When looking for good value and solid performance the SRAM Rival road components should be at the top of your list. Great shifting and braking, light weight and a fair price. It's a marketers dream. Lighter than Shimano Ultegra for about the price of 105, and it works better than either.
SRAM has the best shift action with their Double Tap technology, with up and down shifts taken care of by the same lever. The shift action is far more complicated to describe than it is to use. Move the lever in one click to go to harder gears and in past the first click to go easier. The lever throw per shift is short making for quicker shifts with less wrist movement. This is great for everyone but women and people with small hands will really benefit.
Rear shifting is crisp and quick. Front shifts are solid with less lever throw than Shimano. The front shift has trim adjustments on both the small and big ring to dial out any chain rub. The shift levers themselves are molded carbon fiber, which saves a bit of weight and has better grip in wet weather.
While the cables are under the bar tape, Rival has none the vague feeling that the new Shimano Ultegra shifting has. The shift levers move independently of the brake lever so you can have the shift lever pulled back on your hand during sprints, making it safer to shift during all out sprints.
Of particular note is the comfort of the brake hoods. The shape is really comfortable on long rides. The grip out of the saddle fit the hand well for lots of leverage when pulling on those steep pitches. Replacing shift cables is a little tricky but once you've done it a couple of times you will find it pretty straight forward. You have to roll back the brake hood and feed it in from the inside. Putting a slight bend on the end of the cable will help you get it around the first corner making installation much easier.
Braking is solid with good modulation. Lever feel is good from the hoods and drops. There is a reach adjustment so the brake levers can be dialed closer to the bar for smaller hands. The brake levers can be a little slippery in the rain but that is common for most systems. Good long finger gloves solve this problem. Replacing brake cables is straight forward, just squeeze the brake lever and feed it through the cable holder inside the lever.
The crank is a hollow alloy Truvativ design. Like the rest of the Rival group, the crank is a solid performer. It's not the lightest or stiffest but does a good job that will work trouble-free for a lot of miles. The Truvativ/SRAM GXP bottom brackets are pretty smooth and durable. You don't need anything other than an 8 mm allen key to take off the cranks thanks to the self-extracting crank bolts. The SRAM rings shift well and are pretty durable.
The cranks are available in both standard and compact gearing. You can get the Rival crank in 170/172.5/175 mm. If you need longer or shorter you will have to move to a different model. SRAM does make road cranks that will look right with a Rival package as short as 165 mm and as long as 180 mm.
Cassettes are available in different sizes to suit the terrain you ride on. All SRAM groups are Shimano compatible so you can run shimano cassettes, chainrings and chains for more options.
Compared to the higher end SRAM groups, Force and Red, the Rival works exactly the same. The mechanism in the shifters is the same as the more expensive models giving you shifting that feels the same. The weight is heavier than those groups but that is due to materials. The use of aluminum in the place of the carbon fiber adds weight but increases durability.
After a season on SRAM Rival I find it hard to recommend any other group for road riding or racing. My last bike had Shimano Ultegra, which I had no complaints with but the new Ultegra shift levers feel mushy. If you pay your own way, putting Rival on your bike and putting the money you save into deep carbon fiber wheels will do more to make you fast than a high end group.
SRAM has the best shift action with their Double Tap technology, with up and down shifts taken care of by the same lever. The shift action is far more complicated to describe than it is to use. Move the lever in one click to go to harder gears and in past the first click to go easier. The lever throw per shift is short making for quicker shifts with less wrist movement. This is great for everyone but women and people with small hands will really benefit.
Rear shifting is crisp and quick. Front shifts are solid with less lever throw than Shimano. The front shift has trim adjustments on both the small and big ring to dial out any chain rub. The shift levers themselves are molded carbon fiber, which saves a bit of weight and has better grip in wet weather.
While the cables are under the bar tape, Rival has none the vague feeling that the new Shimano Ultegra shifting has. The shift levers move independently of the brake lever so you can have the shift lever pulled back on your hand during sprints, making it safer to shift during all out sprints.
Of particular note is the comfort of the brake hoods. The shape is really comfortable on long rides. The grip out of the saddle fit the hand well for lots of leverage when pulling on those steep pitches. Replacing shift cables is a little tricky but once you've done it a couple of times you will find it pretty straight forward. You have to roll back the brake hood and feed it in from the inside. Putting a slight bend on the end of the cable will help you get it around the first corner making installation much easier.
Braking is solid with good modulation. Lever feel is good from the hoods and drops. There is a reach adjustment so the brake levers can be dialed closer to the bar for smaller hands. The brake levers can be a little slippery in the rain but that is common for most systems. Good long finger gloves solve this problem. Replacing brake cables is straight forward, just squeeze the brake lever and feed it through the cable holder inside the lever.
The crank is a hollow alloy Truvativ design. Like the rest of the Rival group, the crank is a solid performer. It's not the lightest or stiffest but does a good job that will work trouble-free for a lot of miles. The Truvativ/SRAM GXP bottom brackets are pretty smooth and durable. You don't need anything other than an 8 mm allen key to take off the cranks thanks to the self-extracting crank bolts. The SRAM rings shift well and are pretty durable.
The cranks are available in both standard and compact gearing. You can get the Rival crank in 170/172.5/175 mm. If you need longer or shorter you will have to move to a different model. SRAM does make road cranks that will look right with a Rival package as short as 165 mm and as long as 180 mm.
Cassettes are available in different sizes to suit the terrain you ride on. All SRAM groups are Shimano compatible so you can run shimano cassettes, chainrings and chains for more options.
Compared to the higher end SRAM groups, Force and Red, the Rival works exactly the same. The mechanism in the shifters is the same as the more expensive models giving you shifting that feels the same. The weight is heavier than those groups but that is due to materials. The use of aluminum in the place of the carbon fiber adds weight but increases durability.
After a season on SRAM Rival I find it hard to recommend any other group for road riding or racing. My last bike had Shimano Ultegra, which I had no complaints with but the new Ultegra shift levers feel mushy. If you pay your own way, putting Rival on your bike and putting the money you save into deep carbon fiber wheels will do more to make you fast than a high end group.
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