Earlier this year, I bought a new gravel bike. YT was having a very good sale and I was really coveting a new bike. I ended up buying a Szepter Core 3. Although I was a little on the fence about suspension on a gravel bike, I was very curious about SRAM eTap AXS and the reviews of the bike were solid so I went for it.
I ordered it in mid February and it took about ten days to arrive at my door. My out of the box experience was OK. The bike had a slightly bent front brake rotor which caused the brakes to howl horribly unless a little pressure was applied to the brake lever. Although that was disappointing, YT sent me a new rotor right after I contacted them and I was in business in a few days.
Due to family reasons and injury, I couldn’t ride much until May. By now, I’ve been able to ride it enough to have some impressions.
On the plus side:
- SRAM eTap is awesome! It works well and shifts quickly
- The XPLR front shock does a nice job on easy single track
- It looks cool - love the green color
On the negative side:
- It’s a little heavy
- No lockout on the shock
- The name is weird
Overall, I really like it for the sort of gravel riding I do which is mostly short rides on tarmac and gravel roads to easy single track. It wouldn’t be a great bike for a long and non-technical stretch of gravel due to the weight. It is really comfortable but it wouldn’t be as fast as a more road oriented gravel bike in that situation. But get it on a technical decent and it really shines.
Over the past three months, I’ve gotten out on the bike at least two or three times a week and I’m glad I bought it. My next bike will have eTap for sure.