SRAM launches 11-speed road, hydraulic disc and rim brakes

CHICAGO, IL (BRAIN) —  SRAM on Monday went public with its long-rumored 11-speed road groups and hydraulic disc and rim brake options for the road.

The company is launching 11-speed in its Red and Force road groups. Red 22, as it's called, will be available in July and retail for about $2,600 with cable-pull brakes. Force 22 will be available in August for about $1,350 with cable-pull brakes.

The company is marketing its 11-speed drivetrain as "True 22," promising to deliver 22 usable gears without front derailleur trimming or noise. It does not appear that any part of the 11-speed drivetrain is compatible with SRAM's previous 10-speed parts. Cassettes will be available in 11-25 through 11-28 combinations. The extra gear in all cases is a 16-tooth.

The company also has made tweeks to other parts of the groups, including making the ErgoBlade lever larger to improve shifting from the drops, and changing the rear derailleur a bit to work better with 28-tooth cassettes. The Red group also has an optional Quarq 22 power meter crankset.

SRAM said it will continue to sell and support its four 10-speed road groups: Apex, Rival, Force and Red.

Hydraulic brakes for Red and the new S-700

The hydraulic brake options, disc and rim, work with a Red-level hydraulic 11-speed lever or the new 10-speed S-700 lever. All the hydraulic brake options are set to be available in July. S-700 is compatible with SRAM 10-speed drivetrains but S-700 is not a complete group; it's just a braking group.

Hydraulic discs

The new disc calipers have 19mm front and 18mm rear cylinders and are designed to work with 160mm rotors on the road or 140mm for offroad or cyclocross use. 

The carbon-levered Red-level disc brake option weighs 449 grams per wheel (caliper, lever, hose and 160mm rotor), which adds about 460 grams to a complete bike, compared to the Red cable-pull rim brake system. It retails for about $1,200 per pair with rotors.

The aluminum-levered s-700 disc brake option weighs about 493 per wheel and retails for about $800 per pair.

Hydraulic rim brakes

The new rim brakes are intended to work with tires up to 28c and rim widths up to 27.4mm, which would make them compatible with Zipp's Firecrest rims. They also both feature tool-free adjustment of the brake shoe-rim contact point.

The Red-level set up weighs about 387 per wheel, making it about 100 grams heavier per bike than the comparable cable-activated Red brake system. It will retail for $968. The S-700 set-up weighs 422 per wheel and retails for $572.