More than four years have passed since the American company SRAM first vigorously challenged the top dogs Campagnolo and Shimano with the introduction of the top Red groupset - and has been fighting hard for market share on the components market ever since. Enough time to achieve a number of victories as a permanent fixture in the professional peloton. But also enough time to listen to the voices of riders, customers and the media and to analyse its own strengths and weaknesses. SRAM has done just that, and the new Red has been carefully but thoroughly revised. The designers also paid great attention to minor points of criticism. However, the current trend towards electric shifting has made little impression: there will be neither an E version nor an eleventh sprocket.
A little lighter, a lot better
For a long time, the first generation of Red was the undisputed lightest component group on the market. After Campagnolo was able to claim this record for a short time with the new Super Record, SRAM is now following suit with the Red 2012: At 1,870 grams (without cables, BSA version), it is once again the first choice for lightweight fans; as a BB30 version with an aluminium crank axle, it weighs even a few grams less. But weight isn't everything, as SRAM knows, and so there are a number of functional and ergonomic advances. One of the most important improvements concerns the shifting behaviour of the front chainrings.
The test result of the SRAM Red 2012 can be found below as a PDF download.
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