ilvwhtgrls

i'll check that out, thanks.

sers

cool good to know, i have a braze on fd tab (steel) so maybe that's offsetting it a bit. i believe the new force/rival are going to get the "zero loss" treatment for '09 so i'll probably end up picking up one of those once the red ****s the bed.

cpa4u

Have you RIDDEN with SRAM? I have spent the past two weeks on long rides with Campy, SRAM and DA.
Knowing that opinions are like.......well, rear-ends for lack of a better term...........and each to his own and all that i can say this.

1. DA is good ole stand by. Very smooth, very durable. The biggest negative to me are the hoods - they are the least comfortable (to me) of the three.

2. Campy is cool. Hoods are comfortable. Shifting is definate in that you feel the shift every time. flywheel is noisy, but classic.

But as far as which of those two is better, i can see strong merit to both sides' arguments that they are the best groupo.

3. Now SRAM (again, to me) is not a comfortable feeling group. That double tap crap is ridiculous - having to push way in to downshift. And i'll second the comment on the FD - the set up has to be EXACT to get that shifting smooth. THe hoods are better than DA, but that shifting mechanism is clunky, not smooth and sure seems like it would wear out quickly - on average - given the force that is necessary to engage the shifting mechanism.

Now, my opinion and about $4 bucks will buy you a latte.............

umd

I won't value your opinion very much because what you are saying about downshifting is nonsensical. First, the amount that you have to move the lever to upshift the front on Force or Rival is more than Shimano, but Red is less, if anything. And the '09 version of Force and Rival have the same shorter throw as Red. Second, the whole doubletap thing is not difficult and does not require any extra movement over Shimano. Little Shimano lever = move SRAM lever to click. Big Shimano lever = move SRAM lever past click.

As for wearing out, you are just speculating. My personal experience is that they are more robust than at least 105. They certainly have simpler and less moving parts than Shimano.

I have no experience with Campy and offer no opinions.

StanSeven

I am sorry but all three manufacturers make very good shifters. If you destroyed two sets of shifters in a year, I would look towards installation and adjustments. Whoever set your bike up didn't do it right - it doesn't make a difference whether it's Shimano, Campy, or Sram. 105 shifters, installed properly, should last 50,000 miles.

jinws

I run Red everything except for crank and brakes. I found lighter parts.

If i had to do it again, I'd wait for the 09 stuff. I went from Ultegra to Red, but it was a new bike, not upgrading an old bike.

I like the double tap, and hood shape. The main reason I got the red was for adjustable lever. I have small hands and I bring my brake levers in so I can reach in the drops.

foresthill

I've got Red shifters and Force derailleurs (a Force crank and Red cassette, too, but I don't think that's really what's being asked about here.) I upgraded from 10 sp Ultegra over a year ago (I initially had Force shifters.) I absolutely love the SRAM. Double-tap took about 3 rides to get used to, and it's now totally intuitive. Having to use two different levers just seems primitive.

At first, I had a SRAM PC-1090R chain, and I found it to be really noisy. I switched to KMC's 10 sp chain, and it's nice and quiet again.

The shifting is extremely precise. I'll second that it makes a noticeable clunk when shifting the rear. But I find it a satisfying clunk, not an indication of poor adjustment.

In particular, I find the hoods to be wonderfully comfortable. I never could find a comfortable position for those huge knobby Ultegra brifters. They hurt my wrists no matter how I tried to set them up. The Red brifters are super comfy.

I strongly disagree with the above poster's claim that it needs frequent adjustment. It's basically been set-it-and-forget-it for me once the cables finished stretching.

travkat

I have been on the Red for 6 months now and love it. It has been totally worth it.

tubescreamerx

I just built up a new bike--Ridley Excalibur frameset with full 2009 SRAM Rival, aside from the crankset, which is Force. I've only done two longer rides with it so far, but I'm already liking the feel of it more than Ultegra. The hoods are noticeably more comfortable, the new brake lever design for 09 Rival is great, as is the zero loss shifting. Setting up the front and rear derailleurs didn't take any more time than Ultegra. My cables haven't fully stretched yet, so I'll probably have to adjust tension later, but that doesn't seem like it will be a problem. Trim on the big ring in the front is a great addition to Rival as well. At first I had to look down to see how far I needed to push the shift lever to shift the front derailleur. Now that I'm used to the double-tap mechanism, I know that I just have to push far enough to hear the clicks. Everything shifts quickly and crisply. It's not as smooth as Ultegra, but it's faster. Also, the fit and finish on 09 Rival is great, and the Force crankset is a perfect complement to the carbon weave on my Excalibur. If I had to do it again, I wouldn't have done it any other way. My setup is lighter than Dura-Ace and equivalent in shift speed and precision. Oh, and I saved a ton of money. As a bike shop employee, I paid under 800 for the groupset.

cpa4u

You crack me up with how emotional you are. It's just a bike. It's just an opinion. Good luck young man.

umd

Who says I'm emotional. Tone doesn't come across very well on the internet.