# Long term reviews of Rival



## Willito (Apr 25, 2004)

*Looking for long term reviews of Rival*

Hi All,
I am going to be building up a steel frame this winter and would like some long term reviews of Sram Rival. 
Thanks,
Willito


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## ACaparzo (Jan 29, 2007)

Well, I bought my bike (Orbea Onix with full Rival) in June but only managed to put about 500 miles on it before the excuses (work, school, weather) made me stop riding, but seeing as you have got no other feedback on this I will give my take:

Controls: The hoods have a great feel to them, they claim to have modeled it after a jet fighter's control stick and I believe them. They are very comfortable. The levers are also comfortable, they feel like an extension of my hands.

Shifting: I picked up the Double Tap immediately with no problems. All the actions are quick and smooth. The rear shifts as fast as my little fingers can move and very graciously at that. The front is a little bit slower when up shifting but once you get the hang of it it isn't that big of a deal.

Brakes: Amazing. Pure stopping power at my fingertips. These brakes put out some serious force which comes in handy on some alpine descents around Boulder.

Overall I love this group. It performs very well and was a real bargain for me in my eyes. The more I ride it the more I like it. I highly recommend this group to anyone - but I do suggest they give the others a shot as they may like them better. For me though, I will take SRAM Rival any day.


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## Fivethumbs (Jul 26, 2005)

I got my complete Rival group around last summer. I really like the ergonomics of the hoods and the doubletap works awesome. It stays in tune very well. I can't remember the last time I had to adjust the cable tension. Front and rear derailleurs have been problem-free. Now for the bad. My Rival cranks did not have any equal Q-factor. The non-drive crank arm was farther out from the frame than the drive side. For comparison I measured my Ultegra crank arms and then my Dura Ace crank arms (which replaced the Rival) and they were both dead-on equal. The Rival bottom bracket turned into a pepper grinder within 200 miles. The Rival cranks also had a cheap look to them. I don't think I would ever buy another set of Rival or even Force cranks. Maybe Red someday. The brakes stopped the bike great but I did not like the feel. Both my Ultegra brakes and Dura Ace brakes (which replaced the Rivals) felt better - just a much smoother feel.


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## ghammer (May 21, 2003)

I have ridden the rival group for close to 10,000kms last year. My frame of reference is campy which is all that I have been riding most of my riding life (15+ years).

I have found the rival group to be excellent. the levers are comfortable and easy to shift. The mechanical feedback the shifting action provides is very positive and suit the campy folks really well. Tuning and setup is similar to campy in that it's straight out of the box to the bike, very easy to adjust. The front der may get finicky but if a half-decent mechanic (me) can make it work well, then I have no complaints. Also, further adjustments once the initial tuning is done is superfluous. SRAM stays tuned and sharp no matter what.

The brakes have good stopping power, no issues there either. I found that the cranks are ok, they could look prettier and more refined, but to me that's not at all a deal breaker. 

Overall I'm very satisfied and also very curious to how the Red works. SRAM went head straight into the road industry, and their commitment to quality shows.


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## Tschai (Jun 19, 2003)

Fivethumbs said:


> I got my complete Rival group around last summer. I really like the ergonomics of the hoods and the doubletap works awesome. It stays in tune very well. I can't remember the last time I had to adjust the cable tension. Front and rear derailleurs have been problem-free. Now for the bad. My Rival cranks did not have any equal Q-factor. The non-drive crank arm was farther out from the frame than the drive side. For comparison I measured my Ultegra crank arms and then my Dura Ace crank arms (which replaced the Rival) and they were both dead-on equal. The Rival bottom bracket turned into a pepper grinder within 200 miles. The Rival cranks also had a cheap look to them. I don't think I would ever buy another set of Rival or even Force cranks. Maybe Red someday. The brakes stopped the bike great but I did not like the feel. Both my Ultegra brakes and Dura Ace brakes (which replaced the Rivals) felt better - just a much smoother feel.


If anything, my drive side is farther out. I agree about the cheap looks of the cranks though. They function fine.


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## Willito (Apr 25, 2004)

*Front derailler*

Thanks all for the replies. I test rode force today and found the rear shifting to be flawless, but I could not get the front to shift into the big ring with even the slightest load, sometimes not at all. The guys at the shop were really busy so I didnt have them look at it immediately, so I guess it was probably a simple adjustment based on your reviews. It also seemed like an extremely long throw for the front derailler. Is this normal?
Thanks,
Willito
PS the crankset was cannondale hollowgram.


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## Cyclo-phile (Sep 22, 2005)

The front derailleur cable needs to be pretty tight for it to shift correctly. There's a good chance the cable stretched while on the showroom floor. Tightening up the cable would also help the shifter throw. I found that if I tighten the lower limit screw 1.5 turns, pull the cable tight by hand and fasten it down, then back off the limit screw it sets the tension correctly. YMMV depending on the components you have.


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## eodusa (Oct 8, 2006)

I notice my FD overshifts slightly and then relaxes back inward.
Without this slight overshift, i was not able to get reliable shifting.
I have yet to throw the chain over and shifting in the front has been very good.

The type of cranks you use also matters. The Shimano FC-R700 cranks that i use have taller pick up teeth which prevents you from cross chaining in the small ring.


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