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FEATURES: SEA OTTER TECH: SRAM LAUNCHES 2010 FORCE
Philip Booth
April 17, 2009
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Three years ago at Sea Otter SRAM released the first Force gruppo, and quickly made a name for itself in the world of road bikes. Force as since been replaced at the top of the SRAM line by the professional level Red gruppo, and with the revamped Rival gruppo debuting last year, it appeared Force was becoming SRAM’s forgotten gruppo. For 2010 SRAM’s original top-end professional road gruppo returns to the spotlight with several Red inspired upgrades.
The New SRAM Force borrows heavily from SRAM’s professional RED gruppo, including Red’s bold race-inspired graphics, featuring the new Force white logo against black carbon. The aluminum is anodized with what SRAM is calling “Zephyr Silver” finish that adds a high-end look to the visual package. Another carry over from RED is that the SRAM logo will be featured on the inside of both crankarms.
SRAM Force moves to unidirectional (UD) carbon throughout, which adds strength and provides a more high-end feel to the group. The aluminum parts of the gruppo are now forged, providing more strength, lower weight, and a more robust finish. For 2010 the brake levers are upgraded to unidirectional carbon, with the shift levers remain magnesium.
While all the SRAM technologies including DoubleTap™, ZeroLoss™, and Exact Actuation™ remain unchanged, the brakes get a significant upgrade with a RED-styled skeletonized Dual Pivot design featuring spring tension adjustment and centering adjustment. SRAM Force brakes are lighter than last year’s models but feature improved stopping power, and easier adjustability and set-up. The Force brakes are essentially same as Red brakes except Force forgoes the machined brake pad holders which adds a couple of extra grams.
The unidirectional (UD) carbon pulley plates save
weight and increase stiffness and shifting performance. Both the front
and rear derailleurs are finished in SRAM's Zephyr Silver.
The new SRAM Force will be priced exactly as it was in 2009, $1399 (US) for the complete gruppo. Additionally, 2010 SRAM Force sheds 10-grams, weighing 2097 grams in the GXP version while reaching 1951 grams with the BB30 crank option (pictured above), which is new for 2010.
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