My beloved 2022 Grail AL 7 SRAM eTap Rival was stolen (luckily someone talked me into bike insurance!) and I want to replace it now. I'm thinking about these two:
I'd of course prefer to spend less money than more, but I first and foremost wanna make sure that this is "the bike". I'm not going to buy another one (unless stolen).
I'll be using it for travelling through the city, for sportive riding through forests and some light mountain and gravel biking.
Things I'm unsure about:
- How much of a difference in terms of speed the weight difference (0.64 kg) between them will make
- SRAM RED XPLR AXS 13-speed vs SRAM Force XPLR AXS, 12-speed – will gear changes be quicker / smoother? Or is the main difference just weight? (About 300g)?
- If I need a power meter (I know, a highly subjective question)
- The difference between a CF and CFR frame (just marketing?)
The rest seems pretty similar on both bikes. I honestly like the color options on the XPLR A LOT more, but not 3000€ difference more… 😀
Anyone got any pointers?
Thanks!
by Ekkobelli
1 Comment
Normally I’d say you’re not going to be able to tell the difference and to get the cheaper one but in this instance it may be worth it. The new red is a lot better, the brakes are much better, there’s an extra gear and it has bigger range as well as smaller jumps between the gears. The hoods have extra buttons and additional adjustments (eg. Brake contact). The new wheels are way more aero at 40mm external. So there’s a lot to love on the CFR