SRAM Rival Groupset
 

What Shimano groupset is comparable to the SRAM Rival groupset? Anyone like the SRAM rival groupset?

105/ultegra

^^^^^

search this please, there was just a huge discussion on this exact topic

Rival is comparable to 105. It does not even begin to compare to Ultegra for finish or durability.


2 cents please.........

I beg to differ. I'm pretty confident that Rival can EASILY compare to the durability and finish of Ultegra. I mean hell, the parts and mechanisms on it are pretty much identical to SRAM Force, just differences in material which only yields differences in weight.

Nope, wrong, next.

Finish and feel are great. My only complaint is that you can't trim the FD on the small ring. I heard it isn't a big deal if you use a SRAM crankset, but it would be beneficial for guys like me running a campy crankset.

Didn't they add FD trim for '09 rival?

You can trim the big ring, not the small

wrong.

Whoa getting a little heated in here. I like it.

apples and oranges

The main difference between Rival and Force is the carbon fiber. If you are use to Shimano itll take a bit of time to get use to the up and down shifter being together, which sometimes sucks when you are climbing.

I am use to shimano...how does that work..with the up and down shifter being together?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7csDTkZMYM4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGZuvXZ8pJc

the adjustable reach feature is the best though...

My Rival is superior to my Ultegra. Review here: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ighlight=rival

I don't have anything to compare SRAM to, but as a newcomer to road bikes I can say it made the transition from MTBing way easy. I'm not always a fan of how far you have push to shift into easier gears, but it's not to the point of irritating either. I would like to try campy, but for the price I'll stick with SRAM. I did try out a bike with Ultegra for a very short demo ride and the shifters felt spongy to me.

To me it's hard to compare Rival directly to a Shimano groupset. I think it's better to describe SRAM and Shimano's road offerings as different.

To me, as you move up Shimano's lineup, the components get slightly lighter, and shifting gets Smoother. With SRAM most of the lineup shares most of the features, and the focus is on low weight and functionality instead of smoothness. Where Shimano will smoothly move from one gear to another, SRAM will clunk into place, however that's not a bad thing.

If I were comparing cars, i'd say that Shimano focuses a bit more on luxury while SRAM sacrifices some of it for more performance.

For the price it's very hard to beat Rival, especially when comparing retail boxed SRAM to retail boxed Shimano.

Rival has always had trim. Pre-'09 it was in the small ring, '09 it was moved to the big ring like Red.

I don't see how the brand of your cranks would matter. Gear ratios would be more of a factor.

Sram - leap. Shimano - not leap. Campagnolo - old Euro non leap.

Being someone who has owned Ultegra and now SRAM Rival '09, I can say after thousands of miles on each, Rival is better. IMO, it comes in just a hair under DA 7800 overall. The crankset on Rival has a better stiffness to weight ratio, it's lighter than Ultegra SL, and shifter/brakes work better. I can see why many pro teams are moving to SRAM, their groups are solid. I'm not a Shimano hater either, love their stuff, but I really like Rival both for performance and price.

Might wanna consider Centaur as well, Varns Especially if you like these exchanges to include flames.

I'm having some noise issues with my newly installed Rival gruppo. It shifts very smoothly and feels very good, but it sounds like i'm cross chaining no matter what combo i use on the big ring.