They've also tweaked the clamp to make it easier to fit to ergo bars, although I didn't really have any problems with the old one. Personally I find it the most comfortable of the three, although there's not much in it these days. In terms of lever shape SRAM have removed a bit of bulk from the Force lever, although it's still a touch chunkier than Shimano or Campag and a bit squarer in profile. Both of these are minor annoyances though. The other thing that's missing is lever feedback when you've reached the lowest sprocket: you can keep shifting, but nothing happens. Once you've done that, you're committed to a shift, either up or down. The force required to shift down is fairly small so it is possible to click the lever without meaning to. There are a couple of minor disadvantages to the DoubleTap system. It's difficult to get the groupset to miss a beat. The accuracy of the shifts is a product of all the components of the system, not just the levers, but SRAM make great play of their Zero-Loss™ technology which should mean all shifts are immediate. You're never in any doubt about whether you're shifting, anyway. it's more clicky than Shimano but with not quite as much feedback as Campag, if that makes any sense. Shifting is simple and precise, with a light action but positive feedback. It's also a very easy system to use when you have your winter gloves hindering your shifting. In the midst of a sprint I find it a lot easier to drop a cog at the back with SRAM's lever position than I do with Shimano's. If you have a small reach you can also move the brake lever in to suit.
I find that position is easy to find wherever your hands are. Personally I like to wind them in towards the bars. That means if you spend a lot of time in the drops you can move the shift lever to favour that shifting position. The shift leaver is reach-adjustable independently of the brake lever, too. SRAM have enlarged the paddle on the shift lever from previous years to make this even easier. It's pivoted so that you can pull it back from the brake lever, which makes shifting from the drops a lot easier. You can shift up the block three sprockets at a time.īecause the (alloy) shift lever is entirely independent of the (carbon) brake lever it has some advantages. Tap it to move to a smaller sprocket at the back (or to the small chainring) push it to shift the other way.
If you haven't used the system, it's simple: the shift lever located behind the brake lever handles both upshifts and downshifts. SRAM's DoubleTap mechanism is the unique feature of their shifters, and has been much refined over the last few years. You can find the SRAM Force 22 groupset online at Wiggle (who will also price match other deals) or if you prefer to support your local bike shop you can find a SRAM dealer here. Force 22 is available with hydraulic levers for either disc brakes or hydro rim brakes, but we're testing the standard calliper setup here. Even so SRAM's second-tier groupset is an excellent choice for the privateer racer, or anyone building or buying a lighweight bike for fast riding. It's lighter than Ultegra 6800 and the real-world cost is higher. SRAM's Force groupset is pretty much a direct competitor to Shimano's Ultegra, and like Ultegra it's an excellent transmission that takes a lot of the functionality of the maker's top-tier groupset (Red, in SRAM's case, Dura-Ace in Shimano's) and trickles it down to a more affordable level.