Necessity for SRAM AXS road flattop chains. Stock up on a bunch especially if you need to take your chain on/off frequently (like for waxing). Not 100% sure on the one-time use aspect, but better to be safe than to risk damaging your drivetrain.
Really make sure to line up the notches and make sure it's securely locked. I've had times where I line up the notch on the front, but the notch looked "OK" in the back. Nope! That resulted in a snapped power lock
IMO best looking rotor on the market, also very reliable and works great in mixed conditions. The edge of the rotor is polished so wont cut your hands/skin. And the rotor is very sturdy, wont warp as easily as the Shimano ICETECH Steel/aluminum/steel sandwiched rotors. Cheaper than Shimano/SRAM rotors. Great value. Not the lightest rotors on the market, but it's only 20g of difference, 2 rotors is 40 ish grams. Equiped all my bikes to these rotors.
I decided to try the Absolute Black Graphene pads after seeing positive reviews in cycling media. and having a sketchy experience on a long, steep road descent when I had some severe brake fade with Sram Rival brakes with conventional organic pads. The graphene pads were noted for having superior heat dissipation, and in my experience so far, that seems to be true. A couple weeks after installing them, I did a big climbing day that ended with a 20+ mile descent. I'm a bigger guy, at around 195 lbs., but since getting these pads I haven't had any issues with brake fade, and the modulation and stopping power are as good or better than with regular organic pads. They also seem to be lasting longer than regular organic pads. So, while they're pricey compared to conventional pads, I feel like I'm getting my money's worth in terms of performance and safety, and I highly recommend these if you're in need of an upgrade.
I like how you can place these shifters where ever its most comfortable/convenient. In my case, I placed them on my aerobars on my road bike. This enabled me to keep my hands on the aerobars while shifting, greatly reducing the number of times I have to reach for the hood shifters. This enables quicker shifting and a smoother ride. It was easy to pair these with my AXS system.
Two things could be improved.
(1) The battery. I'd like to see a replaceable or rechargeable battery. This would extend the like of the blips.
(2) Providing more (or better) options for mounting these securely. My aerobars are round and pretty thin. The mounting stickers and cheap plastic mounting covers don't appear to provide long-term protection from falling off. Time will tell though. The plastic covers don't fit well around thin, round bars. I realize you can try to wrap some bar tape around them to help with this, but they are so small it makes it difficult to get them wrapped without having to cut the bar tape to avoid the blip contact points.
