RED vs 7900

[Peter Erickson]

Hey Everyone,
Time for a new bike and looking at bikes with either SRAM RED or Dura Ace.....thoughts between the relative performance and durability? Much appreciated.
Currently riding older Dura Ace with little issues.
Thanks.

[wonger]

Hi Peter - I have been on Sram Force for the last two years. Love it. I was on Dura Ace before that and I prefer Force - much more positive feel, does exactly what I want it to do when I want it to. I had to get used to it but I think the double tap is much better shifting. I went Force rather than Red as the research I did told me that for the money there was not much appreciable benefit to the upgrade.

geoff

[leftcoaster]

if you're thinking sram, you may be in good company.........

http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/10805 ... -2012.aspx

[Dylan J C]

It all depends on preference.

Sram red:
Positives: Very accurate, hit the lever and you will get the gear you asked for
adjustable shift and brake levers to optimize for hand size
shifts well under load
lighter and cheaper than it's Shimano and campy rivals

Negatives:
Shifting is loud and jerky
front derailleur can only be trimmed while in the big ring, no little ring trim

Shimano dura-ace 7900:
Positives: Silky smooth gear changes
easy to trim
shifting can be "nudged" if the shift wasn't perfect

Negatives: Shifting isn't as accurate
slightly heavier and more expensive


Personally if I had the cash kicking around for dura-ace 7900 I would instead go for the Ultegra DI2. They cost the same money, it weighs a little more (~250g) but you get all the advantages of electric shifting.

[Josh.E]

I rode Red all last year
Dylan sums it up pretty well.

Red shifts much quicker on the rear than shimano, with an instantaneous loud clunk from one gear to the next. It's like having a shift kit, but you aint gonna fool anybody about when you're planning to jump in a sprint with the noise. You can shift under full power on the back, no problem.
The front on Red is a little annoying as it has no trim on the small ring. I think they just made the assumption that you shouldn't be cross chaining.

[Peter Erickson]

Thanks everyone.