The BEST Pro-Level Groupset Is… Shimano Dura-Ace Vs SRAM RED

Do you agree with the final score?

Both groupsets are excellent and World Tour Pro riders have won on both. In reality, no one would be disappointed with either groupset.

Either those tires are under-inflated or that's a really heavy bloke.

As a mechanic for many years, I prefer Shimano for polished performance, Sram always releasing sub par crap like shite front mechs, DUB, NX, SX both heavy clunky perfoming crap, GXP, back in the day, it's taken them ages to actually make a groupset that actually shifts and brakes flawlessly, Shimano has being doing it for years, from Deore and Claris up. As for Dura Ace it is a beautiful, slick product.

I just can’t get over how little Shimano does to distinguish DA from 105 visually. The whole piano black aesthetic only really looks good in promotional material. In the real world it’s just a mess of micro scratches and man grease. I’ll always choose SRAM for no other reason than when NBD arrives it takes me less than 45 minutes to throw it on the new frame and get it bled and ready to ride. 😅 Maybe shimano will catch up and go completely wireless soon.

Dura ace in europe is 2900 and sram red is 4200-4400. So Pricepoint shimano wins. Shifting Performance (Main function of a groupset) shimano wins. Breaking Performance despite improvement from sram, shimano still is ahead. Lever ergonomics shimano wins any day Gearing shimano wins any day Weight sram apparently pulled slightly ahead but i take DA everytime especially with a 1400-1500€ price gap

I wish they still made top & mid-level mechanical groupsets with silver components.

What happened to the handlebar position on the bike running SRAM? The drops ends are pointing up!?

I left SRAM because: 1 - Beaking performance was meh (didn't test teh new one, reveiws says is highly improved) 2 - Tired to mess with SRAM DOT fluid. Corrosive, and bleeding is a pain compared to Shimano 3 - E-tube app is way better than the SRAM one. 4 - Front shifting is subpair for a top tier group. When you test R8100 or R9200 you are blown away if you come from SRAM, Even GRX with a 17 tooth jump is better than SRAM 13 tooth jump. Regarding looks... as subjective as it is. RED, for me, looks like a cheap toy, flashy and brightly. DA look professional.

Warren always gets a thumbs-up from me.

Very well done video!! Thanks!

Its fantastic to see SRAM up their game. I race a Rival AXS groupset on gravel, and I'm going to retrofit the new Red levers this Summer.

The wheelset on FESTKA looks sick. Anyone knows what it is?

More interesting is when Shimano finally goes wireless and see if the changes are as quick.

Shift/brake feel and aesthetics superior in Campagnolo 12 speed (cannot comment on the newer wireless SR). Also is that Sean Yates Festka?

I have the newest Shimano Ultegra Di2 on my road bike and the newest sram force on my gravel bike. Assuming they have similar performance to their higher level counterparts, I would say they’re both good for different disciples. Shimano shifting performance is hands down better than SRAM, especially with the front derailleur. I had a pro mechanic (who has worked on some former WT, gravel racers bikes for unbound) setup my sram force derailleur and it still drops a chain every now and then. My Shimano di2 has dropped at chain 3 times in the last 3 years. If I was a serious road racer, I would prefer Shimano all day long. But if I was a serious gravel racer, I would prefer SRAM. The modularity of SRAM is far superior compared to Shimano. Changing from a 2x to a 1x is super easy and you have much more versatile cassette and chainring combinations. Having that 10-52 cassette in the back helps with super rough undulating terrain. Plus eagle axs is pretty robust and durable.

One thing that wasn't mentioned is the one finger braking in the hoods which is now possible with the new RED brakes. I've bought the brakes mainly for this feature and it's a huge plus for me. I also like the position of the bonus buttons way more than Shimano's solution which I rarely used in the past because of their hard to reach placement.

The overall scoring is all well and good (which in this case is a big 'win' to SRAM), but at the end of the day, it's the features that are most important to you that matters. For me that would be the shifting and how well the gearing runs. That said, I will be happy with either one on my bike.

I opted for the new Red group for my new built. I have the refreshed Force on my other bike and it's a smooth shifting group.

Sram looks like it's been designed by a group of guys who never met! Whereas Shimano looks like it's been designed by committee. Although dull, prefer the tailored look of the Shimano than the mix and match of Sram.