I've ridden Ultegra on an aluminum Trek, a dedacciai Viner and an 853 Lemond Buenos Aires for the past 8 years. I just got a like-new 2010 Madone 4.7 built up with SRAM Force a few weeks ago and so far I'm very happy with it. Did 60 and 30 mile rides this weekend and I'm getting used to the long throw of the front derailleur with the little lever. I think this Force group could be a bit better, but I'm wondering if I'm just used to smaller cassettes than the one that came on the Madone. I like the Force brakes quite a bit. I can't speak to the relative comfort of the hoods because the Madone has a short and shallow bar where my Lemond had the dip before the hoods. I never liked those Ultegra hoods really.