What's the deal with Force 22 pricing?

[Gex64]

Wasn't SRAM pricing this group to be competitive with 6800? It's selling for at least $200+ more than 6800 and no place offers the 11-32 option whereas everyone offers that option with Shimano. If you take into account buying the 11-32 cassette separate it's now an almost $300 price difference which is pretty big. I love SRAM hoods but I don't love them $300 more. What's the deal with SRAM pricing?

[prendrefeu]

Volume.

[hurricanejosh]

i just got a force 22 group from a UK online retailer for $930. lowest i've seen 6800 groups is around $860

edit: imho the quality of force exceeds that of ultegra. the force 22 cranks are carbon for a start, albeit slightly heavier (50-75g) than the 6800 cranks

[Gex64]

i just got a force 22 group from a UK online retailer for $930. lowest i've seen 6800 groups is around $860

edit: imho the quality of force exceeds that of ultegra. the force 22 cranks are carbon for a start, albeit slightly heavier (50-75g) than the 6800 cranks

I am getting ready to order a group for my new Storck frame and Ribble has 6800 for $740 whereas cheapest I found Force 22 for is around $950. I can't make up my mind if Force is THAT much better. I do l like the fact though that Force now comes with the Yaw FD and of course the SRAM hoods are just yummy.

[hurricanejosh]

^ agreed. i prefer the hoods and the shifting method, and the yaw is a nice pro. $950 is a steal for what force 22 offers in my opinion.. i run ultegra for cx because they have the nice cx-specific FD, cranks and disc brakes, but for road, it's sram all the way for me.

catalogue weight for force 22 is 2149g. ultegra 6800's a bit more at 2274g.

were you going to pair the 11-32 with a compact? if not, a compact with a 12-28 offers some room for the hills. the wi-fli derailleur is also available for force22, but you'll probably be paying extra for it.

[bricky21]

I suspect Sram has done something to keep Ribble from selling Sram 22 at the kind of prices they sell Shimano for. Newer Sram is not even available on their website. Force 22 is in line with 6800. Just not at Ribble prices.

[hurricanejosh]

just checked and 6800 is sold out on ribble, so that might be your decision maker right there...

that and it was listed at 560 quid which is over $900

[bricky21]

6800 is $734 shipped to the US from ribble.

[hurricanejosh]

crazy. that's nowhere near exchange rate. must be UK taxes/duty?

[RichTheRoadie]

Merlin Cycles in the UK are doing good prices on both too - worth a look.

prendrefeu was right though, volume is key WRT price. Most shops will shift more Ultegra than they will Force.

imho the quality of force exceeds that of ultegra. the force 22 cranks are carbon for a start, albeit slightly heavier (50-75g) than the 6800 cranks

Material choice doesn't determine quality.

[Gex64]

Well Shiny has Force 22 in stock and as a bonus they offer the BB86 bottom bracket at no cost whereas with 6800 I would have had to pay $50 for the BB86 HTII one. So total shipped for Force 22 is $938 vs technically $800 for 6800 because of the bottom bracket. Now it's just a matter of deciding if those sweet hoods are worth $138...

[deek]

I suspect Sram has done something to keep Ribble from selling Sram 22 at the kind of prices they sell Shimano for. Newer Sram is not even available on their website. Force 22 is in line with 6800. Just not at Ribble prices.

I think this has something to do with it too. Didn't Shimano recently change their distributor model to cut back on the super discount websites like Ribble?

[bricky21]

I've herd some rumblings about that too. If true it will likely make Campagnolo via overseas retailers the best value if not the outright cheapest option for US consumers.

[jamr1]

6800 is $734 shipped to the US from ribble.

Now $877 @ Ribble

[deek]

I've herd some rumblings about that too. If true it will likely make Campagnolo via overseas retailers the best value if not the outright cheapest option for US consumers.

http://www.bicycleretailer.com/north-am ... stributors

Don't expect the low Shimano prices on Ribble/Wiggle/CRC/PBK to last much longer I guess