twoyacks

I'm currently on a 2001 Bianchi Titanium XL...full ti frame...no carbon rear...megapro down tube...Reynolds Ouzo pro fork...Powertap...NICE bike...but the Dura Ace 9 Speed group is stating to go South, especially rear shifter..notchy and sloppy.
I'm torn between either: Buy a SRAM Red Group ($1600)
Buy a SRAM Force Group ($900) + $700 carbon frame set (Pedal Force maybe or something on Ebay

twoyacks

sorry sent the post by accident....I do about 20 road races a year. The Bianchi is great...but heavy compared to the carbon stuff...Would it be better to run the Red stuff with the shorter shifter throws and the ceramic bearings?...or a carbon frame thats maybe a full lb. lighter and a force group?
thanks

Dubbayoo

Rival with Red brifters and FD and a new frame.

UT_Dude

I would just get new Rival, and do whatever you want with the frame. Frame isn't going to make much difference either way, so whatever. The only difference between Red and Rival is material, some bearings, and which front gear you can trim. Red *only* trims the big ring and Rival/Force only trims the small ring. Personally, on my Force, I've never needed to trim the big ring, but I need to trim the little ring occasionally. That, however, is just my experience, but would save you some $$!

Dubbayoo

Actually Red was designed to have a shorter throw, the most important feature for me. I trim the big much more than small on a compact.

vic32amg

The cost of Sram Red is significantly more than Force and even more so compared to Rival. I would get a different frame and force. And then get The red components that matter later down the road. however if you want Red let me know. I have a group pulled off my bike available. it will run expensive. 2k.

elemental

New frame + Force. Force is sweet, the extra $700 for Red is mostly bling.

Unagidon

Agree. I just purchased new carbon frame, and it's damn sweet! Force + frame.

briscoelab

Tom at GVH bikes has red for VERY good prices. Give his site a look or give him a call. He also has a TON of very nice frames at good prices.

the beef

Red is frankly unnecessary (although we would all drool over it). Go for the Bianchi + Rival.

umd

Incorrect. Force and Rival are the same mechanics and they differ only in finish materials. Red is completely different "inside"

twoyacks

the $600 Evoke group buy looks really nice....and witha SRAM Force kit would be even nicer I think

Dubbayoo

+1. I'm going to upgrade my Rival to Red brifters and FD...< $450.

foresthill

if you go with Force, I highly recommend the extra $30 or so for the red brifters. I've got Force (except for the brakes) and my only complaints are addressed by the new Red brifters. Enough so that I'm considering coughing up the dough to upgrade mine.

So I'll likely have a set of Force brifters for sale soon...

jeffremer

Are the complaints the amount of lever swing and the trim on the big ring? I was planning on going all Force, but this sounds like a good option, even though the extra $30 is more like an extra $70. Sounds like a good idea to me.

foresthill

Ah. I've seen different prices in different places. I don't mind the trim thing, really. But the extra lever throw is significant.

JayC

Id probably do Rival + one of the BD Bottechia carbon frames and forks. That gets you into a new group AND frame for not much over $1000.00.

Ive ridden Force and Rival and was one of the first guys on the forum to make the jump to SRAM.. between the two, there isnt much difference. They work and ride the same, just Force has more bling and is a little lighter.

Red is defintely an improvement but its not enough of an improvement to make me want to cough up that kind of dough from an operational standpoint. I dont find the big ring sweep to be any more than Shimano and lack of trim has never been an issue for me. One thing from Red you might want to include is the bottom bracket. The regular GXP bracket kind of stinks.. Ive had 2 of them go bad on me. I finally upgraded to the Red bracket with the ceramic bearings.

smoke

the trim will be nice. a shorter lever throw is going to be a big help. but what cinches it for me is the adjustable reach to the brake/shift levers. short fingers make that, and the lever throw, a big deal. i'm having red put on a new bike right now. i'll probably upgrade the force brifters on my other bike as well

Mitro

I say keep the Ti frame, get the Evoke from the group buy and pick up two rival groups (one for each bike). If you like your Ti frame, you should keep it rolling, and why not have a nice shiny carbon ride on top of it?