any thoughts please
Its Rival but IMO Force is more comparable in feel and performance to 105. There is little difference between 105 and Ultegra. I own bikes with both.
Rival. I like it, different feel to the ultegra on my other bike though. But it's dead light and the double tap is awesome. The front mechs are shite though.
I would head more Rival, mines done over a year on my cross bike, and been ridden and crashed in all weathers, so far no problems. Love the double tap, one lever to find perfect.
Whatever it is the front mech will probably be bobbins.
why Rival?
Is it because its 3rd down, excluding electronic groupsets. I would have though Apex was the nearest and that's probably a higher price and quality.
Having said that you might be best comparing what is matched up on production bikes etc in which case that is Apex. Just to see what the bike manufacturer's feel.
I would love to come up with a spread sheet with all groupsets levelled from the 3 manufacturers' plus maybe the oddballs but they just don't match each other.
You will never get a straight answer as its very personal. 105 feels plasticy and vague to me but each to their own.
All I know is Rival is significantly lighter.
Apex is pretty gash though, it doesn't even have trim on the front mech!