Had enough 2005 kit yet? Well, SRAM has released details of – wait for it – 2006 components. Actually while the revised trigger shifters were meant to be 2006 model year bits, SRAM has pulled out all the stops to get them to market for 2005. It’s all about capitalising on supply shortages being suffered by Shimano – lead times on some Shimano groups are running into months, so SRAM’s move is all about saying to the manufacturers “We can deliver”…

Industry manouevring aside, what’s SRAM got in store? Pictured here are the revised X-9 trigger shifters and rear derailleur and the all-new X-Gen front derailleur, filling a rather obvious hole in the SRAM line-up.

From the top, the new triggers follow the two-thumb-lever design of the current shifters but with a modified upshift lever. Rather than moving straight up towards the bar as the current units do, the new version has the lever canted at a 30° angle – it swings diagonally upwards and away from the rider. We like the ergonomics of the current shifters and no amount of desk-bound thumb waggling and looking at pictures helps us figure out whether we’ll like the new ones as much, but we’ll just have to wait and see. Other refinements include an extra bolt holding the units together for a more solid shifting platform (not that we’ve found the current ones wanting) and a bit of a restyle with a more rounded look.

To go with the new shifters there’s an updated X-9 rear mech that takes a little step upmarket with some design elements taken from the range-topping X.0 unit. It’s fairly subtle stuff but the upshot is that X-9 becomes more of a cheaper X.0 than a pricier X-7 if you see what we mean.

SRAM lovers will soon be able to have a complete SRAM transmission thanks to the introduction of the new X-Gen front mech. It follows the design philosophy of the rear X units with big linkages and wide-stanced pivots for extra stiffness and less slop. It’ll handle top or bottom pull cable routing thanks to a neat double-ended cam – just put the clamp bolt in whichever end is most appropriate. The one pictured is a very early example – there’s still a bit of fiddling with the cage profile before the design is finalised. There’ll also be a cheaper 3.0 version.

It all looks good, and if SRAM can make good on its delivery we’d expect to see a lot of this stuff getting specced on ’05 bikes. SRAM has also recently finalised the purchase of Avid (and rearranged UK distribution – SRAM, Avid and RockShox will all be coming through Fisher Outdoor Leisure as of June), so adding brakes to its product portfolio. Shimano has still got a couple of tricks up its sleeve, though – the battle lines are drawn…