Touring - SRAM brifters

Does anyone have experience using the SRAM version of the brifter on a touring bike?

There are three models: Red, Force, and Rival.

Are they reliable? Can they be repaired? Do they work as advertised?

Not sure if it matters to you, but as far as I know they don't offer a triple in any of their road groups.

I don't like the way they shift. Say you are climbing and you think you might have another gear left on the cassette, you go to shift it, but you're already in the lowest gear, what happens is it shifts into the harder gear instead.

If you can get around that fact it might be doable, but if Shider's right, I wouldn't want to tour without a triple up front.

The SRAM shifters are pretty much aimed at the racing or wanna-be-racing set.

They are also very new -- 1 or 2 years old. Ergo, replacement parts will be very hard to come by. Not a problem for short tours (1-2 weeks) but not a great plan for anything longer.

Thanks for your comments. They are enough to compel me to give up on SRAM brifter envy!

I don't like the way they shift. Say you are climbing and you think you might have another gear left on the cassette, you go to shift it, but you're already in the lowest gear, what happens is it shifts into the harder gear instead.

I have the Rival group on my road bike. If I try to shift past my lowest gear it does not shift into a harder gear instead. It makes the two click sounds and does nothing. No harm, no foul.

What makes the SRAM shifters an odd choice for touring is that they're only available for 10 speed cassettes.

It makes the two click sounds and does nothing. No harm, no foul.

Yep, but I much prefer the campy setup on my non-SRAM bike which simply has the upshift lever go limp when there isn't a lower gear available. The extra clicking and extra spring tension of a "no gear available" mis-shift isn't very pleasant and I often back off midway through the mis-shift and then I DO get a higher gear when I least want it. I've taken simply to glancing back at the cluster when I'm unsure if I have a lower gear.

- Mark

I guess I'm a wanna be. I have the Force group on my road bike,and while I admit it takes some getting used to, it works very well. That said, it wouldn't work for a touring set-up for the above stated reasons-10 speed double only.

SRAM 10 speed mountain gruppo comes out next season, i believe. But no triple option yet for front road shifters, heard rumors of a 'touring' gruppo too, but less solid rumors than the mountain 10 talk....

I might be thinking Shimano 10 mountain gruppo, its early...

regarding repairability, SRAM road brifters are simple mechanisms with only 30 or so parts. According to a SRAM tech at a recent clinic, all brifter parts available from SRAM for repairs.