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BUYER'S GUIDE

25 of the best SRAM Red eTap AXS bikes from Specialized, Canyon, Trek, Cannondale and more

Bike makers roll out flagship bikes with SRAM's latest electronic wireless 12-speed shifting

You’ve read all the exciting details about SRAM’s completely updated Red eTap AXS 12-speed groupset and its reconfigured gear ratios, and now you want to get your hands on it right? So here’s a list of several road bike brands that will be offering existing models equipped with the new groupset following the launch - we’ll update this list as more new bikes are released in the coming months.

25 bikes with SRAM Red eTap AXS

Focus

Focus Izalco Max Disc 9.8 2021 — £7,799

2020 Focus izalco max disc 9.8

Fitting Red eTap AXS to the top-of-the-line aero bike is a common strategy among bike makers for 2021 as you'll see throughout this guide. Focus' Izalco Max Disc is an all-round road bike with plenty of aero touches rather than an all-out air-slicer, but with DT Swiss ARC 1450 DICUT wheels it's still no slouch.

Cube

Cube Litening C:68X SLT 2021 — £8,699

2021 Cube Litening C-68X SLT

The flagship of Cube's 2021 range is this go-faster aero bike with Red eTap AXS. Cube claims a reduction in drag of 30% over previous versions and helps it along with DT Swiss ARC 1100 DICUT Carbon 62 wheels.

Trek

Trek has three complete bikes with the Red AXS groupset, but it’s also offering the Madone SLR, Emonda SLR, Domane SLR and Speed Concept through its Project One customisation platform.

Trek Madone SLR 9 eTap 2021 — £13,200

2021 Trek Madone SLR 9 eTap

The speediest bike in Trek's range, the Madone also has the neat trick of employing the IsoSpeed decoupler from the Domane to smooth out beaten up roads.

Trek Emonda SLR 9 eTap 2021 — £10,700

2021 Trek Emonda SLR9 Disc Etap

The latest incarnation of Trek's lightweight Emonda platform also offers the cheapest (or should that be least expensive?) Trek with Red AXS.

Trek Domane SLR 9 eTap 2021 — £11,200

2021 Trek Domane SLR9 eTap

If you want a bike for tapping out the miles for hours on end, however crummy the roads get, then with its front and rear Isospeed and frame clearance for up to 38mm tyres, the Domane is the bike for you.

Cannondale

Cannondale SystemSix Hi-Mod Red eTap AXS 2021 — £10,500

2021 Cannondale SystemSix Hi-Mod Red eTap AXS

Here's Cannondale's SystemSix aero disc-equipped race bike. What a looker with this black and yellow paint finish! Rolling on Cannondale’s very own HollowGram KNOT wheels with a SRAM XDR driver, and combining a 48/35t crankset with a 10-28t cassette.

Read our Cannondale SystemSix first look

Cannondale SuperSix EVO HiMod Red eTap AXS 2021 —£10,499

2021 Cannondale SuperSix EVO HiMod red eTap

If aero isn't your bag, check out Cannondale's SuperSix racing all-rounder in rather splendid champagne pink. (Apparently it's 'lavender' but it sure looks like pink to us!)

Orbea

Orbea OrcaM11eLTD 2021 — £7,999

2021 Orbea OrcaM11eLTD

Orbea’s all-round Orca, the lightest bike it currently offers, is equipped with the Red eTap AXS groupset with a 48/35 chainset and the 10-28t cassette.

Read our review of the Orbea Orca

3T

The Italian company has three complete bikes, with its Strada road bike and Exploro aero gravel bike getting the new Red eTap AXS treatment.

3T Strada Team eTap — £5,250

Strada TEAM RED eTAP side_02

The most radical and divisive new bike launched in as long as I can remember, this is a bike that surely benefits from the wider range and closer ratios delivered by the new SRAM eTap Red AXS groupset.

Read our review of the 3T Strada

3T Strada Due Team Stealth — £8,900

Strada-DUE-TEAM-Stealth-RED-eTAP-side-view_02

The 2x version of the Strada, like the original Strada but with added front mech provision.

3T Strada Due - First Ride Video

Scott

Scott Foil Ultimate Disc 2021 — £10,999

2021 Scott Foil Ultimate Disc

Scott's go-faster flagship gets Red AXS and Zipp wheels.

Canyon

There’s a healthy range of bikes from Canyon with the new groupset, including the race-ready Aeroad as well as the comfort-focused Endurace.

 

Canyon Aeroad CFR Disc eTap 2021 — £9,749

2021 Canyon Aeroad CFR Disc eTap

Canyon Endurace CF SLX Disc 9.0 ETAP — £8,099

2020 Canyon Endurace CF SLX Disc 9.0 ETAP

 

BMC

BMC TeamMachine SLR01 One  2021 — £10,250

2021 BMC Teammachine SLR01 One

As you'd expect with BMC's overall air of technological advancement, the Swiss bike maker has embraced Red AXS. Here its lightweight model rolls on DT Swiss PRC 1100 db Dicut Mon Chasseral wheels.

