Cyclingnews.com wrote:Revamped Force group borrows more heavily from Red, new cable sets developed with GoreSRAM's second-tier Force group joins the sub-2kg club thanks to new trickle-down features added for the 2010 model year. Claimed weight is now as low as 1957g as compared to Red's 1914g.
The biggest savings comes with a new BB30-compatible Force carbon crank, said to weigh just 645g complete with chainrings, hardware and bearings; the standard GXP version remains in the lineup but adds another 140g. In addition, brake calipers now use the same aluminum forgings as Red for improved stopping performance but with less aggressive machining to cut costs.
Visually, Force also adopts a darker 'zephyr silver' finish for all of the forged aluminum bits – now using a 6000-series alloy – and a bolder black-and-white graphics package bears strong resemblance to the Red design motif. Otherwise, the rest of Force is essentially unchanged for 2010.
The new Force version will be available to consumers around June or July and pricing will be consistent with 2009: USD 1399 with GXP cranksets or USD 1439 for the BB30-compatible package.
Also new is the 'SRAM Professional System by Gore', otherwise known as a modified version of Gore's own sealed derailleur cable and housing set. As with the Gore version, the SRAM set uses a specially coated inner cable for reduced friction but substitutes the full-length liner for an abbreviated one that runs in between the two sections of rear derailleur housing. For the front derailleur, the liner runs between the end of the housing and just below the cable clamp.
For both sides, the liner starts just behind the housing caps at the down tube cable stops and is sealed at the other end with Gore's familiar grub seal. According to SRAM, this setup maintains the original's impressive low-friction and sealing capabilities for faster shifting and more reliable performance but is easier for mechanics to install.
SRAM give Force an update for 2010 to make it the company's second sub-2kg group.
Photo ©: James Huang/Cyclingnews.com
The biggest change comes with the new BB30-compatible crank which saves about 140g relative to the standard GXP version.
Photo ©: James Huang/Cyclingnews.com
The new Force brakes share their aluminum forgings with Red but are machined less aggressively to save costs.
Photo ©: James Huang/Cyclingnews.com
New forged alloy parts are now finished in a darker 'zephyr silver' hue.
Photo ©: James Huang/Cyclingnews.com
The standard carbon cranks remain largely unchanged save for the new graphics package.
Photo ©: James Huang/Cyclingnews.com
There's little mistaking what brand of crank this is now.
Photo ©: James Huang/Cyclingnews.com
The top-end Red group remain unchanged for 2010 save for some minor chain and cassette revisions already put into production in January.
Photo ©: James Huang/Cyclingnews.com
The new 'SRAM Professional System by Gore' cables are sealed and specially coated for low-friction performance.
Photo ©: James Huang/Cyclingnews.com
Grub seals finish off the ends of the liner to keep dirt and water from entering.
Photo ©: James Huang/Cyclingnews.com
The abbreviated liner system offers similarly low levels of friction as on the standard sealed Gore version but is easier to install.
Photo ©: James Huang/Cyclingnews.com
Looking for something a little quieter? The PG-1070 cassette supposedly runs with a little less racket than the OpenGlide cassettes.
Photo ©: James Huang/Cyclingnews.com