Has anyone updated their SRAM firmware today? Seems the most recent version increases shifting speeds for some users, with a broader rollout coming soon for all. Have you noticed an improvement? What are your thoughts?
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Only ridden it up and down the block so far, but it is indeed faster! That said, the limited racing I’ve done on my XO Transmission I never felt the shift speed to be a problem, nor in regular trail riding. Good to have the option for those that wanted faster shifting though for sure.
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I got the firmware update for my X0 Transmission rear derailleur and after updating the firmware, shifting is noticeably quicker going from small to big with the bike on the stand. No observable difference going the other direction.
Weird, Shimano just released a system with quite fast shifting. I wonder what took so long? I remember another “mine’s bigger” situation back in the day. 50T, then 51…hold my beer…52.
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Same here. I haven’t gotten it on a trail yet today. But will for sure this weekend.
That’s how competition works and it leads to better products for all of us! 
To a certain extent I agree. Competition does help us get better products. Like in the big tooth wars. But in this day and age of software updates I’m a little less convinced that is the case. Transmission shifting speed has been an issue for a long time. It’s not coincidental to see this update happen shortly after Shimano’s release. I’ve already seen many make the switch away from SRAM to faster shifting. So again, what took so long?
I won’t just come here to be commenting turd. I spend a bunch of time with Transmission derailleurs and it’s noticeably faster in the stand. Just got injured so it’ll be some time before I can real world test.
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Competition also means that you don’t need to skin the cat in the same way, i. e. asymmetric competition. SRAM took a risk by making a drivetrain that requires riders to change the way they ride and shift. In exchange you get shift under arbitrary load. I haven’t touched a Transmission drivetrain, much less ridden it off-road. I don’t know whether that’s a recipe that’d work for me.
Oh, and Shimano finally released a wireless groupset.
FWIW I have a Force D1 1x groupset on my road bike and Shimano XTR M9000 mechanical on my hardtail.
“Transmission shifting speed has been an issue for a long time”
But it’s a problem introduced by an innovation. Namely, the ability to shift wile pedalling at full torque with zero worry about breaking or dropping/skipping chains. Which was a “game changer,” and for many is a benefit that outweighs the costs. That’s why it’s slow - because chain wrapping/unwrapping while keeping a bunch of the chain engaged to teeth at any instant in time just takes a fair amount of time. There’s unavoidable physics.
It removes some of the art and skill of lightning fast shifting. Which is maybe a bit sad. But I, for one, find Transmission to just be pure joy to ride.
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You’re kinda missing my point here. SRAM didn’t release a new derailleur yesterday. They released a firmware update for a component you already have. And something most riders have wanted for a while. That’s all I’m saying. I fear we are only a few years away from pay for play bike group sets. If you want the fastest shifting derailleur in the industry…$5/month. Im just worried our bikes are turning into iPhones. But Whatevs.
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You’re right, I definitely missed the point being fear that SRAM’s providing free software upgrades indicates they may someday move to a subscription model. Thanks for the clarification!
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I’m honestly surprised a firmware update sped it up. I would have assumed the limitations were hardware (motor, chain, cassette ramps)
S1000 RD. No change with firmware update. ~6 s up and down
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Not that much to add. It definitely feels like it shifted faster on my ride this morning. I have the, hold for 3 shifts, setting on, so that definitely feels faster than before, but I haven’t timed it. Also, it always makes me a bit nervous doing it, but it still shifts fine under full power. No downside, who doesn’t want faster shifting.
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Just did my first ride with it. I could tell the difference on the stand, but honestly struggled to find a difference on the trail. Though I wasn’t pushing Full Send and doing extreme grades. No downsides at all, though.
My read is that SRAM found a way to make shifting faster without compromising on the ability to shift at full power. SRAM’s shift speed was an engineering decision, a trade-off. They made a different trade-off with their 13-speed gravel groupset.
Now I don’t know whether it was the right trade-off for me, never having ridden a Trasnmission drivetrain, much less in anger, but it wasn’t that SRAM was surprised their shifting was slow.
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updates and even complete new functionality via software/firmware update is completely standard practice in the electronics world. its a bit of a mindset change when you’re used to analog components but its a very good thing that SRAM are willing and able to improve things (free of charge) even for customers who have already purchased the product.
the question i have is how they have achieved this and whether it compromises the robustness of shifting under load. the article suggests that the update will only improve shift speed for some drivetrains with no indication of which or how that is determined. i wonder if SRAM have somehow found a way for the drivetrain to work out whether its particular configuration is compatible with faster shifting? that would explain why it has taken so long to achieve this improvement.
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partially answering my own question
“The software now recognizes the derailleur position more accurately and synchronizes the movement to optimize the shift. In practice, this results in a more responsive drivetrain.”
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SRAM has now communicated this broadly, making it applicable to all t-type derailleurs, and we’ve updated the original article with additional info. If you updated your firmware last week, be sure to do it again! Update: Faster shifting has arrived for (all) SRAM Eagle AXS Transmissions
That version of firmware update has also arrived for the Red E1 shifters.