hey all,

i searched around a bit and didnt really find a answer to this question, forgive me if i missed it.

I am looking into picking up a new road bike and am interested in how sram groupsets compare to shimano groupsets.

For instance what does Rival compare to in Shimano, or what does 105 compare to in SRAM?

A nice little chart/diagram answer would be super helpful.

thanks so much

Rival vs. 105
Force vs. Ultegra
Red vs. Dura Ace

but most say SRAM is best in class until you get to red/DA level, which it then evens out. I've ridden 105 and a force/rival mix, difference was not discernible for me except for the shifting mechanism (double tap).

Shimano has electronic shifting, SRAM shaves 100g off a groupset.

+1 their both good I think it comes down to preference. If your looking for something with more gearing then you could go with sram apex 11-32 which is the big advantage of apex but if you didn't want the 11-32 they offer normal cassette sizes as well. I ride sram apex and prefer it over 105 but both are nice for entry level.

I'd recommend you go ride them and see which you prefer. I really liked Sram better (it came more naturally to me) but the bike that I liked best has Shimano. I have gotten very comfortable with Shimano but I will still upgrade to a higher end Sram later on.

Chart comparing weight, including Campy.
https://totalcycling.com/component-weights.html

That's very cool.

Thanks Rob.

It all comes down to user preference. Both will get the job done but it comes down to ergonomics and feel of the shifting. SRAM uses one lever to shift up and down while Shimano uses a lever and the brake lever to shift. I've put several thousand miles on both and prefer SRAM myself. Hoods felt a lot more comfortable to me and i like double tap. Ride them and see which one you like better.

Thanks for that chart. It's interesting that Apex and Rival are both lighter than Ultegra.

Shimano's brake hoods are larger and to me, they shift smoother and quieter.
Sram's brake hoods fit perfectly and are not brifters, the brake lever doesn't move to the side. and you know it when you shift.

+1
I had 7800 before I switched to SRAM Red. I still feel Shimano shifts smoother, but the feel, fit and faster shifting of SRAM double tap wins in my book and once it's dialed in..it can't be beat.

As you can see from the chart, one of the areas that SRAM is a lot lighter is the shifter. If you hold one in your hand, you can see why. The Shimano shifter feels (and is) much more substantial. Personally, I like this. The SRAM shifters feels small and cheap to me. I ran Force for a year and the deal breaker was the shifters. I just couldn't get used to them. The substantial bump in the front of the Shimano shifter (and more so on Campy) makes my hand feel very secure.

To each his own.

Bob

Until this year, the Apex made much more sense than it's Shimano counterparts...none of them were 10sp. With that said, I much prefer the method Shimano uses for it's brifters above Sora.

+ 1 on the to each his own, all of the groups listed for both companies are excellent, and it's really just a matter of personal preference, including feel and function, weight, cost, etc. It's funny though because the issue of feel - for me - is that the Red shifters I have feel equally or even more substantial than the Ultegra shifters I have on my other bike. I never hefted them in hand, but that's not a factor in how they feel to the hand on the bike. I like the shifting mechanism of both just fine. The hoods/shape of the Sram fit my hand better - I'm one who actually didn't like the large-ish bump on the Shimano. Not a big deal, I can be comfortable on either, just a preference.

Actually, to the above list, I'd add Apex (Sram) and Tiagra (Shimano). Both "low end" groups, but both exceedinly high functioning and more than enough for virtually any rider who is honest with him/her self.

For an entry level rider I have to agree with you, especially now that Tiagra is 10 speed. I have the new Tiagra and it has functioned perfectly. When I get more serious about riding then I will upgrade but for the time being Tiagra is serving me well.

campy

actually it's the 2012 Tiagra that makes more sense, on paper, to be compared with Apex. that's what Shimano and the manufacturers who are using 10-speed Tiagra would have you believe. but if you look at the weight of it, and ride Tiagra compared to Apex, it's not a good comparison at all.

it's more like:

2300 -> Sora -> Tiagra -> 105 -> (No product) -> Ultegra -> Ultegra Di2 -> Dura-Ace - Dura-Ace Di2
(None) -> (None) -> (None) -> Apex -> Rival -> Force -> (None) -> Red -> (None)


in short I think it's 105 vs Apex, not Rival.

+1

I agree. I think Rival vs. Ultegra is a better match up as well, and I went from Ultegra to Rival. Force doesn't really have a Shimano counterpart. Perhaps Campy Record (not SR) is its match?

You have to ride them both to work out what works for you. I run SRAM Rival/Force on my CAAD and mostly DA7800 on my Roubaix. The rival shifter fit my hands better, as others have noted. I also find that I can miss gear changes with Shimano hoods when I'm in the drops (small hands) while thenSRAM shifters have a bigger paddle to hit AND you can pull them towards the bars while shifting. Having said that when I ride my 7800 bike, the quality of the shifting is on another level. Both groups have pros and cons.

SRAM = "ker-clunk"

SHIMANO = "ker-schhk"

Thank you for adding substance to the conversation.

It comes down to personal preference in most cases, as others have said. I have bikes with Ultegra, 105, and Red on them. They all perform very admirably. The Shimano stuff feels a bit more refined, but I prefer the Red. Sure, it's a bit loud, but it's very direct, I very much prefer it in a hard/fast type of ride situation (crit/road race/local hammerfest ride). For general riding, all 3 are more than adequate.

It's all personal preference. If you want to get into little details, some people get weirded out by SRAM's single crank bolt (Campy uses one too), their loud shifting, and single paddle shifting engagement. At this point, in my opinion, it comes down to which hood and lever is more comfortable for you.

+1

ok cool, my assumption was that rival was sort of the equivalent of ultegra, or at least between 105 and ultegra.

i am looking to upgrade from a tiagra equipped bike to possibly a 2011 madone 5.1 with full rival and just wasnt sure how it exactly related to shimano components.