Swapping chainrings on a traditional crankset means wrestling with 4 or 5 individual bolts, often with a second tool to hold the nut on the back side. SRAM's 8-bolt spider for Red and Force AXS cranksets changes that math. The spider itself carries the bolt circle, so you're removing one central lockring rather than chasing tiny bolts around the chainring. Once the spider's off, the chainring slides free.

The practical application here is gearing changes between events or seasons. Running a 50/37 for rolling terrain, then swapping to 48/35 for a hillier course, becomes a 5-minute job instead of a 20-minute wrestling match. You'll need the corresponding chainrings for whatever tooth counts you're chasing, but the spider stays the same across the range.

This spider fits both Red AXS and Force AXS cranksets—SRAM uses the same interface across both tiers. The 8-bolt pattern is specific to their AXS road cranks, so it won't cross over to older Red or Force eTap cranks or the mountain AXS lineup. If you're running a Red AXS crankset and want to experiment with different chainring combinations without committing to a second complete crankset, this is the part that makes that possible.... Read More