When is Sram releasing 2011 gruppos
11-10-10, 06:10 PM
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When is Sram releasing 2011 gruppos
Anyone know when SRAM is releasing their 2011 gruppos? Trying to decide if I should limp along with my existing shifters or buy now. thanks.
11-10-10, 07:11 PM
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They previewed 2011 MTB products as far back as April at Sea Otter. Maybe there aren't any major updates for the road groups?
11-11-10, 01:42 AM
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There is a version of SRAM Red that has yellow accents instead of red, as used by several riders at the 2010 TDF, but now available to the public (I know, that's not very exciting). Plus, there is the new bottom-end Apex group with it's stupidly-wide spacing on the rear cassette so that SRAM don't have to spend money making a triple crank, shifter, and FD (which would be the better solution; lack of a triple option is the biggest problem with SRAM road stuff IMO). I believe that is all for 2011.
11-11-10, 10:58 AM
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Plus, there is the new bottom-end Apex group with it's stupidly-wide spacing on the rear cassette so that SRAM don't have to spend money making a triple crank, shifter, and FD (which would be the better solution; lack of a triple option is the biggest problem with SRAM road stuff IMO).
11-11-10, 03:30 PM
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Road triples are not yet dead in the Alps!
I live in Switzerland, and ride with some very fit people. When we go out for all day rides over multiple Alpine passes, we still laugh at the people who come along with only a compact crank - the rest of us know they're going to tire themselves out quickly using a pathetically low cadence all day. Also, most of these people are smart enough to realize that a wide-range cassette is not going to be a long term solution - it's fine to put one on a bike occasionally for a mountainous route when that bike is otherwise ridden on the flat all the time with a better-spaced road cassette, but it's not something that will work for most people to ride with all the time. I haven't seen anyone here going with that option yet.
With a triple you get a wide gearing range AND closely spaced gears. SRAM seem to have forgotten about the second half of that combination, and are hoping that uneducated buyers won't notice the omission, or at least will not realize the importance of it.
It is unfortunately true though that several manufacturers are giving up on road triples. Campy don't make a high-end triple crank, SRAM don't make one (except for a mid-range offering branded as Truvativ) and Shimano didn't include a triple option with Dura Ace 7900 (whereas they had with 7800). I've been keeping track of what road triple cranks are being offered in modern 2-piece (external BB) designs in this thread, which contains a comprehensive spreadsheet listing all known offerings.
I live in Switzerland, and ride with some very fit people. When we go out for all day rides over multiple Alpine passes, we still laugh at the people who come along with only a compact crank - the rest of us know they're going to tire themselves out quickly using a pathetically low cadence all day. Also, most of these people are smart enough to realize that a wide-range cassette is not going to be a long term solution - it's fine to put one on a bike occasionally for a mountainous route when that bike is otherwise ridden on the flat all the time with a better-spaced road cassette, but it's not something that will work for most people to ride with all the time. I haven't seen anyone here going with that option yet.
With a triple you get a wide gearing range AND closely spaced gears. SRAM seem to have forgotten about the second half of that combination, and are hoping that uneducated buyers won't notice the omission, or at least will not realize the importance of it.
It is unfortunately true though that several manufacturers are giving up on road triples. Campy don't make a high-end triple crank, SRAM don't make one (except for a mid-range offering branded as Truvativ) and Shimano didn't include a triple option with Dura Ace 7900 (whereas they had with 7800). I've been keeping track of what road triple cranks are being offered in modern 2-piece (external BB) designs in this thread, which contains a comprehensive spreadsheet listing all known offerings.
Last edited by Chris_W; 11-11-10 at 03:59 PM.
11-11-10, 04:45 PM
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i believe that the road triple will live on, mostly due to the preferences of elderly/rotund riders who want to ride the road on a mean-looking road bike, but do not have the chops for it at present. This is excellent news for folks who live in alpine areas like chris W described above; having a triple in a place like that might be nice for a performance-minded rider, who can enjoy both low gears and small steps between gears. The rest of us are better served by a double; in some cases, a compact double is the best option. (personally, i dig a 50/39. the 34t on most compact doubles is too low for south jersey, but the 53 found on most standard doubles is too high for my fitness level/laziness.)
Ppl who cherish their triples, but love 1:1 rear shifting actuation and the very nice doubletap road shifters, can just build their ride up with a shimano triple-compat FD and whatever triple crank they like, be it a shimano, and fsa, or whatever. Ppl who get all weird about the dearth of high-end road triples are typically living in a fantasy world; unless you're actually a competitive road-racin' cyclist, you can "make do" with the 10speed campy "triple comp" or ultegra.
As for the mtb world, i think the switch to 2x10 and the like will probably take a wee bit longer. I run triples on my geared mountain bikes, but i honestly use the granny ring VERY rarely. I'm also in south jersey, so why would i use the granny? Our trails're flat. But, when i rode mt allamuchy, i lived in my granny gear almost the whole way up that massive hill... As a recreation hefty guy, I probably could've made do with a 40/26 double and a 11/36 cassette or whatever they're using, but i'm not certain that racers'd appreciate that much space between the steps, gearing-wise.
just my $.02
-rob
Ppl who cherish their triples, but love 1:1 rear shifting actuation and the very nice doubletap road shifters, can just build their ride up with a shimano triple-compat FD and whatever triple crank they like, be it a shimano, and fsa, or whatever. Ppl who get all weird about the dearth of high-end road triples are typically living in a fantasy world; unless you're actually a competitive road-racin' cyclist, you can "make do" with the 10speed campy "triple comp" or ultegra.
As for the mtb world, i think the switch to 2x10 and the like will probably take a wee bit longer. I run triples on my geared mountain bikes, but i honestly use the granny ring VERY rarely. I'm also in south jersey, so why would i use the granny? Our trails're flat. But, when i rode mt allamuchy, i lived in my granny gear almost the whole way up that massive hill... As a recreation hefty guy, I probably could've made do with a 40/26 double and a 11/36 cassette or whatever they're using, but i'm not certain that racers'd appreciate that much space between the steps, gearing-wise.
just my $.02
-rob
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