Please let me say up front that I understand that this will sound like someone whining about the biggest champagne problem ever. But, I’m truly interested if I’m crazy or if others are experiencing this slight annoyance with the newest iteration of SRAM Red AXS 2x12 Shifters/Levers. I recently purchased the groupset to replace a Shimano Ultegra 2x12 Di2 groupset, and I can’t quite get used to this one aspect of the ergonomics. I’ll try to explain below…
In general, all the things touted about the improved ergonomics, lighter level pull, more powerful braking, etc. are true. But, has something changed about the placement of the actual shifter paddle due to all of this reshaping and ergonomic update? Compared to my Ultegra Di2 12 Speed levers, when I go to reach for the shifter button my brain and fingers feel like it’s in the “wrong place,” so to speak. More particularly, it’s like the curvature of the brake lever, coupled with the shape of the hood in general, places the actual shifter paddle further back toward the rear of the bike than the extended/updated lever shape implies. Therefore, when I go to click through a few gears quickly, I tend to miss the shifter paddle sometimes, and I hit the actual lever itself. Then, I have to reach my fingers further back toward the bike in order to find the lever. This kind of requires me to rotate my hand a bit oddly back toward the outside of the lever and back toward the frame. With my Ultegra Di2, I can easily click through a few gears with either my ring or middle finger without having to do this maneuver, and it seems like my fingers are right where they need to be without changing my grip on the levers. This is especially true when climbing out of the saddle and trying to make sure at least one finger and my thumb remain firmly wrapped for stability and grip. Also, all of this coupled with the slightly firmer button tension of the new levers on Red AXS make it less snappy to click through a few gears.
I’m not sure if any of this makes sense, but am I crazy here, or is anyone else who is lucky enough to have the new group experiencing this at all?
Have you tried adjusting the lever position? On my gen-1 Force AXS shifters there is a screw that adjusts the resting position of the lever. Not sure if that is in the same place on yours.
Yes, I’ve played with the reason adjust, and I probably should have clarified up front that I’ve tinkered with that option. In my stream of consciousness-style posting, I simply omitted including that fact.
But, it’s not really a question of too much lever reach, etc. Rather, it kind of the opposite, but only as it relates to the actual shifter button itself – NOT the lever. I don’t have small hands, and the reach really isn’t a problem. But, even with the reach wound all the way out, when I place my hands naturally where they “want” to fall on the new extended lever shape, my issue is that shifter button feels slightly too far back toward the bike relative to the actual brake lever. So, with my hands draped naturally on the hoods, with a finger over the lever, it just kind of takes a weird finger posture to “find” the shifter button, where I don’t recall this being an issue with the last version of SRAM AXS, or my Ultegra Di2.
As you suggest, I’m sure I’ll adjust eventually. It just strikes me as a slightly strange ergonomic quirk that I was curious if others have experienced.
OP, I know what you mean. Going back and forth between current gen Force levers and newest gen Red levers, it does feel like the Red levers are closer to the bar than the Force levers. I also find that my hands naturally rest more on the brake lever than the shift lever with the Red levers, but the reverse on the Force levers.
Probably because of that, I’ve also found myself shifting primarily with the accessory button when on the hoods. I will sometimes shift the main lever with a knuckle, but that’s not really a race situation move, more like a long Z2 ride move.
My plan is to try rotating my Red levers inward more while the bike is on the trainer this winter. I think that will help the Red lever position without compromising the accessory button position, but we’ll see.
In my stream of consciousness-style posting, I simply omitted including that fact.