SRAM made a thunderous entrance into the road componentry marketplace in 2007 with the introduction of their Force and Rival gruppos. And when they unveiled their ProTour-caliber Red gruppo in 2008, they proved that they have the...
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SRAM made a thunderous entrance into the road componentry marketplace in 2007 with the introduction of their Force and Rival gruppos. And when they unveiled their ProTour-caliber Red gruppo in 2008, they proved that they have the engineering nous necessary to compete on a Record/Dura-Ace level. SRAM has some serious game. SRM -- an engineering powerhouse in their own right -- had the forethought to recognize that as more and more riders choose Red and Force components for their bikes, they'd want an SRM powermeter made specifically for their SRAM drivetrains. And that's exactly what you get here -- in essence a modified Force crankset that houses an SRM Professional powermeter. The electronics inside this crankset are identical to what you get in SRM's other Pro-caliber powermeter systems. They have 8 strain gauges and are accurate to within +/- 2%. (The original SRM Pro powermeters had only 4 strain gauges, but the newer generation Pro systems are made from less material which allows more deflection of the material under stress. The extra strain gauges compensate for this.) The SRAM system comes complete with a PowerControl V, a 31.8mm handlebar clamp, a power/speed sensor, a PowerControl charger, SRMWin software, a USB-based download cable, and all other associated mounting hardware. It also includes a Polar coded heart rate chest strap. This system requires the use of a SRAM GXP external bearing bottom bracket (either the GXP Ceramic or the GXP Team is ideal here.) This bottom bracket must be purchased separately. The crankset is modeled after Force, which means the arms are carbon fiber, and they have the bottom bracket spindle molded into the driveside crankarm. One thing that distinguishes Red cranksets from Force is Red's use of a fully-carbon fiber crank spider. Since the spider here is occupied by a powermeter, it's not carbon. This system comes equipped with 53/39 chainrings. They're SRAM's Powerglide chainrings, so they're dialed for use with SRAM DoubleTap shifters, SRAM derailleurs, and a SRAM chain and cassette. The beauty of SRAM drivetrains is that their components are interchangeable. It doesn't matter if you're running Red, Force, or Rival -- this system will shift beautifully. Those of you who are eagle-eyed about pricing will note that the SRAM system is $400 more expensive than anyother SRM Pro system. "Why?" you might ask -- a perfectly good question. The answer is this: SRM is the sole US distributor of their powermeter systems except for the SRAM system. Apparently SRAM's preference was to have this powermeter distributed in the US through the same channels as other SRAM products. This means we don't buy this system through SRM, but rather through other distribution channels such as Quality Bicycle Products (QBP) or Security Bicycle Accessories (SBA). It's easy to follow the dollars: On most SRM systems, SRM manufactures and distributes them. They mark up the system a reasonable amount when they sell it to us, and then we mark up the system a reasonable amount when we sell it to you. The wheels of commerce grind onward. But in the SRAM system, SRM manufactures it, then they sell it at a marked-up price to a SRAM distributor like QBP or SBA. These distributors then mark it up and sell it to Competitive Cyclist. We then mark it up and sell it to you. Since the SRAM system is channeled through an added layer of distribution, the price is inevitably higher. It's a total bummer -- and we vigorously lobbied SRM NOT to do this, but they did so nonetheless. As Tony Soprano likes to say in his more existentially contemplative moments, "Whadayya gonna do?" Available in 170mm, 172.5mm, and 175mm.
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