Berge20

This may not be the right place for this question, but wanted to check. Fairly unsophisticated at all this, so bear with me if it's a dummy question.

Doing a groupset/bike upgrade of SRAM AXS etap12speed and due to my weight and hilly terrain am planning on running a 46/33 at the front and a 10/33 at the back of a rig I'm upgrading to. I'm new to SRAM products, and according to the specs, either of their rear derailleurs (36t or 33t) would work immediately, but wanted to see if there's anything I'm missing by going one over the other. Either initially (weight only?) or longer-term (odds of me deciding going one or other direction on gearing at the back I guess?).

Appreciate any perspective, even if it's just as simple as "yep, either will work. Stop overthinking, get it, and go ride."

dsbrantjr

If it were my installation, I would go with the larger-capacity derailleur, in case I wanted to go bigger in the future. I doubt that any difference in shifting would be perceptible.

Elvo

Depends if future you would like lower or higher gears. I would lean towards the 36T especially if you live in a hilly area

• 36t-max derailleur is compatible with 10-36, 10-33, and 10-28 cassettes
• 33t-max derailleur is compatible with 10-26, 10-28, and 10-33 cassettes

oberwl

I currently am running SRAM AXS Force 46/33 Front & 10-33 Rear with the 1st Force AXS 12 Speed Derailleur. Not sure if the longer cage came out afterwards. I live in Sonoma County. We have pretty good climbs. A few that are 10+ miles and over 2500 Elevation gain.
I've found that a One To One ration 33-33 is sufficient for anything to tackle here. It's basically my bail out or " I don't want to work" gear.
Most of the time I climb in the 2nd or 3rd gear from top.
I do have quite a bit of overlap, but like the ability to ride a lot either in the small ring or big ring going up and down the rear cassette.

BTW: Be fanatical about the front derailleur setup. You want to cage to be really close to the chainring. I swear I've got my probably no more than 1mm up. The front derailleur can be a bit finicky setting up not to derailleur. But once you get it done correct, it works like butter.
My Gravel Bike is also AXS, but the Mullet build. 1X, 44/10-50 rear with XX1 Eagle Rear.

DaveSSS 

The cage length is the same 70.5mm on both RD models, but the "medium cage" model sits further back. I'm using the short model with the 10-36 cassette by just turning the B screw in nearly all the way. If you're buying a new RD, get the medium cage model.

I use Shimano grx cranks to get more range. 48/31 or 46/30 versions are made. I also use a 10-36 cassette for the extreme slopes I ride, even at my 135 lb weight.

Watch the sram axs installation video. The easiest mistake to make is failing to notice that the FD has rotated slightly during the final tightening of the clamp bolt, so the alignment marks on the cage are not parallel to the big chain ring. That’s what causes the sensitive limit screw adjustment. I also don't use the FD wedge. IMO, it's poorly designed, hard to install and likely to fail.

DaveSSS 

Duplicate

oberwl

I think SRAM's solution with the wedge is a better option than Shimano to glue a piece of metal to your carbon frame.
I'm using the wedge and it works for me. Might depend on bike frame design.
I have Allied Cycles All Road Disc