I’m seriously thinking about buying a decent road bike. I’ll be using a cycle to work voucher with a bit more to add to it and have narrowed it down to the Spesh Ruby. I definitely want disc brakes

There is a 2015 Elite Disc discounted with SRAM RIval 22 group set or a 2016 Comp Disc with Ultegra for quite a bit extra. The wheels seem a better version on the Comp version.

Obviously this is very much darkside, but what would the all knowing people of STW choose from these two? Is there really that much difference between the two group sets? On a MTB I do prefer SRAM clickiness to Shimano, but no idea how that compares on a road bike.

I have both and like the double tap SRAM more than the shitmano. Just personal preference so try both if you can.
I also find the shape of the SRAM hoods more comfortable which has quite a lot to do with my preference.

Can’t stand double tap myself, but I’ve used Shimano for years.
Wife is quite happy with it but she’s only ever used that or cheap (thumb lever) Sora.

I have SRAM on two bikes and shimano on one. I find the sound of SRAM far nicer; a positive and satisfying sound of closely engineered hardware engaging. The hoods are also comfier on the SRAM rival 10. (Rival 11 bike is a TT bike so no hoods)

Ultegra all the way for my money. I actually took SRAM Force 22 off a new bike and got rid to put Ultegra on it. Each to their own and all that though

Hmmm….was thinking Ultegra probably better option but not sure it’s worth £400 quid more! Sounds like SRAM might be the way to go then.

Sram rival user here, 10sp and I prefer it to shimano. More definite action. But you’ll get used to whatever you get!

Shimano here, purely personal preference
can’t get used to DoubleTap and the CLUNK of a SRAM front shift into the small ring makes me wince every time

Ultegra is better kit that Rival, but not £400 better, maybe half that. I’d take Ultegra over Rival. Currently using Red rear and shifters with D.A cranks and front mech.

SRAM here

Don’t like how vague Shimano feels on the road bike, even Ultegra and Dura-Ace feel slow and not very positive compared to even the cheaper SRAM setups IMO.

Also love the fact that when people bang on about Di2 being “fast”, I can demonstrate that I can get from one end of the cassette to the other on my SRAM Red equipped bike quicker than any electronic groupset (or any other mechanical for that matter!)

Oh, and DoubleTap rocks! So intuitive to use, the hoods are shaped to perfection (shimano hoods too slim and not very ergonomic IMO), they’re loads lighter than Shimano STI’s and they look the part too.

Not tried shimano road stuff but always used it on the MTB. Anyway got a new road bike and it came with SRAM Rival 22. Was worried out would be pap but I really like it and after a year of commuting two days a week plus weekend rides it’s holding up well.

Meh. I prefer Ultegra but Rival is also good on my second road bike. You’ll be happy with either if you’re open

my missus liked the Sram on her Ruby until she got a 2015 Propel advanced pro with 105 11 speed, and has now also put 105 11 speed on her Ruby

the ergonomics are much improved on the 11 speed STI, which were always bulky in 10 speed generation; the internal lever reach adjust always works great for smaller hands

If you don’t mind constantly tweeting your gears to get them working go with SRAM. If u want solid reliability go with Shimano.

I’m seriously thinking about buying a decent road bike. I’ll be using a cycle to work voucher with a bit more to add to it and have narrowed it down to the Spesh Ruby. I definitely want disc brakes
There is a 2015 Elite Disc discounted with SRAM RIval 22 group set

Don’t be surprised if you can’t use the voucher on discounted stock.

Ultegra .

the internal lever reach adjust always works great for smaller hands

Yeah SRAM’s double tap could be a PITA for smaller-handed riders?

11sp Ultegra just oozes quality, I’ve owned 10sp Rival and they’d have to have made the 11sp version a hell of a lot better to compete.

How much better are the wheels then?

MTB run a mix of SRAM and shimano over the years. Got my first road bike 3 years ago with SRAM rival 20. Love it, still works as well as it did on day 1, haven’t had to even re-index the gears. It’s ace and it works. Am sure if I got the ultegra equivalent I’d be saying the same.

If you don’t mind constantly tweeting your gears to get them working go with SRAM. If u want solid reliability go with Shimano.

Not sure what’s going on with your set up, but I find the exact opposite.
SRAM has been fit and forget. Ultegra needs more attention than a bored super model.

Quality/Hierachy wise it’s allegedly

Rival = 105
Force = Ultegra

I have shimano (Tiagra and Ultegra) on the road bikes, and Rival on the CX bike. I am decidely meh about the “double tap” ie. pushing the same shifter further across to shift to easier gears seem a bit of guess work as to how many gears you’re actually going to end up shifting. I find myself glancing back at the cassette which I never do with Shimano (nor have I ever used shimano’s shifter windows).

