Unbound Gravel race weekend is right here. Hundreds of novice {and professional} racers are descending upon Emporia, Kansas, in the course of nowhere America, for the world’s premier gravel race.
As race day approaches on Saturday, June 1, riders are hitting the course for shakeout and recon rides. Along with pondering tire selections, warming up the legs and testing their gear choices, some riders are acquainting themselves with yet-to-be launched tools that will likely be raced for the very first time right here throughout the 200 miles of Tallgrass Prairie and Flint Hills.
For the previous few years, because the competitors and status at Unbound have grown, the race has additionally turn into a launching pad and proving floor for cutting-edge gravel tech. For the eagle-eyed amongst us, there is a good probability you could spot one thing uncommon.
We obtained fortunate early on, once we noticed this probably new SRAM gravel drivetrain on a gaggle experience this morning. Might this be the brand new SRAM Pink XPLR AXS?
What caught my eye was the beefy SRAM transmission-style rear derailleur. Launched as a part of its Eagle mountain bike line in 2023, the SRAM Transmission is a 1x 12-speed wi-fi digital drivetrain that’s not solely freed from any wires, it additionally features with no derailleur hanger, restrict screws or B-tension changes.
Is that this SRAM’s new 13-speed SRAM Pink AXS XPLR?
(Picture credit score: Anne-Marije Rook)
It is designed to be mounted on to the body across the wheel axle, instead of the place a derailleur hanger could be. It does requires a frameset with the Common Derailleur Hanger (UDH) interface, however fortunately the adoption fee of this normal is rising extensively amongst body producers.
Since its launch, the system has garnered favorable evaluations for its robustness and ease with loads of movies circling across the web of individuals kicking and leaping on the derailleur with out having an impression.
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Like the remainder of SRAM’s wi-fi groupsets, the wi-fi derailleur is powered by the identical small AXS batteries we have turn into aware of throughout the wi-fi programs. On the handlebars we noticed what look like the identical shifters that had been revealed as a part of the American producer’s SRAM Pink AXS street groupset only a few weeks in the past, and the brake calipers additionally seem to taken from this groupset —each of which galvanized our reviewers right here at Biking Weekly.
“The braking efficiency is now genuinely finest at school, which is really spectacular, and shift high quality is barely higher than the outgoing Pink,” wrote Joe Baker.
Effectively these look acquainted. These look like the identical shifters as used within the new SRAM Pink AXS street groupset launched only a few weeks in the past.
(Picture credit score: Anne-Marije Rook)
Nonetheless, this new gravel groupset sports activities one thing the street groupset does not have, Transmission apart, and that could be a thirteenth cog. I obtained shut sufficient to rely the rings of the cassette myself, and positive sufficient, there are 13 cogs within the again. Till now, Campagnolo was the one producer to utilize 13-speed cassettes in its gravel groupsets. SRAM launched 12-speed drivetrains in its mountain bike line first in 2016 and carried it over to street and gravel in 2019. Shimano has been enjoying catch-up within the gravel house, introducing 12-speed mechanical GRX simply final 12 months and the digital 12-speed GRX solely final week.
As of but, it’s unknown when SRAM will make the 13-speed SRAM Pink AXS XPLR out there commercially, although it is probably that we’ll see it by the tip of the summer time.
