I got apex on a roubaix sl2. Its pretty standard, loud gear change, i dont understamd about the cabpe problem, mostly you just need to be vigilant of lubing tensioning cleaning. My lbs doesn't set my gears because there's no need. That said i can only compare to 105. my friend is a great rider he usrs 2011 105 and it performs but it seems that without cate it misshiftes a lot... I beleve both apex and 105 are similar it depends on you taking care of your stuff.

My mechanic believes mostly a crash will detuned modern quality groups. I believe him.

Thqt said rival seems a step further on weight. Think about the frame and price.