[sinatee]

Hi Folks,

I need to get a little more comfort out of the hoods on my shifters and was wondering if anyone has some ideas?

Personally I was thinking of replacing my Apex hoods with SRAM RED hoods, that is of course assuming they fit properly.

But are there any other ideas out there on what I can do?

I already switched to Lizard 3.2 tape and love it.

 

[cxwrench]

Apex to 2012 Red? they don't fit. 2011 Red? same as Force, Rival, and Apex. no difference. not much you can do to make rubber brake hoods more comfortable. Cav actually ran double hoods on his Dura Ace during this years tour, as well as double wrapped bar tape.

 

[eekase]

Like CX said, if you have the "new" 2012 Sram Red shifters, you are stuck with what's on them. If you have the original double tap red shifters you can look at Hudz. They make two different compounds of hoods.....original and soft.
http://www.odigrips.com/hdz-shimanodura-ace7900enhancementbrakehoods-1-1-1-1-1.aspx

 

[cxwrench]

forgot about Hudz. they don't last very long though. they get loose really quickly.

 

[config]

forgot about Hudz. they don't last very long though. they get loose really quickly.

Thanks, that's good to know.

 

[Retro Grouch]

Could the comfort issue with the hoods be solved with a better pair of gloves?

 

[sinatee]

Thanks everyone! This was really helpful and I appreciate it.

I'll try out the ODI Hudz, never heard of them till now.

As for gloves I have two pairs, both Pearl Izumi Elites with gel padding. The gloves are essential and do the job they need to do. There's something about the hoods that are just not as ergo as they possibly could be. Repetitive cracks on the city roads with my hands firmly gripped on the hoods and its game over.

 

[Wookiebiker]

Have you thought about puttig a straight piece of bar tape under the top of the hood for a little extra comfort? Maybe a small strip of gel that goes under the bars?

Possible, minimally invasive solutions to your problem.

 

[medimond]

I found that rotating the hoods inwards until the force letter was projected straight forward made my hoods much more comfortable. I find thinner gloves more comfortable that padded gloves, the padding in the gloves cause new pressure points.

What tire pressure are you running? Dropping a few psi can smooth out the ride, so can adding 25 mm wide tires.

 

[dcorn]

I found that rotating the hoods inwards until the force letter was projected straight forward made my hoods much more comfortable. I find thinner gloves more comfortable that padded gloves, the padding in the gloves cause new pressure points.

What tire pressure are you running? Dropping a few psi can smooth out the ride, so can adding 25 mm wide tires.

I agree, I rotate my Red shifters in slightly and also up a tad so all the force from the bumps goes up my arm instead of into my wrist while bent at a weird angle.

And also, my gloves tend to create a weird pressure point where the hood meets the bar, so I watch out for that as well. Putting a piece of bar tape in this location can help smooth out the transition.

 

[config]

Could anyone tell me if this for the new or old (2010-11) SRAM Red shifters? SRAM Red Hood Covers Textured Black | eBay

 

[Rokh On]

Could anyone tell me if this for the new or old (2010-11) SRAM Red shifters? SRAM Red Hood Covers Textured Black | eBay

SRAM

Hoods for 2013 Red - Black

Manufacturer Part#: 00.7918.010.000

 

[config]

SRAM

Hoods for 2013 Red - Black

Manufacturer Part#: 00.7918.010.000

Darn it... ...search continues. Thanks!

 

[robdamanii]

Could anyone tell me if this for the new or old (2010-11) SRAM Red shifters? SRAM Red Hood Covers Textured Black | eBay

Those are for the new/redesigned Red.

You can use any SRAM hood for the previous generation (Rival, Force, Red, etc) or order a pair of Hudz.

 

[NWS Alpine]

SRAM

Hoods for 2013 Red - Black

Manufacturer Part#: 00.7918.010.000

It's 2012 Red. There is no such thing as 2013 Red yet.

 

[nayr497]

Do any of the textured hoods fit on pre-2012 Force shifters?

For cross riding, I think that texture on the newer Red hoods would be nice.

Hudz...I had their 1st generation in white for 2007 Centaur shifters. Yep, got loose and ripped and wore out quickly. Hudz replaced them free of charge, no questions. Awesome C.S. The new ones are not as soft and have last 2 solid years.

Also had some older Hudz on my cross Force shifters. Yup, loosened up kinda quickly. I'm thinking: 1) Hudz has made some improvements in compounds/fit/durability 2) cross puts a lot of stress on hoods (but y'all knew that).

I just had my SRAM hoods develop a small tear where your thumb rests inside on the right shifter. It's propagating, time to get some new ones.