# 2010 Force brifter body ergonomics



## gamara (May 20, 2002)

I've decided to make the leap & got myself a new force setup. As none of the shops in my area have sram, I bought everything new on line without actually trying it out first. Ok so I'm coming from a shimano & campy background & my first impression of the levers is that although the quality is v. high, the ergonomics just don't agree with me.

Also I'm stumped by the lack of a solid resting spot for my thumb when on the top of the hoods. It seems like there is all this space between the body & the rubber hood on the inside where my thumb would naturally rest. Is this normal for all sram shifters?? It seems that the body is cutout there for the sweep of the shifter & so when I want to grasp the lever harder for more leverage, my thumb just mashes down on the rubber hood until it moves against the edge of the cutout. 

This is really bumming me out cuz I spent all this money with such high expectations & it just doesn't feel natural in my hands. Anyone else have similar issues regarding poor resting spot for the thumb & did you do anything about it?


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## AvantDale (Dec 26, 2008)

I've noticed that "empty" spot too, but it has never bothered me at all. My thumb just kind of floats above it...even when moving side to side out of the saddle. Maybe you need to put some miles to get used to it.

I came from Shimano and I found the SRAM ergonomics are much better for me vs the Shimano. I like the wider stumpy hoods and find it much easier to brake on the hoods and drops. I also like the flat transition from the bar top to the hoods.


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## Ray_from_SA (Jun 15, 2005)

I have 2010 Force and find them plenty comfortable, including the resting spot for my thumb.

Personally, I find the SRAM hoods more comfortable than the Shimano I came from, but everyone is different, some folks prefer the Shimano and others Campy.

Keep in mind, one persons comfortable may be anothers uncomfortable

An alternative is to see if you can find some Hudz hoods which fit Force and may be more comfortable for you.


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## jemsurvey (Aug 2, 2009)

I, too think they are great....much more comfortable than the Shimano's I was using....


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## AvantDale (Dec 26, 2008)

Ray_from_SA said:


> An alternative is to see if you can find some Hudz hoods which fit Force and may be more comfortable for you.


Are the Hudz padded different...different density?


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## Ray_from_SA (Jun 15, 2005)

AvantDale said:


> Are the Hudz padded different...different density?


They offer some different shapes and rubber compounds, as well as some color options.

http://www.grabthehudz.com/products_sram.html


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## hunstamash (Jan 27, 2010)

I came from Shimano and had a concern about the gap in the hoods that the OP is talking about. That concern lasted just a couple o f rides. It took about that long for me to start resting my thumb right above the pivot point of the break lever. It also only took a couple of rides to get use to not trying to shift the break lever. Point being, It didn't take long, for me at least, to adapt to resting my thumb in a different place. For what it's worth, I took the leap, and have never looked back. I have become a big fan of the sram rode groupos.


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## gamara (May 20, 2002)

Thanks for all responses. I'm going to replace the stock hoods with hudz & see how that goes. Personally I have no issues with double tap. Its just the shifter body ergonomics are not as comfortable for me compared to shimano or campy. Hopefully the new hoods will help.


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## natedg200202 (Sep 2, 2008)

Shifter.


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## MarvinK (Feb 12, 2002)

Hudz have the same gap... original Force & Rival didn't have as big of gap, but Red and all the newer Zero Loss shifters do. It really bothered me initially (especially since my old Force stuff didn't have it), but I have since gotten used to it. You could probably put a small piece of foam or something in there... but I don't think you'll notice any difference with Hudz (I have 2 bikes with them for color reasons--one with SRAM)


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## gamara (May 20, 2002)

MarvinK said:


> Hudz have the same gap... original Force & Rival didn't have as big of gap, but Red and all the newer Zero Loss shifters do. It really bothered me initially (especially since my old Force stuff didn't have it), but I have since gotten used to it. You could probably put a small piece of foam or something in there... but I don't think you'll notice any difference with Hudz (I have 2 bikes with them for color reasons--one with SRAM)


Interesting. Is the rubber material that hudz uses softer than the sram hoods? Do you find them more comfortable? I find that the stock hoods to be harder than I what I would like them to be. 

Its interesting to me that when I researched the force shifters that there was no mention of the empty spot on the shifters by anyone. Maybe its not as big a deal to others but when I think ergonomics, it shouldn't be me that is required to adapt to them.


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## asad137 (Jul 29, 2009)

gamara said:


> Its interesting to me that when I researched the force shifters that there was no mention of the empty spot on the shifters by anyone. Maybe its not as big a deal to others but when I think ergonomics, it shouldn't be me that is required to adapt to them.


"Ergonomics" is a very personal thing. I actually never consciously noticed the thumb hole until I read this thread. I found that my thumbs just rest there naturally and it's fine -- not really sure why I would even need anything under there to support my thumbs, as I'm not putting any weight on them and they're not very heavy by themselves  

But of course this could be very different for different people. I mean, I actually thought Shimano hoods were more comfortable for my hands (I liked DoubleTap so I went with SRAM).

Asad


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## Diesel~ (Nov 16, 2009)

I like the solid feeling of my 9s DA shifters over my Reds, for the reasons mentioned by the OP. 

-D


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## peter.hardie (May 31, 2006)

I'm in the same boat as the OP. I come from a Shimano background and I bought the 2010 Force gruppo without ever trying SRAM. I just finished building up a new ride with it Monday this week and now have three rides in on my new setup. 

Overall I'm very pleased with SRAM. I find single lever shifting more intuitive than using Shimano's double lever system. One of the drawbacks I've found with SRAM is the brifters are a little small, I have large-ish hands, and I too noticed the lack of thumb rest area. I found I adjusted quickly to it thought. Neither of these shortcomings leaves me wanting to switch back as I find the pros of the group set far outweigh the cons.


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## Wookiebiker (Sep 5, 2005)

I actually like the hole where your thumb sits as mine fit nicely in that area...kind of like having their own little spot to reside.

As for the hoods being small. I have very large palms, but shorter fingers and haven't had an issue with it. When I ride on the hoods or out of the saddle I just put my index finger around the brake lever and the rest behind it. Seems to work out well and is quite comfortable in the end.


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