SRAM rolls, pedals, clicks and shifts into the ring

Looking to break big news right before the end of the year, bicycle-parts manufacturer SRAM announced its partnership with the KodakGallery.com/Sierra Nevada road team and the company's plan to supply the boys in yellow with a new road group SRAM's just cooked up. Unfortunately, as close as consumers will be getting to SRAM's new gear is about two feet off the side of the road as cyclists like Dan Schmatz and Jackson Stewart rip past at 40 mph.

SRAM has been keeping its road group a big secret – the big marketing push of late has been on the company’s revamped X.O. shifters and derailleurs. But now that the Chicago-based company is unveiling a complete road group with everything you'd expect, the folks that first introduced us to mass-market grip shifters are poised to take a big chunk out of the road market.

But just maybe this isn't too much of a surprise. SRAM had already teamed with Avid, Truvativ and Rock Shox as they’ve purposefully evolved into a one-stop-shopping source for bike manufacturers who seek to outfit their frames with the latest, greatest parts packages. With the expansion into road gear SRAM is extending its reach and entering a market that has long been dominated by only two companies: Campagnolo and Shimano. This is no half-hearted product launch either. SRAM is jumping into the fray with a product line almost as broad as its competitors.

SRAM says the as-of-yet unnamed road group will be available in both professional-level trappings (i.e. carbon everywhere) and with a more moderately priced, alloy version also coming down the line. Expect to find this gear at your local bike shop sometime this summer – no word on pricing, however.

Competition has a way of spawning some kick ass innovations and hearing murmurs about things like 'new Double Tap shift' technology make you wonder what could be in store. SRAM's already got a handle on making derailleurs from their years making such parts for mountain and comfort bikes, and partnering with Avid and Truvativ gave them the expertise they needed to offer up some really nice cranksets and brakes. But what could be left? Michael Zellmann, SRAM marketing manager, emphasized the company's dedication to finding a new way to approach what is the central feature of a road bike's componentry.

"We didn't want to create what had already been done. We want to exceed what currently exists. The brains of any new group really is the shifting. We were really trying to find an economical, ergonomic, efficient way to do that. We think Double Tap shifting is it."

Double Tap shifting works with a single lever located directly behind that of the brakes. Push this lever in towards the frame once for a downshift and then in a little further for a shift up in the cogset.

Josh Kadis from the Kodak Gallery.com/Sierra Nevada team is excited about his team trying SRAMs new offerings in this year's races as well as partnering with a company that is looking to expand is street cred' through grass-roots participation in road events throughout North America.

"For 2006, the chance to be the first team to race on the new SRAM road group was a tremendous opportunity for us. To say that SRAM's business philosophy is in line with our team's is exactly correct," Kadis wrote in an email.

"We look for sponsors who, in addition to providing us with great products, will make the team an integral part of their marketing program, and this is the case with SRAM. With regards to how the componentry complements the bike: Serotta and Campagnolo is a classy combination, but the SRAM components on our new bikes for 2006 (which we'll announce soon) will turn a lot of heads."

It is likely that SRAM will utilize a shifting actuation system similar to their 1:1 MTB systems. Which means exactly? 1:1 means that although it takes more movement to shift up or down (this is taken up by the internal workings so the rider feels no difference) the system is less likely to misfire when those slight, inevitable misalignments come up. This is especially important as SRAM is promoting their shifters for sprinters who will find they can still control shifting on the rear cog with their hands in the drops.

The whole development and deployment of the group is being kept so well under wraps it seems these guys were dealing with national security secrets. But Interpol be damned, SRAM is also working on getting their parts on bikes in the European scene as they plan on sponsoring a team in the highly competitive racing circuit this year as well. No news on who that may be, but we'll see which European team is ready to flaunt tradition and try out an American company's components in hopes of shaving a second off sprint times and pounding out an ounce of extra effort in the mountains.