Camilo

I have Sram AXS 2X and it's really great. Especially the installation and the shifing design. Haven't used Shimano, but I imagine the actual shifting performance is similar. My wife especially loves the AXS, while I just like it a lot. Is it better than manual? yeah, maybe, but it's not like it's a night and day performance upgrade. I got it for our bikes just because - in our late 60s, it was either try it now, or never. No regrets, however...

Is it worth the cost difference? No. I easily afforded it, but if I couldn't, I wouldn't sacrifice anything for it. I'd get top end mechanical for fewer $ a;nd lighter weight.

I wouldn't have it for my one and only bike. Sure it's reliable and doesn't require much if any maintenance. But if something goes bad, parts generally aren't readily available and they're expensive. That would be fine at home especially if you had another bike to ride for however long it took to get parts. But, we do multi-month RV trips far away from home and used to take our electronic "best" bikes with us. But last year, I bought the least expensive Salsa gravel bikes from REI to keep on the RV (BTW, the perform perfectly and are fun to ride). Why? Because where we travel, we couldn't possibly get replacement parts, even batteries and chargers, easily or quickly. Whereas, with a fully mechanical bike - shifting and brakes - you could get adequate replacement and maintenance parts almost anywhere we travel. Everything from chains and cables, to inexpensive shifting or brake parts.

So if you have only one bike or do bike-critical long trips away from home, you might want to stick with high end mechanical. Since we have multiple bikes at home, it's great having one be electronic, and I'm glad we have them. Again, haven't had any problems and they've both worked perfectly with no post-installation (myself) adjustments needed. So pretty much carefree except for my concern about repair and replacement.