Force E1

In my last post about switching to SRAM Force E1, I compared the setups I’m considering using range percentages — 494% for the 2x, 460% for XPLR, and so on. Range is the number every manufacturer prints on the box, and it’s also the least useful number for deciding what to actually ride. Two drivetrains with identical range can feel completely different, because range tells you nothing about where the gears sit between the extremes. ...

If you’ve been watching professional racing over the last few years, you’ve probably noticed more riders lining up to flat stages with a single chainring up front. Jonas Vingegaard has made it almost a signature — swapping to a 1x setup on stages where the terrain doesn’t demand the range of a full 2x drivetrain. The question worth asking is what those setups actually look like, why pros can get away with them, and whether any of that translates to the rest of us. ...

I’ve been on Shimano since the Ultegra R8100 launched in 2022. Before that, I tried the previous generation of SRAM AXS, and it wasn’t for me. The shifting felt less refined than what I was used to, brake feel was lacking, the hood shape never sat right in my hands, and the front derailleur was finicky — get the setup slightly off and you’d get rubbing, or worse, a dropped chain under load. I went back to Shimano and didn’t look back. ...