To give a different viewpoint, I went from Shimano, although lower end, to SRAM Rival, and I love it. For me it doesn't require as much force or as long a reach to do the double tap as it did to shift to the big ring in the front with the Shimano. I didn't expect to like the SRAM, but was testing bikes and the LBS guy encouraged me to try a bike that had it. I did, and immediately just liked the way it worked. The gear shifting with SRAM came very naturally to me. I've ridden almost 1500 miles on it and have no regrets. You really are just going to have to ride one to try it out.