Looking for a new carbon road bike with SRAM groupset

Standing100

I'm looking for a new bike, but struggling to find one with a SRAM group set. I have a Boardman cyclocross which has Apex on it and I really like the double shift and simply like the solid way the gears change.
Every bike I look at seems to have Shimano, typically 105's.

I'm after a lighter comfortable bike for taking part in more sportives and have a budget of £1400
I have narrowed the selection down to possibly getting the Felt Z5 from LBS or I do like the Planet X RT-58, but that would be risking buying online.

Any advice?

Miles253

How is your current bike fit to you? If it feels good, couldn't you just take measurement from your frame(youtube guides are out there) and plump for the Planet X ? It's good value and you should be able to dial in your bike fit on the new bike. Taking measurements should help you pick the frame size. In my understanding, stack, reach, top tube and seat tube measurements are particularly important. I'll allow someone to correct me. Failing that, having someone at your lbs fit you to the new Felt would be easy enough, they are nice bikes I hear.

47p2

Slightly over budget but the Trigon RQC-27 with Sram Rival is a heck of a lot of bike. I bought an RQC-27 with Sram Force last year and it is my preferred bike for sportives and longer rides. Link to mine hereClick


Available from Cycle Division for £1650.00 Click

The RQC27 features a more relaxed geometry than the RQC29, with a longer wheel base and more comfort orientated angles. The RQC27 still maintains it's competitive weight at around 995g for the frame, by utilizing Trigon's Venus C7 carbon. This bike would be ideal for the sportivist or competitve racer who is looking for a fast responsive ride but with a plush comfort for those long days.
Other features include integrated carbon dropouts at the rear to shave those few extra grams, and a semi- brake cable routing under the top tube to maintain those smooth lines.
Full bike spec:
Frame - Trigon RQC27
Fork - Trigon RC315(S)
Headset - Trigon R1
Shifter - SRAM Rival
Front Derailleur - SRAM Rival
Rear Derailleur - SRAM Rival
Brake - SRAM Rival
Crankset - SRAM Rival
Cassette - SRAM Rival
Chain - SRAM PC1071
Handle Bar - Trigon RB120(S)
Stem - Trigon HSA01(S)
Seatpost - Trigon SP110-272(S)
Saddle - Prologo Scratch T2.0/Fizik Arione (Subject to Availability)
Tape - Cero PU Ultra Soft (White)
Wheel - Fulcrum Racing 5 (Subject to Availability)
Tyre - Continental Gran prix 23c
Cables - SRAM / Jagwire

passout

You can spec SRAM on Dolan bikes on the Dolan website. Eastway bikes have SRAM parts and they have some nice models. A few Moda bikes used SRAM too.

plodder73

I have the Felt z5 its mega comfortable but it has 105, AFAIK doesn't come with Sram.

mattmaximus

Have you tried shimano? I have force 10 speed and before that I had rival. Personally, I think SRAM shifting is a distant second to shimano, especially on the front (albeit I haven't tried the 22 speed groups with the yaw front much). If it's ergonomics that makes you go SRAM then fair enough, but my next groupset will be ultegra or da.
I have da 7800 on my steel bike and it's no drama swapping between the two systems.

passout

mattmaximus wrote:

Have you tried shimano? I have force 10 speed and before that I had rival. Personally, I think SRAM shifting is a distant second to shimano, especially on the front (albeit I haven't tried the 22 speed groups with the yaw front much). If it's ergonomics that makes you go SRAM then fair enough, but my next groupset will be ultegra or da.
I have da 7800 on my steel bike and it's no drama swapping between the two systems.

Just to add to this....If you have a winter bike and summer bike & you stick to that division of labour, then swapping is fine. However used to have shimano on my commuter bike and sram on my posh bike and I didn't like swapping between them. Best sticking to one or the other IMO but its a personal thing I guess, you might be OK with it.

I prefer SRAM anyway, I find the shifting more positive & like the double tap. My rival has been super reliable & hard wearing too compared to anything else I've used (including Ultegra). Shimano does have 'smoother' shifting though and both are excellent really.

norvernrob

Whereabouts in the country are you, and does it have to be a new bike?

Just asking as I may well have mine for sale soon (I'm in Sheffield) as I'm looking at spending a load of money I haven't got on a bike I don't need. It's a 3 month old Planet X Sab prestige carbon frame with rival shifters, FSA gossamer compact chainset and force front + rear mechs + brakes. The frame alone is £600 on Planet X's website.

Apologies for jumping in on the thread!

Standing100

I've only tried the Shimano Tiagra and didn't like that, but it may have simply been the set up. I'm almost there with choosing the Felt Z5 with the wishful thinking that Shimano 105 will work without issue. The frame that I tested with the Tiagra group set was very nice.

StillGoing

Buy the bike with the Shimano gear on it. Take it all off, sell it, buy the SRAM groupset you want with the proceeds and fit it all to the bike. The tools required are all the same and it's a doddle to do.

47p2

I have 5 geared bikes with the following

Campagnolo Super Record 7 speed
Shimano 1051 7 speed
Shimano 105-5700
Shimano Ultegra 6600
Sram Force on another

In all honesty each has their own characteristics and each works differently but my least favourite is the Campagnolo, it feels clunky and cumbersome even though it was top of the pile back in the 80s, the Shimano 1051 is a fantastic piece of engineering from the late 80s and still looks like new and works flawlessly after all these years. The 105-5700 does what it says on the packet, crisp precise shifting and never goes wrong. It is inexpensive now at around £300 for the full groupset and I would buy it again, it really is that good. The Ultegra 6600 is possibly my favourite of them all, smooth, precise and flawless though finding NOS is getting expensive now. Sram Force is also a lovely piece of kit, but doesn't feel as nice as the Ultegra and although I can't quite put my finger on it I feel Shimano has the edge.

I know that my comparisons are not really fairly done as there are years of differences between each group and I'm sure if I compared a new Ultegra with a new Force I might have a different opinion but I can only base my experiences on what I have.

Standing100

Thanks for the responses about the different group sets, it's always useful to get user feedback even though it will always be personal and unscientific.
I'm going to go for the 105 group set and if it's not to my liking I will look to swap them out. Given that such a number of bikes at the £1400 mark have these gears, they cannot be too bad!!

47p2

I don't think you'll be disappointed with the 105 groupset.

hstiles

If you can stretch to £1600 and the sizes are right, you could pick up last season's Scott Foil 30 with SRAM Rival.

http://www.westbrookcycles.co.uk/search/foil

A very nice bike for the money. I love mine.