the upgrades this time are wide-ranging and include improved braking, shifting and wireless integration.

'We wanted to focus on braking, expanding Red's performance down to Force and Rival, as well as reducing weight,' says Dan Stefiuk, Sram's road product manager. 'This has been achieved via a new shape for the carbon crank arm, a forged carbon pulley cage, an updated rear derailleur shape and a new profile for the levers.'

These weight savings amount to a 183g drop in the 2x Force AXS groupset with spider-based power meter (as seen here) to an overall claimed weight of 2,776g. That means it's now only around 10% heavier than Red AXS despite being over £1,500 cheaper, and compares well with Shimano's R8170 Ultegra Di2, which is 2,716g and £500 more expensive in a comparable setup.

In the hood

Visually, the Red, Force and Rival groupsets are now more aligned, sharing the same brake hood and lever design, changes that carry across into the simultaneously launched Force AXS XPLR gravel-focussed range. Force – unlike the lower-tier Rival – now benefits from the same textured 'bonus buttons' as Red.

'The buttons are on the inside of the hood and it's possible to assign them different functions,' says Stefiuk. 'Meanwhile our improvements to the ergonomics mean all riders can have full control with just a single finger.'