SRAM Force 22 Double Tap

[aerobrain]

What are people's thoughts on the SRAM double tap system? Thinking about future upgrades and really like the look of the Force 22 but the method for changing gear sounds a bit complex. Well not so much complex as fiddly!

I like the sound of the yaw control on the front mech although it sounds like it can be a pain to set up correctly!

It's a long way off before I upgrade but just thought I'd get some views!

 

[benb]

I've got SRAM Rival on one of my bikes, and it's quite easy really.

To change to a smaller cog, you press the lever until it clicks and then release. To change to a larger cog you press the lever until it clicks and then keep pressing. Takes no time at all to get the hang of.

 

[aerobrain]

Does it still allow you to move through multiple cogs in one sweep?

 

[Rob3rt]

The double tap system is "different" but like anything of this sort, you get used to it pretty quickly.

To answer your questions, yes, you can shift 3 at a time with one big sweep when moving to easier gears. Only 1 at a time going to harder gears, although the double tap system shifts so responsively and with very little input so you can shift across the cassette very quick. Quicker than with Shimano mechanical shifting for sure.

I have SRAM Red on my road bike and it is wonderful. Quite frankly, I haven't put the miles in on it (as I have been riding my Shimano equipped TT bike all the time this summer) to be able to talk about robustness, but it is super light, shifts incredibly well with a nice positive clunk, shifts well even under load, looks great, costs less than competitors groupsets. My TT bike will be getting the SRAM treatment when I can afford it.

Re. the Yaw front mech, I have one and it is great, I have the SRAM Red version, I guess they are now releasing a Force version, it is not as hard to set up as they make it sound.

 

[aerobrain]

Cool, my brother has SRAM X0/X9 (from memory?!) on his homebuilt hybrid and he loves them, always going on about how quick etc changes are.

Will be a way off ro me for the upgrade yet but I like to plan :-) The levers look sh!t hot as well which is always a bonus!! Unfortunately I currently have 10sp so I'm guessing it will have to be a wheel upgrade at the same time to take the cassette. Not a big deal as from comments on other threads it sounds like wheels are a good upgrade anyway so that's on the cards.

 

[Rob3rt]

Not sure, as I know nothing of SRAM's 11 spd stuff. All I know is, now I have tried SRAM, I won't be going back to Shimano anytime soon.

With SRAM the lever throw for up shifts is much less than Shimano and it doesnt have that sort of slack bit of movement before the actual shift starts, so less input is needed for a shift so you can literally just keep tapping and you will fire across the cassette like nobody's business. Going the other way, you have a similar lever throw, but on the small paddle rather than the whole lever.

At the end of the day it will come down to preference and feel, however for me the £££ vs performance benefit of SRAM was enough to tell myself, regardless of preference I would live with it and get used to it, in the end, I loved it from the very 1st ride.

 

[mattobrien]

Lots of people on this thread loving SRAM, me included. Double tap shifting is really initiative, I really don't like the shimano on my other bike in comparison.

I really like the positive nature of SRAM and the no slack when shifting.

Will eventually swap the other bike over to SRAM when funds permit, it needs a new frame first though...

 

[benb]

Does it still allow you to move through multiple cogs in one sweep?

Yes, but IME you can't go through quite as many in one go as with Shimano.

 

[amaferanga]

I've got SRAM Red on one bike and a mix of Apex and Rival on another. The Red is superb, the Apex/Rival is very, very good. I hired a bike with Shimano 105 (5700) while on holiday last month and I just didn't like it after using SRAM for the past 3 years.

Some folk just don't get on with it though so it's worth trying it out before buying.

 

[Rob3rt]

Yes, but IME you can't go through quite as many in one go as with Shimano.

By specification, you can sweep through the same number of shifts on SRAM as you can on Shimano, i.e. going from a smaller cog to a larger cog, you can sweep through 3 shifts with 1 movement. Going the other way it is one at a time, again just like Shimano, but the SRAM shifter has no redundant movement so the SRAM allows you to hit the shift button multiple times more effectivelly for rapid shifts through a number of cogs.

 

[Kestevan]

I've recently moved from Shimano to SRAM on the best bike..... and I really dont want to go back.

SRAM is much more comfortable to use, and as an added bonus the in-built adjustment on the levers makes SRAM more useable for those with reduced reach.

 

[martint235]

Another vote for SRAM Red here. Lelly is fitted with it and it's great. I use 105 on my commuter and Red is way more responsive. All I'd say about it though is that the lever movement is LOUD. You're never going to surprise someone in a sprint!!

 

[aerobrain]

Another vote for SRAM Red here. Lelly is fitted with it and it's great. I use 105 on my commuter and Red is way more responsive. All I'd say about it though is that the lever movement is LOUD. You're never going to surprise someone in a sprint!!

lol, there's no chance I would be surprising someone in a sprint :-)