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Worth it to upgrade shifters from Rival to Force ?
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Are SRAMForce 10 speed shifters that much better than Rival?

After my rear derailleur broke I'm doing some maintenance on my 08' Cervelo Soloist Team (the aluminum one). Upgrading the rear mech from Rival to Force, replacing aging cables and housing, new Easton EC70 handlebar. Actually cleaned everything pretty good. As long as I've got everything torn apart I'm considering upgrading the shifters as well. The current Rival shifters are not as old as the bike but they aren't particularly new either. Is it worth the money to upgrade to Force or even (wallet cries) Red?

Thanks
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Re: Worth it to upgrade shifters from Rival to Force ? [Justicebeaver] [ In reply to ]
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No.
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Re: Worth it to upgrade shifters from Rival to Force ? [Justicebeaver] [ In reply to ]
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I have both, I would not upgrade and stick with Rival.
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Re: Worth it to upgrade shifters from Rival to Force ? [Justicebeaver] [ In reply to ]
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I wouldn't upgrade simply because 10 speed Sram shifters were known to snap off. I had Rival on my 2011 CAAD10, rear shifter paddle snapped. Got a replacement, then figured I would upgrade to Force. It really didn't make that much of a difference...then the Force rear shifter paddle snapped off. I put the Rival one back on.

Granted I put maybe 40k miles on that bike, so it's not like the shifter paddles broke after 3k miles of use...but they were a known problem.

I went to Ultegra with my next bike...I like it way better than double tap.
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Re: Worth it to upgrade shifters from Rival to Force ? [Jason N] [ In reply to ]
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I so rarely get an appropriate opportunity to exclaim "Oh, snap". But I'll be prepared should this happen to my shifters paddle.
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Re: Worth it to upgrade shifters from Rival to Force ? [Justicebeaver] [ In reply to ]
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10 speed Sram Rival & Force have the same internals, with many recorded failures (i had 2 myself).
The Red 10 speed is a more robust design, so if you're sticking with 10 speed Sram, i'd suggest going with that.

All the Sram 11 speed stuff seems to be holding up much better, and you can use your 10 speed derailleurs since it is 1:1 actuation. Just have to upgrade shifters, chain, and cassette assuming that your wheels are 11 speed compatible.
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Re: Worth it to upgrade shifters from Rival to Force ? [Justicebeaver] [ In reply to ]
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You gain zero loss, which leads to slightly different shift lever feel.

With sram is all you need to go 11 speed is shifters, chain, and cassette (assuming your wheel is capable).
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Re: Worth it to upgrade shifters from Rival to Force ? [Justicebeaver] [ In reply to ]
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I went from 10spd Rival to 11spd Force and was pleased with the difference. This was on a 2013
CAAD10 that was originally spec’d with Rival. This is my climbing bike and I got the long cage rear derailleur to get a few more easy gears.

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Re: Worth it to upgrade shifters from Rival to Force ? [Justicebeaver] [ In reply to ]
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I have had Red, Force, and Rival 10sp shifters in the past. This was early on. Had Force before Red and Rival were out. The early Force had problems with the shifters failing. After the 3rd one failed, SRAM replaced it with Red, all under warranty. Never had a problem with Red (2 sets) or Rival (the ones with aluminum levers). If you want to upgrade, I'd go with Red over Force.
Last edited by: FatandSlow: Apr 19, 19 10:44
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Re: Worth it to upgrade shifters from Rival to Force ? [FatandSlow] [ In reply to ]
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I appreciate all the feedback. I've decided to stay with the shifters that are on there. They work fine and if they fail I can upgrade then.
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Re: Worth it to upgrade shifters from Rival to Force ? [Justicebeaver] [ In reply to ]
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Justicebeaver wrote:
I appreciate all the feedback. I've decided to stay with the shifters that are on there. They work fine and if they fail I can upgrade then.

Before I utterly destroyed it, I upgraded my CAAD9 from 10-speed Force shifters to Red. But only because the right Force shifter broke, as is pretty common. I noticed a pretty big performance difference, but not one I'd pay a lot of money for.
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