If you haven’t make the leap yet, be ready!
Bad news, very bad news to Shimano and Campy.
Hard to imagine something much better than Sram Force… i love the stuff. i will definitely be test driving this stuff…
you should change your handle to “red”
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Do you think the Force front shifting, front derailleur, chain, and chainrings are on par with Dura Ace?
I made the leap two months ago…to SRAM Force. Couldn’t be happier.
my only gripe with SRAM road stuff is that you can’t, or at least I can’t easily, brake and upshift at the same time. I do this all the time with Shimano, brake hard heading into a corner and click off a few upshifts on the back all while braking, sets you up nicely to exit the corner especially when there is an uphill or somethign on the other side. Could never nail that with the SRAM levers as I had to do a finger shift to hit the shift lever which was dicey while I was squeezing the brake main lever…
Not an expert just your basic rider but I have to say the front shifting is equal to DA but with a slight lag on the upshift (could be operator error or a need for an adjustment). The rear shifting is asolutely amazing and more than makes up for a very minor flaw in the upshift. Very glad I chose SRAM and I will not be going back to dura ace.
kelli
i am still waiting to see decently designed tt shifters. a sram mechanic says that the current carbon ones are all that there is. if that is correct, that is a bad foreshadowing for the ‘red’ group, as these so-called “new” shifters are tired and entirely unoriginal copies of a 30+ year old design for a completely different shift application.
but we will see …
Dave, MJ says she has never used anything better 
ofcourse she is sponsored but the new ones are promising. I also loved the new SRM crankset from Sram I haven’t tested the RED yet but so far they look killer. It was all setup on a custom painted 2008 Madone. Not only the cosmetic appeal is killer also the whole group is under 2000 grams. I took some pictures but they asked me not to show anyone.
For those planning to get one think $1 per gram
“as these so-called “new” shifters are tired and entirely unoriginal copies of a 30+ year old design”
No, actually, they’re TOTALLY new. Didn’t you notice how they nicely did away with the friction option?
I wasn’t arguing one way or the other, I rode a very very early group when Brian brought it by, and it needed some improvement but that was over a year ago. I hear they made some improvement and we are using it on the new F2 Pro, so I’m a believer in the innovation. I like everything that surrounds the buzz of the RED group and wanted to get feedback from someone who had some miles on the Force stuff.
I know MJ likes it, David Millar says he loves it too so you’ve convinced some people with experience with all different groups (I can’t recall when/if David ever used current DA10) that it is good.
The whole group appears on the Jamis flagship bike in the current road or VN or some such big page publication.
Sorry I didnt see your questoin until today…
My impressions on the Force group. I love the dual-control shifting. I think the front shifting is fine although the “throw” is pretty long. I have big hands so it works, but it would be better with less throw to go from small to big. The chainrings in the front have grabbed flawlessly for me on my road bike & on my tri bike (Force cranks and Dura Ace derraileurs/chain.) My gripe with the Force cassette is only the weight of it… shifts fine. I have full Force on a 2007 Soloist SL.
Bad news, very bad news to Shimano and Campy.
You came to that conclusion from that little video?
I have force and rival and find the front shifting lacking unless the FD is precisely dialed in within 1mm of the chain. Partly due to the long throw, I have had overshifting problems. Double checking the FD alignment and switching to FSA large chainrings has resulted in excellent performance.
I do hope they make a retro-fit/rebuild kit for the front shifter to create the shortened throw. I have it on my road and CX bikes and am generally very happy with it other than noted above. The hoods are the most comfortable out there IMO (I have relatively long hands).
The only other thing is that the BB cups/bearings are not FSA/Shimano compatible. Only a problem when I do the Mt Washington Hillclimb, but nonetheless a minor nuisance. Also, the 16mm nut on the non-drive crank is unnecessary.