Full Ultegra groupset £390 @ Tweeks (and £15 cashback) at the mo. How much of the 400 quid more is in the wheels, cos if you get vaguely into road riding wheels are the first thing you’ll upgrade, and OE wheels (especially disc wheels on road/CX/gravel it seems) can be phenomenally heavy. The wheels on my Saracen Hack are 2200g, I can’t even work out how theyve got that much mass into wheels, maybe the hubs are milled from lead ingots?!

11sp Ultegra just oozes quality, I’ve owned 10sp Rival and they’d have to have made the 11sp version a hell of a lot better to compete.

The differences between 10spd and 11spd SRAM Riva/Force are greater than the differences between 10 and 11 Shimano 105/Ultegra! Seriously… Just as Shimano took their flagship Dura-Ace group and essentially made it cheaper to manufacture (but with all the same features on Ultegra and 105), SRAM did exactly this as Rival and Force feel just like Red does now in terms of ergonomics, they’re just a bit heavier and not as well finished comparatively.

the ergonomics are much improved on the 11 speed STI, which were always bulky in 10 speed generation; the internal lever reach adjust always works great for smaller hands

My hands aren’t even that big in the grand scheme of things, but I found the old 10spd Shimano STI’s a lot more comfortable than the new 11spd stuff. Probably why I much prefer the ergonomics of my SRAM Red. By comparison Campag feels like it’s been designed for ladies, it’s lovely to use but I just can’t hold it at all comfortably. Whether it’s relevant or not, I use ODI Rogue’s on my MTB’s, anything thinner makes my hands hurt on a longer ride…

Not sure what’s going on with your set up, but I find the exact opposite.
SRAM has been fit and forget. Ultegra needs more attention than a bored super model.

I’ve worked in many examples of both SRAM and Shimano Groupsets being a PITA to keep running smoothly. Usually on bikes with crap cable routing! In my experience, on a bike with good cable routing and good quality cables, you shouldn’t have too much problem with either. Have done well over 3000 miles on my SRAM Red now and aside from 2 new chains, I’ve barely tweaked a barrel adjuster in that time. The cables are all still original (Shimano SP41 outer admittedly and Goodridge slick shift inners), but it still shifts as sweetly as the day it was new. But then so do many Shimano setups I’ve worked on.

I started on Sora with my first road bike and thought it was pretty good. I then changed that to a better bike which came with 105 5700 and it felt so light to change gears in comparison.

My 2nd bike has SRAM Apex fitted and I enjoy double tap that much I’m in the process of changing over to a mix of SRAM Red/Force on the good bike.

So pretty much what everyone else says, until you try both you can’t be really sure what you’ll prefer, but the costs can be pretty minimal if you do want to change.

Oh ****….to make it even more difficult they’ve now discounted the 2015 bike by another £200 (that’s the one with SRAM Rival).

I think probably both sets of wheels are pretty meh to be honest. 2015 has AXIS 2.0 and the 2016 is AXIS 4.0 scs – I checked a review for both and nothing positive, but flexy apparently. However, Spesh site says the 4.0 only weigh just under 1500g which seems light for that type of bike.

I’m thinking probably get the 2015 bike and then with what I save get some decent wheels.

Only other thing to consider is that I’m assuming the SRAM Rival brakes use DOT fluid. I do most of my own mechanicing but will not touch anything with DOT so I assume they don’t need bleeding often?

Got SRAM Guides on one MTB – they’re great when they’re just bled, doesn’t seem to last though.

Doesn’t shimano still hump sram for longevity and reliability?

If the frame’s the same on both models you’d be daft to pay £600 more for Ultegra and lower-spec wheels.

I’d get the 2015 and a pair of nice wheels, and use some of the savings to pay the LBS to bleed the brakes.

Cynic-al – That’s what I’d heard for MTB, dunno if it’s changed since they both released 11 speed stuff. However for road they both seem comparable. It is something I was worried about with my Rival setup on the road bike but it just keeps on truckin and gets no love apart from a quick chain oil now and again.

Edit: Forogt to say, I’d save the cash and go for the SRAM equiped bike.

Cheers all. I really appreciate all the advice and comments.

I’m gonna apply for my cycle to work voucher and see if the 2015 bike is still available when it comes. So Fate sort of decides that way. Or an alternative view could be that the admin in my work will decide…..

if the price difference is now £600, and you can buy a complete Ultegra groupset for <£400 it’s entered “no-brainer” territory! If you hated the Sram you could probably offload the Rival for, say, £150-£200 so swapping to Ultegra would only cost you 200 quid and a couple of hours spannering.

Enjoy shopping and enjoy the bike, whichever you get.