BMC Timemachine 01 Road One 2021 — £10,000

2021 BMC timemachine road 01 one

The latest incarnation of BMC's air-slicing superbike gets the AXS treatment and DT Swiss ARC 1100 DICUT Carbon wheels for a stunning package with an equally stunning price tag.

BMC URS One 2021 — ~£8,100

2021 BMC URS One

Its Micro Travel Technology seatstays give BMC's flagship gravel bike 10mm of bump absorption out back and it's propelled by a hybrid drivetrain that's mostly Red AXS, but uses SRAM's Eagle AXS cassette and rear derailleur from the mountain bike component range to give a wide gear range with single-chainring simplicity. With WTB 40mm tyres, anything that defeats this bad boy is going to need a mountain bike.

Mason

Mason Cycles Definition Red AXS 2x — £5,995

Definition_grey_SRAMAXS_side

UK brand Mason Cycles offers its aluminium Definition built up with the new SRAM Red eTap AXS groupset.The least expensive bike here by a significant margin, the Definition nevertheless gives little away in terms of ride quality to carbon fibre bikes costing twice as much.

Specialized

Specialized S-Works Diverge 2021 — £8,899

2021 Specialized s-works diverge

Model year 2021 bikes are in the shops and the first with Red AXS is this updated version of Specialized Diverge gravel bike, which continues the evolution of gravel bikes in a direction that's distinctly 'mountain bike with drop handlebars' — but in a very good way.

The S-Works Diverge gloms together Red AXS controls and an XX1 Eagle AXS rear derailleur and 10-50 cassette for a massive gear range from a single chainring. away from the transmission the new incarnation of the Diverge platform gets a Future Shock 2.0 bump absorber in the steerer, revised geometry for better off-road handling and frame clearance for 47mm 700C tyres or 55mm 650Bs.

Read more: Specialized Diverge gravel bike range gets huge redesign

Specialized Aethos Red eTap AXS 2021 — £12,000

2021 Specialized Aethos Red eTap AXS

No sooner had Specialized made us go "Ooh" with the new Diverge than they unleashed the Aethos and made us go "Blimey!". Binning off the aero obsessions of most recent bike design, Specialized came up with a featherweight frame with deeply old-school round tubes that nevertheless rides like a dream.

Read our review of the Specialized Aethos

Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL7 SRAM Red eTap AXS 2021 — £11,750

2021 specialized s-works tarmac sl7 sram red etap axs

Meanwhile, Specialized— whose design department has clearly had a very busy couple of years — was tweaking the Tarmac to improve its aerodynamics. As a result, Specialized no longer offers the ultra-aero Venge as a complete bike; the Tarmac SL7 is as close as makes no difference, they say.

The Dura-Ace version was our 2020/21 Superbike of the Year.

Read our review of the Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL7

Cervelo

Cervelo Caledonia-5 Red eTap AXS 2021 — £11,059

2021 Cervelo caledonia-5 red etap axs

Cervélo puts the Caledonia into a category that it calls 'modern road', meaning that it's intended to tackle tarmac, broken surfaces, potholes and dirt roads. Other brands use the 'all road' label for this kind of bike, although Cervélo is keen to emphasise that the Caledonia is 'race bred', and designed with the Paris-Roubaix pavé in mind.

Read more: Cervélo launches Caledonia all-road bike range

Cervelo R5 AXS — £6,299

sr_factory_builds_inline_cervelo_r5_190110_sram_launch-0960

Designed for flying up climbs and powering along at the front of the peloton, the R5 is Cervelo's stiffest frame.

Giant

 

Giant TCR Advanced SL 0 Disc 2021 — £9,999

2021 Giant Giant TCR Advanced SL 0 Disc

The world's biggest bike maker has just one UK model with Red eTap AXS—but what a model! The Giant TCR Advanced SL 0 Disc was narrowly edged out by the Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL7 in the running for road.cc Superbike of the Year, but still earned high praise from the judges who said "The Giant TCR Advanced SL 0 Disc is a lightweight and hugely responsive road bike with aero features, and it puts in a performance that is stunning. This top-of-the range offering is an absolute beaut!"

Parlee

Parlee RZ7 LE — £11,596

Parlee RZ7 LE

Using the bike builder at Bespoke we put together a version of Parlee's monocoque aero bike with the Red AXS groupset, Zipp 404 NSW wheels and Parlee carbon seatpost, bars and RZ7 stem. Anybody want to buy some teenagers?

Pinarello

Pinarello Dogma F12 — £12,000

pinarello dogma f12

No overview of top-end bikes uwing a new top-end groupset would be complete without the latest version of Pinarello's storied Dogma.

Explore the complete archive of reviews of road bikes on road.cc

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David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes

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NeilXDavis | 3 years ago
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This list does make you realise what a complete rip off road bikes are.  The mark up must be astronomical.  

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