SRAM has whipped the wraps of its brand-new Force groupset, which gets a raft of significant changes for 2010.
The changes, and there are many, bring the overall weight of the complete groupset to 1,951g, within a whisker of RED. And it’s borrowing heavily from RED that has allowed Force to get under the 2kg marker.
All carbon fibre elements of the Force groupset are now made from unidirectional carbon, which SRAM claims adds strength but lowers the weight, and all aluminium components are now anodised in a ‘zephyr silver’ finish.
The brakes are now closer to those found on RED, with a skeletonised Dual Pivot design with adjustable spring tension and centre adjust, making them easier to setup, as well as being lighter and more powerful.
Another trickle-down feature from RED is the inclusion of Gore RideOn low friction gear cables. Pre-stretched stainless steel cables are coated in a low-friction polymer, with an additional polymer coating inside the cable housing. Re-engineered ferrules are longer and run between sections of housing to further prevent grime getting inside.
The other big change is the introduction of a BB30 chainset option, which SRAM introduced as a RED upgrade last year. A Force groupset with a BB30 chainset brings the weight down to the headline grabbing 1,951g, while the more standard GXP chainset option weighs in at 2,097g, which is still well under Shimano’s new Dura-Ace 7900.
SRAM Force will be available this summer. Price TBC.