SRAM Force eTap AXS vs Shimano Ultegra Di2

Jimbo789

I’ve never had a bike with electronic shifting but is definitely something I’d consider on buying a new bike.

It would seem that Force eTap has 2 major advantages over Ultegra Di2, being 12 speed and having no cables.

I don’t see any major advantage of Ultegra Di2 over Force eTap but a few minor ones like being slightly cheaper, slightly lighter and the additional buttons on top of the hoods for toggling between screens on bike computer.

Am I missing anything obvious as to why I should buy Ultegra Di2 over Force eTap?

fat bloke

I would personally be of the opinion that one advantage of the ultegra is how common it is and how long it has been around, making it extremely extensively tried and tested in the real world. The Sram is newer and more flash but (though I wouldn't buy either myself) if it were my money I'd be attracted by the potential reliability of the ultegra.

hesker

I have Di2 and have seen SRAM up close.

I thought the SRAM rd was monstrously huge but looks aside I think the SRAM probably has more advantages.

I don’t have di2 that long and haven’t yet got fully used to the close placement of the up/ down paddles. Still love the system though but only bought because I got a good deal.

Jimbo789

hesker wrote: »

I have Di2 and have seen SRAM up close.

I thought the SRAM rd was monstrously huge but looks aside I think the SRAM probably has more advantages.

I don’t have di2 that long and haven’t yet got fully used to the close placement of the up/ down paddles. Still love the system though but only bought because I got a good deal.

Would the Bluetooth/Ant+ enabling unit on Di2 come as standard on most bikes or is that something that usually needs to be added? Without it I think you have to plug it into your laptop.

Luxman

Jimbo789 wrote: »

Would the Bluetooth/Ant+ enabling unit on Di2 come as standard on most bikes or is that something that usually something that needs to be added? Without it I think you have to plug it into your laptop.

Need to be added and it ain’t cheap. I have di2 and think it’s brill. I came very close to purchasing sram but was put off by the.reported cassette noises. Then sram releases washers to quieten it but apparently a new red cassette is the ultimate fix. Mate has sram and seems happy with it.

joey100

Bluetooth part has to be bought, around 80 euro, but that's only so you can do it thru your phone. Its simple to download to a pc and use the charging cable to hook it up. Or if you want to sync between manual and synchro shifting you can just use the junction box.

Like others I looked at both. I found, for disc brakes, the ultegra hoods were neater. Didn't like the sram as much.

Wheels need to be able to take a 12 speed cassette too, you might be able to get a free hub that can or it might need new wheels. The chain and cassette for the sram was more expensive too, parts that will need to be changed.

Just found parts more available for di2, it's been around longer so most of the bugs have been figured out. I prefer the hoods and levers of the shimano and how the crankset looks too.

triggermortis

I have Di2 on the good bike and no knowledge of etap.
Di2 is great. Gear changes ALWAYS work (once you get used to what button to push, especially when wearing gloves) and you can trim on the go if anything goes out of trim. The battery lasts ages. I last charged mine in March at start of lockdown 1 and it’s still going.
The extras are expensive and don’t even include cables, which is another cost, but I don’t have those as I don’t need them.
I’d definitely recommend an electronic set up to anyone

Jimbo789

Having the Bluetooth/Ant+ compatibility would be handy for seeing the battery level and seeing what mode you are in on your bike computer.

Flaccus

I have Force AXS. One thing to consider is it's extremely noisy drive train compared to Ultegra Di2. It almost sounds like something is not adjusted correctly with the rear mech. It's actually the crappy force cassette or should I say the black paint on it. The only fix for a semi quiet drive train is to splash out on a RED AXS cassette. One plus is micro adjustment of the rear mech. If the chain is rubbing slightly against the cog below or the cog above you press either axs button on the the shifters to move the chain inboard or outboard in 0.2mm increments and you can do this with each cog. Once you set it once it's done, and you can do it while riding if you like. Only other benefit is wireless of course. The mechs are ugly though.

hesker

Jimbo789 wrote: »

Having the Bluetooth/Ant+ compatibility would be handy for seeing the battery level and seeing what mode you are in on your bike computer.

Battery lasts so long you’re not going to use this much really. It is handy to be able to control the bike computer alright.

The most useful extra for me is the junction A that fits in the bar end. So much neater.

fat bloke

Flaccus wrote: »

I have Force AXS. One thing to consider is it's extremely noisy drive train compared to Ultegra Di2. It almost sounds like something is not adjusted correctly with the rear mech. It's actually the crappy force cassette or should I say the black paint on it. The only fix for a semi quiet drive train is to splash out on a RED AXS cassette. One plus is micro adjustment of the rear mech. If the chain is rubbing slightly against the cog below or the cog above you press either axs button on the the shifters to move the chain inboard or outboard in 0.2mm increments and you can do this with each cog. Once you set it once it's done, and you can do it while riding if you like. Only other benefit is wireless of course. The mechs are ugly though.

Splash out it is right at 250 quid!!:eek:

Whyner

Is SRAM red axs much quieter than Force? I'm still considering that canyon ultimate with red

A smooth drivetrain is essential at that price, as in smoother than Cillian Murphy reading bedtime stories

Flaccus

Whyner wrote: »

Is SRAM red axs much quieter than Force? I'm still considering that canyon ultimate with red

A smooth drivetrain is essential at that price, as in smoother than Cillian Murphy reading bedtime stories

Sram is noisier than Shimano. And force is noisier than red only because of the rear cassette. The red cassette makes zero noise.

Here is an extreme example of the noise from the force cassette. Note, chain has nothing to do with it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCNxq69wuPc

To get rid of 80% of that noise there is quick fix. These rubber rings sit between the 2 smallest cogs and helped me a lot.
https://www.lordgun.com/noise-reduction-rings-kit-sram-stealth-cassette-force-axs-xg-1270-1

The root cause of the noise is simply the thicker black paint on the force cassette and over time it will fade.

Unless you have your bike on a stand all the time the noise isn't going to bother you in my view. If it does, either get the rings (they ship now on all new force cassettes) or splash out on the red cassette.

at1withmyself

Flaccus wrote: »

One plus is micro adjustment of the rear mech. If the chain is rubbing slightly against the cog below or the cog above you press either axs button on the the shifters to move the chain inboard or outboard in 0.2mm increments and you can do this with each cog. Once you set it once it's done, and you can do it while riding if you like.

Di2 has this function too, you can modify on the fly while still cycling.

Flaccus

at1withmyself wrote: »

Di2 has this function too, you can modify on the fly while still cycling.

Didn't realise you could do that on the rear mech while cycling.

LollipopJimmy

I have Di2 Ultegra and added the Bluetooth thingy, great for controlling the screen on the garmin and I believe they connect to certain lights too. The etube app is pretty cool and once the bike is set up the gear changes are super slick, this to me is the biggest advantage, each gear change sounds like a well oiled rifle.

I had the 6800 or whatever number Di2 bit with the Bluetooth battery and then did a deal to trade it against an R8050 groupset, not much difference. (Note the Bluetooth battery isn't actually Bluetooth it just enables you to add the Bluetooth thingy)

I was in the same predicament as your good self and tbh they're much of a muchness but the Sram just wasn't to my taste aesthetically.

Luxman

Thats interesting, I have the 8050 (newer) version of Ultegra and also used the 6870 version, and think the 8050 is quite a bit slicker with gear changes.

LollipopJimmy

Luxman wrote: »

Thats interesting, I have the 8050 (newer) version of Ultegra and also used the 6870 version, and think the 8050 is quite a bit slicker with gear changes.

There is a difference alright but I didn't find it to be night and day tbh.