# SRAM Rival vs. Force vs. Ultegra



## seattlesyclist

I'm getting a bike built from scratch and need to settle on a groupset. I've ridden Campy (Veloce and Centaur) and Shimano (DA and 105) on my road bikes. I am not a Campy fan, love my DA and hated the.

My dilemna is this: I like the trim aspect, which is Ultegra, but I like the 11-28 cassette available with Force. But Rival is the least expensive and I could go with a 12-27 on Ultegra or Rival.

I'd like to hear others' experience with Ultegra, Rival and Force.

Thanks.


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## B15serv

I own ultegra on my scott roadbike and scott cx bike. The road bike is full ultegra and the cx has a truvativ crank. I really like the components.... reliable, great shifting, easy adjustment and i did notice a difference between 105 which my previous lemond road bike had. 
My cx bike I just purchased last month and while testing bikes i had my first experience with sram. I was super impressed with how well it shifted and got used to the double tap almost immediately. My cx bike will be left alone but I am currently saving to get a partial force group (brifters/fd/rd) for the road bike. Then Ill wait to get more cash and do some new brakes and a Sram Red crankset. Sram just has the right look, feel, weight and price.
My goal with my road bike is to build it up with all the parts Id want on a new bike and then Ill save for a frame. I cant afford to buy a decently high end bike off the shelf so this is my way of enjoying the parts over time while i save. So far ive done a Terry Fly saddle, 3T Ergonova LTD bars, 3T ARX stem, 3T Doric post, Look Keo Sprint Pedals, Neuvation wheelset. Next on the list is the group and a set of Mavic Ksyrium Sl's. My neuvations have been great and totally surpassed expectations for the price. I however am flexing them while sprinting and climbing so its time for an upgrade. The great thing about building up my bike this way is that once i get a new frame Ill be able to reassemble my scott in its stock form because ive kept all the origional parts. This way ill have an awesome rain bike. The future frame choices are up in the air but Moots, Lynskey, Steelman and Gunnar are on the short list. 
Sorry for rambling haha lol..... none the less I love my ultegra and yes i found noticable differences over 105. I also was super impressed with sram force and rival. I did notice better shifting with the force although both rides werent very long at all.


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## seattlesyclist

*What about the "trim" factor?*

From what I've read, Rival does not have a trim feature at all, Force has front trim only, and Ultegra has both.

Is that correct? Does the '10 Force provide trim for large and small chainring?


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## mjdwyer23

Does Red only have large chainring trim?


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## Dresden

2009 Rival has trim on the big ring. I think trim on the big ring is all Force and Red have, too.


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## MarvinK

All current SRAM road groups have trim only in the big ring. The only functional difference between Red, Force & Rival is ZeroLoss on Red extends to the right shift lever. 

If you wanted to upgrade one piece from Rival, Red shifters would be the sensible choice.

2009 Ultegra has trim in big and small rings...but 2010 has no trim in any ring.

SRAM Rival/Force share a single cassette between them, and both derailleurs will work with an 11-28.


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## MarvinK

fwiw... the biggest advantage most people tend to appreciate with SRAM is the ergonomics of the shift levers. If you like the light action shifting of Ultegra, you probably won't like the stiffer springs with SRAM. I prefer the more positive feedback of SRAM, my wife likes the light Shimano action. 

2010 Ultegra is substantially lighter action than past years... like 2009 DA. It gets very mixed reviews for being excessively light. Try 09DA or 10Ult before you buy. Make sure you like the SRAM shifting before you buy it, for that matter.


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## SystemShock

seattlesyclist said:


> My dilemna is this: I like the trim aspect, which is Ultegra, but I like the 11-28 cassette available with Force. But Rival is the least expensive and I could go with a 12-27 on Ultegra or Rival.


The 2010 Ultegra has an 11-28 cassette available, just like the new Dura Ace does. Shimano seems to be getting more serious about the wide-range cassette game.

But on a price-to-performance basis, Rival's the way to go. It's about the same weight as the '010 Ultegra too, but for so much less money.
.


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