SRAM’s wireless gruppo Red eTap released

Sharp gear spotters have seen SRAM’s first foray into electronic shifting popping up in the pro peloton throughout the past few years. The wireless system would even have dud wires attached to try and throw people of course. On Wednesday, at Eurobike, SRAM revealed just what the pros have been testing: SRAM Red eTap.

The system is essentially SRAM Red with new derailleurs, front and rear, and new shift levers. The levers send wireless signals to the derailleurs via Airea, which is the protocol that SRAM developed just for this system. It uses 128-bit encryption that, once all the components are paired, should be unhackable. The company has tried to ensure that another rider won’t be able to patch into your system and drop you into a high gear just as you hit the steepest part of a climb.

The eTap method of shifting is different from SRAM’s DoubleTap on its mechanical gruppos. With eTap, the right lever shifts to higher gears (that is, makes pedalling harder) and the left lever shifts into lower gears (makes pedalling easier). To switch between the large and small chainrings, push in both levers at the same time. The action will simply move the chain into whichever ring is free.

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The rear derailleur has a claimed weight of 239 g with its battery. It’s low-end range is a 28-tooth cog. The front derailleur weighs in at 187 g with its battery. The batteries in the derailleurs are interchangeable so if you run out of juice at the back, you can swap it, tool free, with the cell in the front. Each battery is said to take 45 minutes to charge with the USB charger, which also has an A/C adapter. The company says you should be able to ride 1,000 km on one charge. Unlike Shimano and Campagnolo’s electronic systems, the eTap is not “always on.” The SRAM system will go to sleep to extend battery life. Once your bike starts moving, an accelerometer will wake things up. Each lever runs on a watch-style battery, CR2032.

If you want to outfit your bike with climbing shifters on to tops of your bars or sprint shifters in the drops, SRAM offers Blips. A Blip can get wrapped under your bar tape, wherever you like, and send signals to a derailleur. You don’t have to cut the tape to access the Blip button, just push the Blips bump. The Blips are wired to the levers. If you have a TT bike not running the eTap levers, you’ll need a BlipBox to run Blips at the end of your aero bars. Blips come in lengths of 150 mm (6 g), 230 mm (7 g), 450 mm (8 g) and 650 mm (9 g).

SRAM Red eTap U.S. pricing