# Rival vs Force



## fuzzwardo (Sep 16, 2014)

I am very new to road bikes and their components so hopefully this isn't a dumb question. how does Sram Rival compare to Force? Looking at a bike that stock was Rival but it now has Force on it and just wanting to know if it is an upgrade or a lateral move. The bike seems to have a lot of new parts but I am not up on the components levels.


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## shockfinder (Apr 21, 2009)

It is an upgrade, but I'm not sure you'd notice much of a difference in functionality. It's a bit lighter, but I wouldn't pay a ton extra simply for Force, but it is an upgrade. I liked my Rival (waiting to find another frame to hang it on) and I like my Force/Red mix. I would be happy with a bike that had Rival and now has Force.


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## Lallement (Mar 1, 2014)

I was just reading some reviews of Rival and Force recently at http://www.feedthehabit.com 

According to that assessment, there is not much (if any) difference in function and it is mostly a weight difference.


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## cxwrench (Nov 9, 2004)

Oddly enough you can read all about that stuff at the SRAM website. They describe in depth the features and *weights* of all their components. 


See what I did there?


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## ziscwg (Apr 19, 2010)

cxwrench said:


> Oddly enough you can read all about that stuff at the SRAM website. They describe in depth the features and *weights* of all their components.
> 
> 
> See what I did there?


You put a tube in a tire twisted and to see what it would sound like when it blew???

Or,

Did you switch the brake levers on the brifters on your CX bike to see if they made you faster???


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## GRAVELBIKE (Sep 16, 2011)

I've owned/ridden both, and honestly, I can't detect any difference in performance. Weight differences are minor, with the Rival cranks being the biggest offenders.


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## cxwrench (Nov 9, 2004)

ziscwg said:


> You put a tube in a tire twisted and to see what it would sound like when it blew???
> 
> Or,
> 
> Did you switch the brake levers on the brifters on your CX bike to see if they made you faster???


My normally outstanding sense of humor is failing me here...are you just trying to annoy me?


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## Sundog (Sep 25, 2013)

cxwrench said:


> Oddly enough you can read all about that stuff at the SRAM website. They describe in depth the features and *weights* of all their components.
> 
> 
> See what I did there?


Additionally - if you want a value comparisson by an Art's guy - look at this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFUcSrmIcKk

This is specifically for the 22 version - but probably pretty true across the group sets.


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## Corenfa (Jun 9, 2014)

This topic came up very recently and there was much discussion on the subject.

However, I have both. My CX bike has Rival and my road/race bike has Force. While there's not, on paper, a performance benefit to Force, I d personally feel that my shifts are far more crisp on my Force. In comparison, my Rival stuff feels dead and unresponsive. However, it's more perception than reality since it still shifts lightening fast. 

IMO, Force is worth the extra $$. Also IMO, Red is largely not. Having ridden extensively on a red equipped bike, I found no feel/performance difference between the Force and Red sets. Sure, it's lighter and I'm a huge fan of shaving grams. But the price difference seems ridiculous. 

Heck, having just compared two chains - the 1091 and the 1051, $52 and $26 respectively, I think there were 14 grams total difference. In contrast, moving from aluminum headset spacers to carbon headset spacers at a grand total of $9 saved me 24 grams. 

Red just doesn't seem high on the value chain whereas Force does. Rival is okay, but does feel different and yet it's not much cheaper than Force.


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## Sundog (Sep 25, 2013)

One more note on Rival 22 vs Force 22 - supposedly the latter comes with better cables and the difference is reported to be noticeable. I don't have direct experience with that fact or fiction.


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## dracula (Mar 9, 2010)

Sundog said:


> One more note on Rival 22 vs Force 22 - supposedly the latter comes with better cables and the difference is reported to be noticeable. I don't have direct experience with that fact or fiction.



Not saying it is unimportant but given that one is to replace cables after every year I do not see this as a big advantage to be honest. One could even buy Rival with better third party cables than what comes with Force.

I think the Force front derailleur blunder is hopefully a thing of the past. If money is no objection and passion is there I would go with Force.

Btw: I am a happy Rival owner on two bikes.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Sep 16, 2011)

Replacing cables at regular intervals is cheap, and recommended if you don't have full-length housing/liner.

You can purchase a lot of bulk cables with the money you save by going with Rival.


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## cxwrench (Nov 9, 2004)

GRAVELBIKE said:


> Replacing cables at regular intervals is cheap, and *recommended if you don't have full-length housing/liner.*
> 
> You can purchase a lot of bulk cables with the money you save by going with Rival.


Recommended even if you do have full length housing. Just because it's cleaner doesn't mean it won't experience wear.


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## genux (Jun 18, 2012)

Also depends on your type/level of riding.

I went from SRAM Apex to Rival and observed a noticeable difference in the "crispiness" and responsiveness of shifting, especially on the front derailleur. When I went from Rival to Red, I couldn't really tell much difference, to be honest. The "yaw" feature of Red supposedly allows me to go big-big or small-small without chain rub, but I detected a small amount of it. That and I've really already gotten in the habit of not going to those extremes anyway.

I think Force is the best value when it comes to price:weight ratio (especially when comparing against SRAM Red). But in all honesty, for my type of riding, I'd be hard pressed to tell whether I was on my SRAM Rival or Force bike builds.


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## fuzzwardo (Sep 16, 2014)

How do these 2 compare to Shimano 105. That is what I have on my Madone. Similar levels or?


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## cxwrench (Nov 9, 2004)

fuzzwardo said:


> How do these 2 compare to Shimano 105. That is what I have on my Madone. Similar levels or?


SRAM:
Red, Force, Rival, Apex

Shimano:
Dura Ace, Ultegra, 105, Tiagra 

Compare them like that...they're similar enough that it works.


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## Sundog (Sep 25, 2013)

cxwrench said:


> SRAM:
> Red, Force, Rival, Apex
> 
> Shimano:
> ...


and Apex (and all the sram group sets) is (are) lighter than 10 speed 105.


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## dracula (Mar 9, 2010)

genux said:


> Also depends on your type/level of riding.
> 
> I went from SRAM Apex to Rival and observed a noticeable difference in the "crispiness" and responsiveness of shifting, especially on the front derailleur. When I went from Rival to Red, I couldn't really tell much difference, to be honest. The "yaw" feature of Red supposedly allows me to go big-big or small-small without chain rub, but I detected a small amount of it. That and I've really already gotten in the habit of not going to those extremes anyway.
> 
> I think Force is the best value when it comes to price:weight ratio (especially when comparing against SRAM Red). But in all honesty, for my type of riding, I'd be hard pressed to tell whether I was on my SRAM Rival or Force bike builds.



Okay small-small may be a challenge but I have no problems and chain rub with big-big on Rival 39/53 and my SRAM 28T cog cassette ring.

It requires a bit of tinkering: I use a wee spacer in the Rival front derailleur cage in combination with the bolt - that connects the two plates - this gives me an extra 1-1.5mm clearance.


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