I actually would have liked to try that back then. I also would have liked to try the various semi-automatic shifting modes, too. But the loaner did not include any cables nor the Bluetooth module.
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Even the least fit riders I know including a lot of AARP members who donāt give two hoots about their performance can get up just about anything with their 34x34, Iām not sure who this wider SRAM range benefits practically speaking.
Also as someone who owns both 2x11 Di2 and Eagle AXS i will give my experience. Took the MTB for an easy ride yesterday on a flat gravel path. Tried to keep HR in endurance zone and spent a hell of a long time gear hunting because the jumps in that 10-50 cassette are HUGE. I would never want this kind of gearing on the road, itās not a limiter on MTB trails but was really frustrating yesterday. MTB is a different story but I donāt see what road bikes have to gain from 1x that makes up for the downfalls
my college daughter recently informed me that she can get an AARP card and all the discounts 
Iām bigger rider and going up hills on 33x36 was better than doing the DeathRide on 34x32 (65rpm for 8 hours baby!!!). The Tarmac is 35x36 so a little better than the 34x34 upgrade I had on the Domane before selling it this year.
Shimano vs SRAM is mostly a wash for me, but I truly dig the aesthetics of SRAM Red AXS crankset & power meter. And the clutch = no chain slap so far. Definitely warming up to the closer gearing. But Iād ride either of them to be honest.
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I didnāt want to throw it in this thread but the rise of 1 x transmission (planetary hubs) is happening also. These systems in the future will be within a few hundred grams of wheels we have now but allow frame manufactures a world of new development.
If Shimano was really smart about this they would have bought a transmission company and developed a great 1 x system with there wheels and handed it over to the manufactures and said build amazing frames.
That would be proactive, instead they are being mediocre and reactive and still a little behind IMO
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Even on the road I donāt think thatās true when you live close to proper mountains and you want to spin. Let me illustrate that on a Strava segment that I recently climbed in Z2. Iām fairly fit, so Z2 translated to about 258 W (77 % of FTP) or 3.5 W/kg. That is way higher W/kg than what many unfit people have. My average cadence was 74, and in some parts of the climb it was much lower than that. Since my lowest gear was 42:36 = 1.18, if I had 1-to-1 gearing, itād be 18 % lower. But IMHO once you plug in, say, 2.5 Wk/kg and compute, youāll see that normal people need to grind on many hills. Especially if the person does not correspond to the archetypical image of a cyclist Why? Itās 2021, this can be fixed with proper gearing. Cycling is way more fun if you donāt have to grind. Even Phil Gaimon uses 34:40 on his Everesting bike, and he puts out more power during his Everesting attempts than many ordinary people do when they climb.
Once you want to go off-road, even a little, then it is plain as day that 1-to-1 gearing is nowhere near enough. I blame the stupid separation between road bikes and gravel bikes that Shimano has in mind. 11-34 just doesnāt have the range to cover all applications of drop bar bikes.
I have a 1x setup on my road bike with a 10-36 cassette. The gaps between gears feel identical to those of my 11-32 cassette I used previously, save for the extra gear, of course. With a 42-tooth chain ring I have enough climbing gears, too. Only Z2 training rides in the mountains are more challenging than with my previous setup (50/34 with an 11-32 cassette).
This.
On my old road bike I had 34:32 = 1.05 as my lowest gear and I used that gear much more often on climbs than youād think for a fit person.
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I think the new cables are so that you can fit 3 cables into the seatpost battery, doing away with the need for a junction B.
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No, SRAM offers 30:36 = 0.83 as its lowest officially supported 2x gear ratio (43/30 crankset with 10-36 cassette), which is significantly lower than 1.00 = 34:34 or 1.05 =34:32. Its smallest 1x gear ratio on a road-style setup is 38:44 = 0.86 (38-tooth chain ring and 10-44 cassette). Phil Gaimonās lowest Everesting gear ratio is 34:40 = 0.85, i. e. very close to SRAMās lowest 1x and 2x gear ratios. So no, Shimano is still leaving that unaddressed, and IMHO one of the reasons is their focus on the pro peloton.
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Shimano offers 30:34 on Claris.
Which is relevant how? We are talking about high-end 12-speed groupsets.
So why are we wanting sub 1:1 gearing on high end race group sets?
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Starting with an actual 10% climb / 7.5minute at 282W / 108% ftp, on 34x34 and using a gear calculator to compare here are the differences:
- 65rpm on 34x32 Shimano
- 68rpm on 34x34 Shimano
- 71rpm on 35x36 SRAM
- 74rpm on 33x36 SRAM
A couple months ago I did one of my favorite 10% climbs at 273W / 17+ minutes / 68rpm, on 33x36.
Go ahead and get a good laugh at my ~2.8W/kg awesomeness, but SRAM gearing actually appealed to me for the reasons above. Even if I hit my body comp and fitness goals, Iām looking at likely topping out at 3.3W/kg. And will still want that SRAM low gear.
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Irrational? Yes. Fully supported? Yup.Because thatās a large customer segment: older people with cash to spare, but they are not necessarily fit. Do you think all Porsche owners are good drivers, too? 
And I think the market has changed, people want multi surface bikes. Call it gravel if you must. Shimano is leaving this market segment to SRAM, at least if you want to be flexible and/or on the cutting edge.
New groups offer more range than any DA sku that Iām aware of. So they are ādoing betterā.
We might get to see a GRX 1x12 with clutches and all that when that comes around again.
Shimano isnāt going to water dow. DuraAce ājust becauseā. They build them to certain markets. Apparently you arenāt in the DA/Ultegra market.
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Sure, but I think it is fair to compare them to the competition, and they fall short in what I think are significant ways. They lost market share to SRAM for mountain bike group sets because they were very late releasing 1x12 group sets.
My previous road bike had a Ultegra 6800/105-equivalent mix, my mountain bike has an XT drive train and my current road bike Force eTap AXS. (I would have gotten Red cranks, but they were not available in a reasonable time frame.) I think Iām squarely in the Ultegra/DuraAce market segment.
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Thatās a crutch, not a solution.
If it is not officially supported, then OEMs arenāt going to spec it. Hence, most people wouldnāt even know that it is possible. Ideally, you want a whole range of officially supported cassettes that are specified to work with those cassettes.
And imagine if you had to ride that climb in Z3 instead, because e. g. you are spending a whole day in the saddle. Outch. My knee joints cry out in sympathy.
I was speaking of a trend. SRAMās market share is still small, but IMHO there are signs that it is rising. I noticed that a lot of the big manufacturers have been offering their bikes with both drive train options (e. g. BMC, Canyon, Cube). A few years ago, many were Shimano-exclusive. IMHO this is a good thing, because competition is good for customers.
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Great question
I have been running a 1x mechanical Ultegra RD w/o clutch for ~18 months on my gravel bikeā¦I think I have had one dropped chain.
And that includes some really rough gravel, including The Rift in Iceland.
A clutch RD is nice, but hardly mandatory, IME.
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Yup. A few weeks ago I rode up Mt. Constitution with some friends. Itās not incredibly high, but Iām not incredibly strong, either. I had to spin my 32x34 drivetrain at sub-60 rpm for over an hour to get up there. I think my legs wouldāve been much happier with me if I had been able to run 42x52.