While I was really hoping for some sneak peaks at an all-new Red road group (more on that at the end of this post), SRAM’s road side had a few new goodies and updates to show.
Introduced in February as the raison d’être for the then-new Apex group, WiFli combined a wide range cassette with a compact crankset to give the gear range of a triple like Shimano’s 105 group but the lighter weight of a double. Now, SRAM has taken that concept and applied it to the mid-level Rival group, giving touring riders and ‘cross geeks a higher end option than Apex.
Above, they’ve got a new blinged out Gold version of their S30 AL road wheels. The key difference other than the gold color are that they get ceramic bearings. Full specs, weights and more photos of these and the new WiFli Rival group after the break…
Click to enlarge specs.
Rival already had a compact crankset option, so the two additions are a larger cassette, shown above, and…
…and a medium cage derailleur to accommodate the larger cogs. Pricing should be in line with the standard Rival group.
OK, about that Red group. Rumors that we’d put money on include the logical step toward an XX-style cassette that should both lighten up the group by 15g to 25g (our guess) and make it even sexier and better for cyclocross. No, we haven’t seen a prototype, but our Spidey sense is tingling on this one. Things we do actually know but can’t mention yet include some eagerly anticipated upgrades to other parts of the system, and we’re thinking there are going to be a few more surprises come spring. Fortunately, we’ll get to tell you about some of them long before then. Breath, held.
