crash13

I have to be honest, there is little to no difference between the two.
The Red shifters look great, but the levers are painted black...I like the look of the naked carbon on the Force shifters much better. I should've looked closer!

As far as functionality, they feel like they shift the same, and the trim on the big ring just adds an extra click. I feel like this is unnecessary, as you can adjust the Force to not rub in the big - big combo.

Oh well, its the price you pay for always wanting the latest and greatest.

So, if you're thinking about "making the leap" to Red, give it a test ride first. You may be just as content with Force or even Rival!

ted ward

No, duh.

You should buy the rival crank arms. They're stiffer than Red.

Bantam

Maybe you missed the "lightest groupo in the world" memo. I think that and bling are the reasons to buy Red. No one really needs that ****.

Mr.Mavic

Ill trade ya if you really dont like it

smoke

i have to disagree. i have red on one bike and force on another. if i was buying a new gruppo, i'd get red. it may not be a massive jump up from force, but neither is ultegra to dura-ace. the differences are small but significant.

crash13

Thanks Smoke.
Maybe I have to put a few more miles on these things.
Do you find that the trim on the big ring is advantageous?

Dynamic

dude... red is so much hotter anyway.

smoke

hey, if red doesn't work for ya, that's okay. i like the big ring trim better; it's obvious to me. and it's been a lot easier to set up than force. there are other aspects i like about red, but most of them are due to my small hands and short fingers. if you don't have that problem, i can see how red is no big deal

TCR

I've always been partial to red trim.

BHBiker

marketing sucks the suckers faster than a crack wh0re looking to score...

tomoscotto

well if your saying that you might as well get force....

you might as well get rival

it works EXACTLY the same as rival, less the 100 grams difference

but more durable as the catologue points out

WHOOOSSHHH...

Just a totally intelligent, and well thought out statement....I hope you will add yor intellect to more posts.....

smoke

then get rival, if that works for you. or don't. i suggest finding a way to test-ride it and then choose the gruppo you prefer. i like the sram stuff. YMMV

Pablo.

My Rival grouppo is coming in the mail today.

gurana

I was leaning towards getting the Force group for my new build. However, the only thing I was really drawn to was the big ring trim on the Red set. From what I've read, most seem to indicate that it is better, but obviously not everyone sees it that way. If I do decide that it is all that important to me, would getting the Red brifters get me that feature, or would I have to get the Red FD as well?

nitropowered

I would get Red Shifters and everything else force

FrankBattle 

An FD has [almost] nothing to do with trim, save for its size, but trimming is all in the shifters.

I don't have Force. I have Red, but not yet installed. I also have [and ride] both Ultegra and DA (this is the same argument). This is simply an argument of cost/benefit, to some; For others, it's a weight savings thing .. You could still ride the bike with Tiagra, if you so choose.

ColorChange

That's exactly what I'm thinking.

FrankBattle 

What exactly is wrong with "everything else" Red?

For the super athletes out there whose bodies are calibrated to measure stiffness, let's ignore the stiffness thing for this exercise.

gurana

Thanks, that's pretty much what I was thinking.

FrankBattle 

I might add too that .. for others (me, to be honest), it's ALL about the looks (my bikes AND my body) since my only goals when riding are vanity-based. i.e. look good sans shirt, look good in a suit, look good in a t-shirt, keep my genetic high blood pressure in check etc

smoke

yeah, i don't have a problem with that. the trim will be done with the shifters. and most of the changes for red are up there; throw, reach, stiffness. the red cassette is kinda kewl how they machined it, but the weight is about the only functional difference. most of the other stuff is the same, except for shaving a few more grams off. having said that, i do like the ceramic bearings in the BB. as i mentioned earlier, i have force on one bike and red on the other. i'm gonna upgrade the force shifters to red one day, but to be honest, there's no rush to do it. i can work with the force shifters just fine for a while

umd

I have Red on one bike and Force on another (and Rival in my living room waiting to be built up). Force has trim, it is just in the little ring. So still an extra click. The red levers are not painted black, they are still bare carbon, but it is unidirection instead of a weave. Note that in both cases its just a costmetic layer instead over a plastic shell. The reach adjustment and shorter throw at the front makes it worth it for me. YMMV.

go1dens4

hmm i was gonna get red shifters and all rival now maybe ill just go with force shifters if the red is not that big of a deal

crash13

This was the reason I originally posted my comment, to save someone a few bucks...Go with the Force young Skywalker....