Input on SRAM Red

[Faster Pussycat]

Hi everyone, after a long time reading thought it was time to join in!

I recently put SRAM Force shifters/derailur on my road bike which had 105 as standard. I have small hands too (I ride an xs/44cm specialized frame) and I love it.

It took some getting used to as the 105 just had so much swing in the cables. There is next to no swing, I doubt even a cm. I had a lot of issues with the left shifter and the degree of swing was thought to excacerbate a sensitive neck problem.

I find the hood shape more comfortable as well.

The only downside I have found is that with the SRAM force you lose the option of trimming the front cogs. Being only new to cycling this confused me and i tended to get quite jammed on the big ring!

I also like the look as there is less cables happening but I prefer SRAM in terms of both function and fashion.

[kenyonchris]

I have Shimano ultegra on my Road...SRAM on my MTB. I agree with the long throw on the Shimano's left. I have small hands. I have learned to deal, I like the Shimano "ok"...I am a Campy girl at heart and am putting Campy on the new build, I have had Campy on bikes before. So for the Road it is Campy. I have ridden the Red on a road bike for a short distance to try it, and like it better on the left shifter, but it feels too mechanical for me in general on the road bike. However, I love it on my MTB, far better than the Shimano (I have had Shimano on MTBs before). It shifts very surely, very securely, even if I misjudge and wind up shifting hard on a climb (apologizing to the bike as I do it).
I read a review of the three (Campy Super Record, Shimano's upgraded 2009, and SRAM Red) and the biggest gripe the reviewer had with the Shimano was that the left shifter's engagement point required 1.7 inches of shift movement. I have found that to get a really clean shift, I have to push it over, pause a sec, then slowly release. I found this irritating when I first started with the double and ultegra stuff (as opposed to Campy) and took the bike back to my LBS and griped about it. They adjusted and messed with it, but in the end told me to deal. I have, and now it is just a part of the shifting action. I don't spend much time on the smaller chainring unless I am on a big hill, so it is not a huge issue for me, since my shifting to the larger is fairly infrequent.
I have had bikes with Dura-Ace stuff (both MT and road) and thought its performance on both was subpar for anything more than tooling about town.

[NadiaMac]

Red has trim in the front (big ring), while force/rival trim on the front small ring. I've used all three deralleurs and really haven't missed old-style trim. But then, I tend to keep the deralleurs in reasonable tune and my equipment is relatively new (under 5K miles) so things still shift pretty smoothly

[Faster Pussycat]

Red has trim in the front (big ring), while force/rival trim on the front small ring.

Good to know. I have only had the SRAM for about two weeks and at the time was wondering whether to just pay the $$ for the Red.

I don't really need to trim the small cog, I just need to get more confident shifting through the front rather than the back. I just couldn't trust the 105 to shift.

[Andrea]

SRAM/Shimano/Campy are all high quality components, so it really boils down to personal preference.

I LOVE SRAM Red. My first bike came with Ultegra and I eventually switched- I prefer the "fixed" brake and the doubletap shift paddles to both shimano and Campy systems.

[itself]

So, what road bikes actually come with a Sram red setup? I've not the SRAM red on a mid priced Trek or Specialized yet, only on their very high end models.

Lisa

[Andrea]

I don't know what models come with SRAM parts, but normally you can order a frame and component group of your choice to go with it. FWIW, you can save a lot by going with the heavier version like Rival (or Force). I've ridden a bike with the 09 Rival group, and the difference in performance is minimal.