Strengths: Nice looking. Light. Well made. Very easy to shift. I don't agree with the comment that they need undue force to shift up (in cog size) either the crankset or the cassette. It is easy and smooth.
Weaknesses: None have surfaced as yet.
Bottom Line:
Well made and apparently far less complex than the Shimano system. When I was trying to fix the Ultegra shifters, my LBS said that if I removed a certain screw on the Ultegra shifters all would be lost...probably on the floor. It was lost anyway so maybe a moot point.
Force is lighter than Ultegra, pretty easy (for an amateur) to put on the bike and set-up. Even the upshifting/ downshifting tensioning for the cables seemed to be easier and less finicky.
Bike Setup: Cervelo Superprodigy (2004) came with Ultegra which failed in 2010 despite not really having put huge miles on the bike. No way of fixing it. Thanks Shimano!
Parts are now 2010 Force except for the brakes..Cervelo house brakes... and the crankset...FSA Gossamer Compact. Chain is the SRAM 10 speed (can't remember the number) nice looking, well made, easy to put on and take off.
Max Flite gel flow saddle. Like a living room chair!
Strengths: Workmanship of the highest quality. Light weight, strength. Ease of installation and tuning. Shifting is crisp and precise, but requires slightly more muscle than the 105s (which many describe as "mushy" anyway).
Weaknesses: Rear derailleur's barrel adjuster contains a threaded aluminum ferrule, with a hex bolt attached. This unit already got cross threaded on me, and I anticipate future issues with it. Suggest order a few spares to keep in hand.
Bottom Line:
This review is for the shifters and derailleurs only. Installed them this weekend, to replace my old 105s. Got new 2010 shifters and derailleurs for $450 on eBay, which is less than many places charge for 105s. Was immediately impressed with the quality of workmanship on the Force components. Springs are much stronger than the 105s. Shifters noticeably lighter in weight. The 105s would flop all around when turning the crank backwards; the Force stays rock steady. Installation was very straightforward, no gotchas or pitfalls. The included documentation is printed in seemingly every language that has ever existed, but does not contain enough detail to be useful to any given reader. The pictures are clear, and many are in color though. Finally you get the idea, you just have to read between the lines.
Weaknesses: Now I know why they call the group FORCE - it takes a good bit of FORCE to upshift.
Bottom Line:
This is for 2010 shifting system (shifters + derailleurs). This is my first-impression review, after about 100 miles on it. Basis for comparison is old DA 7800. Overall, I find the New Force very smooth, precise, comfortable, and ergonomic. Good looking, as well. It didn't take long to get used to the unique shifting action. My only criticism is the upshift, where you push past the single-click point to reverse the direction of the der., takes quite a bit of force (no pun intended). It is not difficult, it just requires a noticeably greater amount of force to operate on the upshift than Shimano DA - for this reason, it is hard to give it a full "5," so I am splitting this review between a "4" value and "5" overall. The inner shift paddles also have a smooth, nice pivoting action that allows you to easily bring them in toward the bars so you can maintain a good grip on your road bar while shifting (e.g. on downhills). Build quality is high. The brake levers are very solid and stiff, and nicely contoured, so with a nice and solid feel. The brake hoods make for a very nice, flat hand surface (reminds me of Campy, which I have not owned). I can't really comment on the value directly in terms of bang-for-buck, since it was included in the price of the S1 ($2700).
Strengths: Shifting Quality & Reliability
Ergonomics
Price (relative to other groups these days and given the price it can actually be gotten for)
Aesthetics (a matter of taste)
Weight
Weaknesses: Price: as mentioned in strengths, its one of the best deals out there for a group, but if one takes a step back and thinks about what these bike parts cost, it's still kind of out of control
Bottom Line:
For starters, it's important to point out that what I'm really reviewing are the 2010 Force shifters, front derailleur, and rear derailleur (these 3 components were bought new off of eBay for the price above). The rest of the group is a hodge-podge of other parts that sufficiently satisfied the weight-weenie in me (not to mention in total the cost of the group came to ~725 w/ all new parts and is significantly lighter than a Red or Super Record group). As it's set up, I could not be happier with this group. The DoubleTap shifting took ~a minute to get used to and is near instantaneous and particularly satisfying to the touch. Front shifting w/ the Force front derailleur & Stronglight CT2 chainrings is flawless as well; feels just about identical to my previous group (Dura Ace 7800). Ergonomics, which get talked up quite a bit, don't disappoint. These shifters are WAY more comfortable than any Shimano shifters I've used in the past (I wear a size Large glove if that makes any difference). Group is also silky smooth - I can't say enough about how nicely it runs together which is more a reflection on the chainrings, chain, & cassette (none of which are Force, admittedly) but which I hope gives reassurance for those concerned about noise like I was previously. For the money I don't think anything else can touch Force (except Rival) - I've ridden Red and there is literally no difference in performance and the few-gram difference can easily be reconciled by swapping the cassette & chain. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Strengths: Light and not too expensive when it works.
Weaknesses: Poor durability. Terrible.
Bottom Line:
Front derailleur have broken down twice, it just stopped shifting. That is it after only 300 miles. I have 3 bikes so I did not really use this one that much. My LBS fixed it twice, plus adding a shim to help with the angle of FD hanger. This is terrible. I have used my Shimano 7800 since 2006 with no problem whatsoever. If this is what they call "Make the leap", it is probably "Leap into failure." Rear mechanism works fine and quick. I hate marketing hype and all money they spend on supporting pro tour team and crank out poor products like this group. Guys, stick with Campy or Shimano. SRAM MTB components work fine, though.
