SRAM Groupsets.....Rival vs Force???

torydiver · 10-05-2012 11:54AM #1

Hi Folks, some advice please,
Looking at specing a groupset for a new bike,
Some details,
I dont race or TT, I generally do 2-3 hour sprotive style cycling
Have had Sram Apeks and Shimano 105 on previous bikes,
My personal preference is for SRAM,
I am trying to decide between Sram Rival and Sram Force,(€280 difference in price of complete groupset)

Question as follows:
What advantage is there in having Sram Force over Rival?
Is the performance of the gearshifts, mechs, brakes etc.. much better with the Force groupset,
or
Is it solely to do with the weight of the groupset with little difference in performance between groupsets, or even compared to Sram Apeks for that matter..

Would be interested in hearing from anyone with experience/opinion of these groupsets

Thanks.........

Lumen · 10-05-2012 11:58AM

Rival shifters are reputedly less durable than Force or Red. I've been using Red shifters on a couple of bikes for the last 2 years or so and had no issues.

Not sure if that was a bad batch or a design issue with the shifter internals.

€280 is a lot though.

Jawgap · 10-05-2012 12:32PM

I've Rival on one bike and Force on another and I'd be hard pushed to tell the difference. Force is supposed to be lighter and more durable, but again the Rival set never let me down.

Broke a lever on the Rival set once when I let the bike fall but I'm not minded to reproduce the incident just to test the resilience of Force:)

Lumen · 10-05-2012 12:34PM

I've crashed my Red levers a few times. They just bend back. Some of the carbon fibre on the lever itself is chipped off. Everything still works.

torydiver · 10-05-2012 03:38PM

Thanks for replies,
As not into any type of racing, weight of groupset is of no real relevance to me,
Really looking for reliability, efficient shifting and durability.......

SRAM Groupsets.....Rival vs Force???

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