Was never sure if I needed them but once installed I would never do without them again. A good safety feature not having to move your hands around when wanting to change gears. Brilliant wireless technology!
My wife is over her drop bar on her road bike. Partly due to her feeling she doesn't have the control she likes with the steering on dirt/gravel paths so she asked me to swap it with a flat bar with a 2" rise. Easy enough and these blips allow you to continue using your SRAM Rival eTap AXS drivetrain with a hybrid setup. Once you pair all the different pieces to the rear derailleur including the road bike levers you can get rid of your SRAM drop bar shifter/Brake levers for good or until you need to pair them again. The SRAM wireless blips work without the Rival brake/shift levers. Your only decision now is what mountain bike brake levers are you going to use now for braking. I went with the trusty Shimano XT 8100 Brake levers and the Ultegra 8170 brake calipers. Great combo to work with the new SRAM wireless blips. The wireless blips come with multiple options for mounting to the handlebar. I used the plastic ring looking attachment and some electrical tape to blend the blips into the handlebar better. It fits perfectly and hidden somewhat. People ask how my wife shifts her bike because they don't always notice the blips near the Ergon grips. All in all I think SRAM engineering did a great job with these blips. I would buy them again and also recommend them to a friend. Yes, I know you can't swap the batteries or charge it you basically have to replace them once the battery dies. The battery life is all dependent on your riding style. How often you shift during your ride. SRAM says it will last over 2 years and depending on your use maybe 4 to 7 years. That's about $4 a month if it only lasted 2 years, and the cost goes down the longer they last. The other great thing is it works with the SRAM AXS app. Once the battery goes out on mine I will disassemble them to see what's inside. Maybe there's a way to replace the battery after all. Big??
For $99, I think that's fair for a product that is estimated to last 4-7 years. I mounted these on my gravel bike so I could have shift options while riding on the tops, I found this location on the underside of the bar tops is great while cruising along in a group or more upright comfort position at endurance pace for longer events. I used the tape and mounted them under the bar tape with the bar tape closely wrapped to the sides of the blips. They paired easily following instructions and work perfectly. Most will never notice them but I have the extra shift option with multiple hand positions. Outstanding product!
Convenient to locate and have alternate shift locations. Easy to add to AXS eTap Rival once you read far enough into set up details.
I was planning on using these as a climbing satellite shifter. They are just too big and clunky, I don�t like the way they look and feel. I just couldn�t find a good position. If I were building a bikepacking rig these would have a great spot on some aero bars.
Installed and wrapped these wireless blips in the drops of my 22 Roubaix and now I can stay in an aero position without having to reach out or having to loosen my grips on the bars. Pairs easily and very functional. Not sure about having to replace them when the battery dies, but if I can get 5-7 seasons out of these, it would be well worth it.
Placed one at the handlebar top for climbing and one in the drops to activate weeeeee. Easy set-up but just note that the clear plastic thingies that come in the package are one of the options for mounting so don't throw them away thinking it's part of the packaging like I did. It sucks these are throw-away items because you can't replace the batteries. Come on SRAM, do better.
The blips are not compatible with first generation 11-speed Sram Red Etap!!!!
They wok perfectly. My only issue is that you cannot change the battery. Once they run out you throw them away. I hope I get several years out of them. But let see.
