In short, the Rival levers feel and look better to me than those on Red and Force! Big-ringing it You can’t get SRAM’s biggest 50/37 configuration with Rival, but this 48/35 is comparable to a 52/36 when paired to SRAM’s 10-30 and 10-36 cassettes. I did a 6½-hour ride Saturday and my hands felt great at the end. The upward curve at the end changed, too, with a more gradual ramp than Red and Force’s more wall-like banking. Some people may like the huge knobs on Red and Force, but I for one am happy to see a reduction in the form factor. Reach adjust - how far the levers are from the handlebar - is still included in the Rival levers. This comes with the loss of pad-contact adjustment (moving the brake pads closer or further away from the rotor), but honestly, that is one adjustment on Red and Force that I have a hard time discerning, as the adjustment range is so small. The top of the hoods, although still huge compared to mechanical brake/shift levers, are shorter than Red and Force eTap levers. I found the new levers very comfortable for all-day riding.
While the levers don’t have the luscious curves of Campagnolo, the outward slope at the bottom makes for secure braking from the drops.Īnd the shifters have positive feedback when depressed, both in clicking sound and in snappy, tactile feel. And the simplicity of SRAM’s one-shifter-per-level system leaves a lot of room for your fingers to wrap around the hoods. This shape lets you rest your palms anywhere along the continuum of the bar extension and hoods without feeling a divot or lump. Photo: Ben DelaneyĪt the shifters, SRAM has for years done a good job with a very smooth bar-to-hoods transition. Beyond the expected weight-for-cost tradeoff, the primary downside is the lack of remote shifting, which is one of the great benefits of electronic systems over mechanical ones.Īlso read: SRAM brings 12-speed wireless shifting to Rival, starting at $1,190 The pros: Ergonomics, gear reconfiguration, price Smooth shifting and shape The Rival eTap shifters keep SRAM’s shift logic but with a greatly reduced, more gently curved - and, in my opinion, improved - upper hood shape. In a few ways, in fact, it’s better: the hoods are more comfortable thanks to reduced height on the front of the shifter knobs, and the more gentle curve up to them. In a handful of short and long rides around Colorado, I’ve been impressed with how similar it feels and performs to its more expensive Red and Force siblings. In bringing 12-speed wireless shifting down to just slightly more than $1,400 for a complete group, SRAM has pulled off a neat trick.