If one were to upgrade any of their 2009 Rival components to Force and or Red what would they be and why (besides weight and aesthetics). I ask because all the names of the different "technologies" sram uses seems to have gotten me confused.
Thanks.

Hmmm....don't know that I would upgrade anything to Force maybe the red RD...much lighter and lively.

2010 Force might be worth it, but otherwise just stick with Rival. Maybe throw a Red cassette on because it's so badass. The technological differences between Rival and Red are in the right shifter, BB (ceramic vs non ceramic), crank (carbon and BB30 vs alloy), rear derailleur, and cassette. Brakes and front derailleur are essentially the same.

...and some would even argue that the Red FD is not as good as Rival/Force.

FWIW, I run full 2009 Rival with one exception: the Force crank. It's a lot lighter (nearly as light as Red) and looks much, much better.

edit: But you said "except weight and aesthetics" so nevermind. It doesn't matter what you put on your bike as long as it works.

Everyone keeps talking about Rival. Do I have to try this group out?!

I don't know if I'll like SRAM's shifting.

I didn't think I would like the shifting either until I rode it for a while. Now I like it a lot.

I really like the shifting, too. If you're a stickler about drive train noise, you might not like Rival as well as Shimano. Shift noise is considerably louder than Shimano and chain noise is also louder(not sure what's causing the chain noise to be louder but I think it may be the missing tooth on the SRAM cassette cogs.) The chain noise isn't awful, but it is noticeable.

Bought the 2008 Rival group for a travel bike found that I loved the shifting. (coming from a ex-die hard Campy fan). Then I got a good deal on a 2008 Red Group for my main ride. From rival I would look at the cranks, RD and cassette as things I would change out on the Rival. I haven't ridin' the Force enough to know if I would chose a Red part over Force part.

The right shifter is probably the biggest difference, with the "zero loss" that Rival and Force don't have. That means shorter throw and quicker shifts for the rear.

They added zero loss to force and rival, right?
I haven't actually used red, so I can't give hands on feedback.

Only for the front/left.

I was thinking.. there's gotta be a way to modify without replacing the internals the right side so it's zero loss as well on rival.. it would definitely be nice to have zero loss all the way around.. Rival is awesome.. now If anyone knows a way to get the brakes on a long reach setup that would be awesome..

A lot of the noise is from the SRAM chain. I use and recommend using a KMC chain. Near silent.

Although 2010 Force looks great, Rival is still the best valueerformance:weight group out there by far. A jump from Rival to Red is the only justifiable upgrade based mostly on weight. However, the Rival crank is stiffer than Red.

Shifting on 09 Rival is excellent, any small difference felt on the road would be almost unnoticeable. Short vs. long throws is a little subjective. I have big hands and have no issues with front or rear derailleur throws. 2010 Force looks pretty cool though but I prefer the matte black finish on the 09 Rival over Red. Not a big fan of the Red crank though.

Red is still incredible as far as weight. Cannot imagine spending the $ for 7900 based on the weight alone.

How come it seems like no major manufacturers use Rival, ever? Cannondale uses Red for their best bikes, but Shimano/ FSA lower down, and most others are similar from what I've seen, unless they use Campagnolo.

This is a pretty pricey frame and Rival is on it. The point is that you can choose 09 Rival over say Ultegra which is a lot more $ and quite a bit heavier.

But why no Rival on a CAAD9, or a Synapse, or a Giant TCR, or similar <$2k bikes since, as you said, it's cheaper and lighter? Or is Rival that much more expensive than I thought when bought in the volume those manufacturers would buy it in?

We don't know what agreements and contracts Cannondale or whatever company makes with component manufacturers to show their bikes on their sites. The bottom line is that my 09 Rival group weighs 2149 grams, my Dura Ace 7800 weighs 2180. I paid $570 for 09 Rival. Amazing stuff.

$570 for 09 Rival makes me get images of building up from a frame, which is probably a bad idea. Ah well. Very nice though!

Well,
I could have put any group on this bike that I wanted but I chose 09 Rival based on my experience with the original Rival. I entertained going with DA 7800 again as it was on sale late last year, but I figured, why add any weight plus pay more money. IMO, 09 Rival is a revelation as I wanted to see how much bike I could build for the least $.

seems to me like sram should kill Force and create an entry level (possibly 9spd) group below rival with the same ergonimocs and solid performance. something like a tiaga/105 to rivals ultegra.

i know i'd buy it for my commuter if they did.

I have only very limited experience with Sram but I will say the little bit I've rode on the Force group I love it, way better than my old 105 set up. I rid ewith a guy htou that has red and he switch the front dr for a force one, found the red flimsy.

Plus the Rival crank is really stiff and still pretty light. I never thought I would switch from Dura Ace before I tried Sram. I would have put Red on this bike but I don't like the aesthetics as much as plain black. 2010 Force looks more my speed in that regard.

thats a really slick bike dude

Will you reveal the source of your deal?