SRAM's new Red XPLR AXS groupset: More gears, lightweight, bombproof, best-in-class braking, but how does it ride?

Can technological advancements surpass the constraints of frame compatibility and premium price tag?

SRAM Red XPLR AXS
(Image credit: Anne-Marije Rook)

In recent years, Unbound has become the world's biggest and most prestigious gravel race. Along with launching rider careers, it has also become a testing and proving ground for the latest cutting-edge gravel tech. For the eagle-eyed among us, there's a good chance you may spot something new or unreleased. At this year's event, I got lucky early on when, on a shake-out ride, I spotted something new aboard the bikes of pro riders Haley Smith, Keegan Swenson and Russel Finsterwald, among others.

What at first glance looked like a SRAM mullet build, which features a 12-speed mountain bike transmission rear derailleur, was, in fact, a new gravel drivetrain altogether. A closer look at the UDH-mounted derailleur, the number of rings on the cassette, and the teeth on the biggest cog confirmed it: this was the unreleased 13-speed SRAM Red XPLR AXS we'd heard rumours about.

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Anne-Marije Rook
North American Editor

Cycling Weekly's North American Editor, Anne-Marije Rook is old school. She holds a degree in journalism and started out as a newspaper reporter — in print! She can even be seen bringing a pen and notepad to the press conference.

Originally from The Netherlands, she grew up a bike commuter and didn't find bike racing until her early twenties when living in Seattle, Washington. Strengthened by the many miles spent darting around Seattle's hilly streets on a steel single speed, Rook's progression in the sport was a quick one. As she competed at the elite level, her journalism career followed, and soon she became a full-time cycling journalist. She's now been a cycling journalist for 11 years.