The Force E1 is SRAM's mid-tier Flattop chain, sitting between the Red E1 above and the Rival E1 below in the current 12-speed road and 13-speed XPLR gravel lineup. It balances performance and price, offering weight savings without being the most expensive option. If you're running a Force AXS road group or an XPLR AXS gravel build and you need to swap the chain before it starts wearing your cassette, this is the direct replacement SRAM specs on those groupsets from the factory.

Flattop refers to the flat upper profile on the outer link plates, which is what lets SRAM run the tighter cog spacing required for 12-speed road cassettes and the 13-speed XPLR gravel cassette. The technology creates a quieter, longer lasting chain and keeps the Force chain compatible with 12-speed road and 13-speed gravel cassettes. It only works on SRAM AXS drivetrains built around Flattop — it will not run correctly on Eagle mountain chains, older 11-speed SRAM road, or any Shimano system.

The durability story comes from SRAM's Hard Chrome finish on the inner links and rollers. The Hard Chrome chain has four times the elongation resistance of SRAM's other chains, thanks to a finishing process on the inner links and rollers, while push pin strength and ultimate strength stay equivalent to current chains. Translation: it stretches slower under the same mileage, so you get more time between chain replacements and less cassette wear along the way.... Read More