Adjusting both SRAM and Shimano electronic front derailleurs

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Dear Lennard,

I got a bike with SRAM AXS Rival 12 speed, and I’m not happy with the big-big combination noise. Seems like it should auto trim, but it doesn’t. I’ve watched all the videos, and I’m convinced I’m doing something wrong but don’t know what it is. I’ve built plenty of mechanical Campy and Shimano groupsets in the past without issues in the past. Would your book show me how to install and adjust this derailleur? Thanks.

Manuel

Dear Manuel,

Yes, both the 5^th and the 6^th editions of Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance would show you how to adjust your AXS front derailleur.

You are correct; unlike Shimano and Campagnolo electronic front derailleurs, your SRAM front derailleur has no auto trim. That is unchanged from original SRAM 11-speed eTap electronic front derailleurs, hence the adjustment procedure being in both editions of my book that have come out since the introduction of eTap. Like SRAM Yaw cable-actuated front derailleurs, SRAM electronic front derailleurs depend on cage shape to avoid noise in cross gears, not on trimming the derailleur position as the chain moves across the rear cassette. If your frame’s chainstays and bottom bracket area are sufficiently stiff, your chainrings spin true, and you’re using an AXS chain, you should be able to use your big-big combination without chain rub except perhaps under the most forceful out-of-the-saddle sprinting.

I recommend double checking your derailleur alignment with the chainring first. After shifting to the big chainring and while looking down on the front derailleur from vertically above it, do this by aligning the chainring teeth with the guide marks etched into the front and rear of the derailleur cage.

Since it takes both levers to shift a SRAM electronic front derailleur, you can’t use them to shift while adjusting it. Instead, push the function button on the front derailleur itself (see illustration) to shift it during this adjustment. That way, you can shift with one hand while you turn the crank with the other.

1. Adjust the inner limit screw. With the chain on the largest rear cog, push the front-derailleur function button (see illustration) while