Everybody that I know, who cares about these things, loved this derailleur. They all agreed that it was superior to the first generation SRAM Red eTap in a hatful of important ways - 12-speed, quieter, faster, crisper, completely dialled-in (doesn't that just mean quieter, faster and crisper?), etc. etc...

I never warmed to it. The essence of SRAM Red, for me, had always included small size, light weight and minimalist simplicity. This derailleur was a big mother - mountain bike sized. It weighed a chunky 300g and it wore its maximalism with pride, even arrogance.

And then there's the look of it. As the playground-cruel, teen-pop duo that I shall wittily call 'Bianchi and Celeste' once sang; "U.G.L.Y. you ain't got no alibi". What it really needs is to wear a mask - and book that plastic surgery fast...

This generation of SRAM Red eTap was co-branded 'AXS', pronounced 'access'. This was a software system that allowed you to use an app to select some clever modes like 'sequential' and 'compensating' which I actually quite liked. But AXS was part of a burgeoning alphabet soup of acronyms that confused the hell out of consumers. SRAM's web site describes the various generations of SRAM Red electronic derailleurs, in their rough order of release, as follows:

• SRAM Red eTap (RED-E-A1)
• SRAM Red eTap AXS (RED-E-D1)
• SRAM Red XPLR eTap AXS (RED1-E-D1)
• SRAM Red eTap (RED-E-A2)
• SRAM Red AXS (RED-E-E1)
• SRAM Red XPLR AXS (RED-1E-E1)

It's like one of those word puzzles in the famous Christmas quiz set by Britain's GCHQ... "What would be the next logical name in this sequence?" Perhaps Alan Turing could tell us the answer.

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This is a, well used, example of a SRAM Red eTap AXS (RED-E-D1) with a cage that allows it to accept a maximum rear sprocket of 33T. It was the first version in the SRAM Red eTap AXS (RED-E-D1) generation to be released. Some of its attributes are:

• The b-knuckle is largely silver.
• The pulley cage is 70mm long.

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• Derailleur brands: SRAM
• Categories: SRAM - the derailleur in Red
• Themes: Electric Avenue
• Country: USA, manufactured in Taiwan
• Date of introduction: 2019
• Date of this example: manufactured 2021 (serial number starts 15381... indicating week 38 of 2021)
• Model no.: RD-RED-E-D1
• Weight: 301g including battery
• Maximum cog: 33 teeth (SRAM)
• Total capacity: unknown
• Pulley centre to centre: 70mm
• Index compatibility: 12 speed
• Chain width: 3/32”
• Logic: top normal
• B pivot: unsprung
• P pivot: sprung
• Materials: largely aluminium with a composite p-knuckle and a carbon cage

Ref. 2012