Review on SRAM Force Medium WiFli Derailleur by Steve Yang

This weekend I changed my shifter from SRAM Apex to SRAM Force. The Apex worked well, but I wanted something new for my bike and thought it would be a fairly inexpensive upgrade to my bike that could potentially have a marginally useful performance upgrade. I doubted how much difference it would make. I mean the shifter is just a very simple mechanical device. First impression: Pretty ugly color scheme on this device! My bike is anodized all black, which I don't know is something like gray with a bluish green tint depending on how the light hits it. Strange color, not my favorite. It just looks weird and out of place on my bike. I'm not even sure what color of bike would suit, but gray would be better. Black would be perfect. (Each APEX was completely black) Here are some links so you can see the color under custom lighting conditions: imgur dot com/QZCWDBOimgur dot com/WhjP3o1imgur dot com/0U3Hivo I weighed it new out of the box and it weighs 191 grams. The Top removed and weighed: 213 grams. (give or take a gram or 2 muck) So not a huge weight saving but all the little things help. I went on a 36 mile bike ride (first really good weekend here this year) and have to say I was immediately impressed with the switch. Click on the paddle and instant shift. Very clear, quick and accurate. Up or down is just a click and you are there. Best of all, when riding uphill and shifting gears, even with quite a bit of chain load, the shifting was precise, crisp, and quiet. My riding buddy also noticed how much smoother my shifts got. (He should know, since he's always kind of drafting me :-) So, while I had the preconceived notion that APEX didn't need an update until it broke, I have to say that switching to the Force Switch definitely cost $120 Has. the switch was ok, Force is worth the upgrade. (Would have been 5 stars if the color was better.) My next upgrade will be to force switches. Happy