SRAM Force or Ultegra 6700?

richard36

Hi

I am planning to buy a Rose Carbon Pro RS 4400 which has a SRAM Force groupset or the Pro RS 3000 which has Ultegra 6700.

What I would like to know are the pros and cons of each.

Ideally it would be good to hear from someone who has used both and for them to comment on which groupset they prefer/red and why.

If someone recommends the Force then for not too much money I can upgrade to a Red crankset. Is that worth doing?

Also, if I can upgrade any of the other parts of the groupset then what would you recommend I upgrade?

Many thanks

[I have done a search as I'm sure it's been covered in the past but having gone back 10 pages I haven't come across anything]

leech

I'd probably say you need to try then both as they are very different. I have Ultegra 6700 on one of my bikes and SRAM Rival on another. I find that with the Ultegra, I know what gear I'm going to end up in every time. With the SRAM system, I find that I sometimes change down more than 1 gear by mistake and I also find that front chainring shifter occassionally misses a shift to the big ring. Maybe it's just that my winter bike (SRAM) needs a bit of TLC, but I don't have the same problems with my Ultegra kitted bike.

On a positive for the SRAM system, it changes in an instant when you tap the lever.

Never tried Campagnolo (apart from the clothing).

Cue the criticism form the SRAM fan club....

Evil Laugh

Yep they're just different. Aside from force is lighter, front shifting is def better on shimano. I find it amusing
SRAM are now including chain catchers as groupset parts.

richard36

Thanks

In terms of quality/durability is one better than the other? If they are of similar quality then it may come down to which groupset 'looks' the best. I won't be able to try either of them before I buy and my current road bike has a sora groupset so whichever one I go for I'm going to notice some improvement.

If I did go for Force then is it worth getting the Red crankset, and should I upgrade any of the other bits to Red [I've read on another post that perhaps the Red front mech and brakes are better than Force]

rozzer32

Evil Laugh wrote:

Yep they're just different. Aside from force is lighter, front shifting is def better on shimano. I find it amusing
SRAM are now including chain catchers as groupset parts.

Apart from the fact that nearly every pro in the peloton uses a chain catcher no matter if they are running Sram, Shimano or Campag. It isn't because of bad shifting. Hit a section of cobbles and the chain bounces off say, with no chain catcher you could easy lose 30+ seconds sorting it out. With a chain catcher it just pops on the little ring and no time lost. I think it's quite clever that Sram have incorporated it seeing as everyone uses them. Will probably save a few grams too.

racingcondor

I've used 6600 and Force. Both are excellent so I'd recommend using the one which is most comfortable (SRAM for me).

Set up correctly both will last a long time without fettling.

hopper1

I had 6700 on my Winter bike, which I just upgraded (yes, it is!) to SRAM Force.
Much better.
I have Red on my S2 and P3 (with catchers... Just in case).
Never had a problem with any of these groupsets. The TT bike has Rotor Q rings with a Red front mech, and still changes sweetly.
If you're going to use any Red in your groupset choice, I'd go for shifters, or rear mech...

www.richtreen.co.uk

Richard36 wrote:

Thanks

In terms of quality/durability is one better than the other? If they are of similar quality then it may come down to which groupset 'looks' the best. I won't be able to try either of them before I buy and my current road bike has a sora groupset so whichever one I go for I'm going to notice some improvement.

If I did go for Force then is it worth getting the Red crankset, and should I upgrade any of the other bits to Red [I've read on another post that perhaps the Red front mech and brakes are better than Force]

IMO unless your are trying to save weight the bit you should get is the Red shifters, Zero loss on both levers means much nicer shifting over the Force/Rival/Apex Shifters. I prefer my Red shifters on a Rival Groupset over full Force on my other bike. Upgrading my Force shifters to the Red ones ready for summer. If weight savings are your aim, then Red components maybe worth while, but from a function and performance point of view all the groups work well if double tap is your thing. Worth trying to see if you like it soon becomes second nature.

Had to make the same choice as you re. the Ultegra or Force a while ago. Picked the SRAM from both the usage angle, hat swingy brake levers on Shimano stuff and love the short throw of the SRAM gear change. Also preferred the looks of Force over the Shimano - Hate the look of the Ultegra chainset, that said the finish if the Calipers looks much better quality on 6700.

Hired a bike back in December with Ultegra on it in CG so have rode a decent amount of miles on both groups. Apart from the shifting differences you wont go wrong with either - Ride them both and see which suits you and which you like the look of !

richard36

Thanks for the replies.

Will ask Rose what the price difference is for the Red Shifters.

Also, an upgrade to the Red rear mech is recommended and in another post (on another thread) the Red front mech is recommended. Are there any reasons why these upgrades are recommended?

I'm not bothered too much about weight saving but quality/durability of the components and whether there is an obvious advantage in upgrading from Force components to Red.

rozzer32

I wouldn't bother with the red front mech. It's made out of titanium whereas the force one is made out of steel and is a bit stiffer which gives better shifts. Most of the pros run a force front mech badged up as a red one.

richard36

Rozzer32 - thanks for that

www.richtreen.co.uk

I wouldn't get to hung up on the Red rear mech either I cant notice any differences actual shifting from any of the the mechs - Rival through to Red. Also the ceramic bearings in the Red will need more attention than the others according to the SRAM tech docs for them.

richard36

rich - that's great, thanks

Evil Laugh

I felt rear shifting improved going from a force to red derailleur. Noticed no difference at all in brake upgrades.

richard36

Evil Laugh - that's thrown a spanner in the works! A few people have said they noticed an improvement by switching to Red shifters and no improvement with the Red rear mech yet you say the opposite though I suppose the others were talking about an improvement with the shifting rather than the braking.

Evil Laugh

I've only ever had force shifters. Replaced force rd with red, better. Replace rival brakes with force, no difference.

The rival brake calipers I liked so much I'm putting them on my di2 bike.

Personally I don't care for the shifting of SRAM or the ergonomics of the levers, they feel tiny in my hands which aren't exactly huge. I'd take 105 over red any day.

It really is worth just trying both though.

Dadmo

I have Force on both my bikes, and would be tempted to change the shifters to Red if I could afford it - have had two Force shifters break on me in the past two years. Would never go back to Shimano though - you really do only have to tap the SRAM shifter to move up a gear. Far slicker, I found, than Shimano.

As for the Red front mech - I think you'll find that the new Red has ditched the titanium derailleur.