August 6th, 2008 by 
cooper
Component details
Some observations of the Rival group as whole? The polished aluminum finish has a simple, classic appearance; none of the components are overly polished, nor are they tinted with anodizing (only exception being the warm gray hard anodized chain rings). The look is very traditional, clean, almost retro, and that same impression is carried over to the physical lines of each piece in the group.
On the functional side, all the derailleur and brake clamping and cable fixing bolts are well positioned with enough offset to allow for use of long allen keys. The DoubleTap clamp bolts are easily tightened by folding forward the flexible brake hood rubber. Rear derailleur limit screws are on the face of the derailleur body for easy access. But setting brake pad position is a little challenging due to the short caliper arms.
There’s a slightly boxy, yet soft sculpting to the Rival OCT hollow-forged AL-6066 crank arms that stylistically reminds me of mid 90’s Dura Ace. The drive side’s lightweight Open Core Technology axle passes though a GXP Team bottom bracket with outboard bearings and its trick clear waterproof sleeve. The left side crank arm has an integrated extractor bolt. The pedal ends of both crank arms are stout and use a thin washer between the pedal spindle and the arm to prevent damage from over-tightening. On the backside of each crank arm is a smooth, forged channel that reduces weight while reinforcing longitudinal rigidity. Rival’s PowerGlide 7075 chainrings are hard anodized for durability with shift ramps and pins to provide quick gear changes between rings. The crank’s design is mechanically old school in execution, but perfectly functional. It may not have as much sex appeal as a hi-buck, all-carbon, aero crank, but at Rival’s price point; surrendering a little elegance in favor of utility is a fine trade-off.
Rival DoubleTap aluminum lever controls are an ergonomic joy. In my XL hands, I found them very comfortable on the compact-sized hood tops, providing quick, three finger brake lever access, with a near perfect girth for wrapping my middle, ring and pinkie fingers around the body during climbs. Brake and shift levers angle outwards slightly, situating both levers into position directly under relaxed fingers, with the middle finger falling naturally on the single shift lever. The design allows for simultaneous index finger braking and either up- or downshifting. Another plus for SRAM’s DoubleTap controls? Both brake and shifter cabling runs cleanly under the bar tape.
DoubleTap’s major innovation is a single lever for both up- and downshift, with a 15 degree long, inward sweep for downshifting singly or multiply into easier gears and a quick tap in for quick, single gear upshifts. Techniques for subtle shifting are mastered over time when coming from either Shimano or Campy systems. Once you gain confidence with the Rival DoubleTap rear derailleur controls, it’s easy to sweep into 2, 3 and even 4 gear downshifts, and precisely execute multiple tap upshifts.
August 27th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
Wow, I think I’m in love with the shifter…
September 4th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
Just installed Rival on a CX bike. It took a couple rides to get the front derailleur adjusted properly, but with that behind me, I love the build! My only other complaint is the manpower needed to shift up to the big chainring. Overall the shifts feel smoother and faster than my ultegra / DA road bike. I’m sold.
September 25th, 2008 at 5:23 am
The 2008 Rival brake/shifters are lighter than the competitors product, the build quality is good, the levers and top of hood ‘feel’ are better than most others, shifting across a Sram cassette is good, but..too much user effort/travel of left shifter lever is required to move the chain onto the large chain ring. This is the downfall of an otherwise fine setup. The 2009 Sram Rival shifters have addressed this shortcoming by incorporating the features of the Sram Red Shifters. If the extra effort and travel required to move your chain onto the big ring doesn’t bother you - save some dollars and pickup the 2008 Rival brake/shifters as they are going to be discounted as the 2009 Sram Rival brake/shifters become the more desired component.
p.s. those unfinished rivet on the reviewed Pedal Force frame look pathetic in comparison to premier frame makers such as those by Look of France.
October 27th, 2008 at 4:10 am
I have about 3K miles on a rival build. I love it. I just built another bike using Force components. i’ll never go back to shimano.
October 30th, 2008 at 6:41 am
I have swapped the Rival group (less cassette) I bought onto my Scott Cr1 SL race bike which had DA 7800. It might not have the qudos of top kit but it sure works. Front shift is not a problem worth going on about as it only happens now and then.
November 5th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
With the exception of the new Doubletap levers, I wish 2009 Rival had kept the same polished finish as 2008. To me, the black actually has a cheaper look than the polished finish.
Everything else is a great improvement, and I also applaud SRAM for making an affordable 180mm crankset in the Rival group. My friend who is new to riding (and is 6′9″) got these to replace the 175mm 105 compact cranks on his Trek 2.3 this year and is happy with them. I do wish that SRAM could do this with their Red group though too, like Campy and Shimano do with their top-end groups. I’m ending up with 177.5mm Red cranks to replace the 180mm Dura-Ace 9spd cranks I had (I’m 6′4″ with a long inseam, myself).
April 2nd, 2009 at 10:56 pm
The shifters on the Force sound great … The ‘Double Tap system’ seems to be well thought through and works well. SRAM chains are the best you can get and I think the cassettes are of an equal quality, they look good http://www.bikecyclingreviews.com/faq/SRAM_update.html
June 4th, 2009 at 10:32 am
came with my Bianchi. I must say, I test rode before I bought and now after having it daily, it’s even better than I thought. I was imagining I’d have to get Sram Red to have this type of feel. The Rival does it all right now. Now need for Red unless I want weight reduction. The brakes, great modulation. Shifters…they fit my smaller hands perfectly. The tester has VL hands so you can see they’re for everyone. And I love that perfect shifting action when you want it….now, instant. And to downshift 2, 3 even 4 at a time….outstanding.
I may eventually get Red to bring my bike to under 16 pounds but as it is, that may be awhile if at all. I’m in love with these components right out of the box. And to think the 09 are even better..