For 2010 SRAM’s original top-end professional road gruppo, SRAM Force, reclaims the spotlight with exciting upgrades, lighter weight, while continuing to deliver race-proven performance.

The New SRAM Force admittedly borrows from SRAM’s professional RED gruppo, including race-inspired graphics, featuring its distinctive white logo against black carbon. The aluminum is anodized with a sleek ‘zephyr silver’ finish that sharpens the visual package. And, like RED, the SRAM logo will be featured on the inside of both crankarms.

SRAM Force moves to unidirectional (UD) carbon throughout, which adds strength and provides a better substrate for graphics. The aluminum parts of the gruppo are now forged, providing more strength,
lower weight, and a more robust finish.

Cont’d on Page 2 (more photos included)

Finally seen in person, the rumored Athena 11 Speed groupset is real. RoadBikeReview forum member Kwantani snapped a few pictures of the newest 11 speed groupset in the wild tonight. Looks like the levers get the carbon treatment, while the rest of the kit is silver alloy. We’re assuming Athena will be the “entry” level into 11 speed for the upcoming season, though this has not been confirmed. Neither has a release date. But stay tuned… we’ll find out. Confirmed now for release in Fall of ‘09. Athena will in fact be the entry level into Campy 11 for 2010. We’re also told that the levers are basically alloy Centaur levers wrapped in thin carbon. If that’s so, we’re hoping there will be an option of carbon or silver for the levers.

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Cervelo Diet - Ultimate Mods for the Ultimate Bike, the Cervelo R3 - By Twain Mein

I purchased a used Cervelo R3 frame from a poster in RoadBikeReview classifieds in March of 2008. Luckily, it was in mint condition and I got a great deal on a phenomenal frame & fork. The R3, though now 3 years old, is still one of the lightest available frames. The performance is amazing; the frame somehow combines incredible stiffness yet still has a buttery smooth ride. It does this by having massive down tube, chain stays, and bottom bracket. But it has very thin and compliant seat stays which help it to absorb shock. It is no exaggeration that this bike climbs like nothing else! It also descends incredibly well with a feeling of confidence I haven’t had in years. It feels as comfortable as an old steel frame yet climbs and accelerates like a super stiff aluminum one. It’s no wonder it’s won so many awards, including RoadBikeReview’s “Best of 2008” with an astounding 4.93 average rating. I freely admit that it doesn’t look drop dead “beautiful” but it is engineered for performance, sort of like a Porsche 911.

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Brian Sarmiento introducing Super Record at Interbike

For 2009, Campagnolo is “Raising the Level” and introducing not one, not two, but three groupsets in the 11 speed variety. Super Record, Record, and Chorus will all be available in 11 speed. And after Brian from Campagnolo stopped by our offices this past summer to introduce Super Record, we were pretty anxious to get our hands on a group to see if it lives up to expectations. And high expectations they are… for Campagnolo isn’t just any bike company. For those not familiar with the story, it all started on the famous Croce D’Aune climb, where Tulio Campagnolo, in 1927 tried to change a rear tire, with his hands frozen, he became frustrated and yelled, “There must be an easier way…” (in italian of course) And there began the first idea for the quick release. It would be the beginning of a long line of invention and innovation from Campagnolo. Not only in the bike industry, but in the automotive, military, and even NASA has collaborated with Campagnolo. But history aside…

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SRAM Rival Pro Review - By Steve Cooper

Component Weights as listed on SRAM website

• DoubleTap shifter/brake levers: 340 grams
• Rear Derailleur: 188 grams
• Front Derailleur: 102 grams (band clamp version tested)
• Compact Crankset with BB: 830 grams
• Brakeset: 287 grams/pair
• MSRP: $899

The temptation to introduce melodramatic themes into a SRAM Rival review is great. There’s the classic road group rivalry between Shimano and Campy, with SRAM, the plucky upstart, ratcheting up tensions as it jumps into the fray. For colorful metaphors you could draw comparisons with major religions, game platforms, and even burger joints. But this is a review focusing on function, not the fancy; it’s practical stuff, so let’s get down to it.

SRAM unveiled their first complete road component groups, Force and Rival, at the Sea Otter Classic in spring of 2006. New terminology was introduced to the road cyclist’s lexicon such as DoubleTap shifters, 1:1 Exact Actuation and OpenGlide cassettes. The product launch was well managed, well hyped and made plenty of buzz in the cycling press and in the race community. Following the success of Force and Rival, in spring 2007 SRAM announced Red, an evolutionary step beyond Force that was clearly a shot at Dura Ace and Record. Ultimately, over the last two and half years, SRAM has pried loose a strangle hold maintained by the road bike industry’s two dominating forces behind road components. And that opening has sparked many comparisons between the entrenched and the untried.

As SRAM’s entry point into their family of road components, Rival is graced with many of the important new features in their more expensive bits but at a bargain price. List price for the front and rear derailleurs, shifters, brake set, crankset, bottom bracket, chain and cassette lists around $1000 USD, with deeply discounted deals for those willing to hunt around. At Rival’s affordable price point, you could build-up a race-ready crit or cross bike that could be ridden “no-regrets aggressive” in even the sketchiest pack.

For our review, we selected a 50/34 compact crankset in 175 with a 12-26 OG-1070 cassette and a PC-1070 HollowPin chain.