weird notch with SRAM Hoods

[Capuchin]

Hey Guys, i'm looking at buying a specialized secteur elite, it seems to tick all the boxes i'm looking for, and it comes with sram apex. Something very odd with this bike when i tried it was the hoods, it has a weird non-ergonomic notch on the underside that makes it uncomfortable to grip. All other sram apex bikes i've tried don't have that, they're nice and smooth. I'm wondering if it's adjustable or what the deal is? I can only fit one finger around the hoods because of it.

If you zoom on the picture here you can see the notch.
Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[Brad_from_CapeTown]

hmmm... Just had a look at that and my Force Group doesnt have that either. Interested to know what on earth that is there for though, as it does seem obviously in the way. Do you slide more than one finger around your hoods though, you must have pretty small hands . I have my thumb on the inside, forefinger resting above the brake and middle finger hanging down the sides, not around the hood.

 

[Capuchin]

hmmm... Just had a look at that and my Force Group doesnt have that either. Interested to know what on earth that is there for though, as it does seem obviously in the way. Do you slide more than one finger around your hoods though, you must have pretty small hands . I have my thumb on the inside, forefinger resting above the brake and middle finger hanging down the sides, not around the hood.

I find i grip the hood with a couple of fingers when pushing on the hoods. I guess it's just habit. It is really weird though, my other half just got a bike with apex on and it's smooth like you'd expect. Hopefully someone will know exactly what's going on.

 

[Scoosh]

Most of the (Googled) pics for SRAM Apex levers show the notched version.

All I can guess is that, as Apex is newish on the scene, some of the levers are from the older (non-Apex) sets, with the cassette changed over to make it Apex ...

... or that it's the 2011/12/?? version of the hood.

'Tis indeed curious, though.

Maybe a query to SRAM ? - or ask Evans to change them

 

[Brad_from_CapeTown]

Having just looked at Sram site, I still dont see that notch ANYWHERE near ANY of the range? It doesnt belong to the Reach adjustment mechanism (this is done on the top of the shifter and top of the hood), The Clamp bolt (to tighten to the bars) is also located on teh top of the hood. If you peel the hood back from the shifter, the underside does have a ridge, but this points inwards towards the bars, not outwards.

My little bit of advice - use it, dont use it. You are buying new, ask the LBS / wherever you are buying from to change the hoods out. It should be an issue.

Again, there is NOTHING under that little "knob" and it not normal.

Good luck and enjoy the new bike...

 

[e-rider]

if all the 'notched' versions are on complete bikes and the 'non-notched' versions are pictures of just the brake levers then I'd guess that it could be a bulge from the handlebar tape or cable routing.